electric lamp

Object NameElectric Lamp

Manufacturerpossibly J. D. Bergen & Company

Manufacturerpossibly Quaker City Cut Glass Company

Made FromLead Glass, Silver-plated Metal

Dateabout 1900-1915

TechniqueMold-blown, cut, cast, plated

SizeOverall H: 73.7 cm

Accession Number96.4.157

Curatorial Area(s)

Modern

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

Another impressive lighting device in the Corning collection is a large electric lamp that was made in the early 20th century. Six lamps in this style are known, and all of them are cut with the same pattern. So far, the manufacturer has not been positively identified. One of these lamps was purchased in Chicago in the late 1930s or early 1940s, and another belonged to the pianist-entertainer Liberace, who seems to have acquired it in the 1950s. The other examples have been found in various locations around the country, so it does not seem likely that they are part of a set. The large size of these lamps suggests that they were used either in a spacious home or perhaps in the lobby of a hotel. In the home, only a very impressive parlor table could have accommodated such a lamp.

Place Made

United States, possibly PA, Philadelphia; United States, possibly CT, Meriden

Physical DescriptionColorless lead glass, silver-plated metal; mold-blown, cut; metal: cast, plated. Multi-part lamp with (a) an inverted trumpet-shaped glass base, cut in a pattern of 3 large pinwheels with hobstars in between and prism cutting on upper half which has a metal collar on top ending in a hemisphere; (b) is a silver-plated ring which has a hemisphere in the center which screws into the base, forming a sphere when it is correctly put together. The ring has four S-curved branching arms which end in electrical sockets and fittings, and a double electrical socket at the top; the arms have a row of close beading, as does the rim; (c) is a central domed shade cut in a pattern of 4 pinwheels with a hobstar in the center base and 4 smaller hobstars between the pinwheels, which rests on the ring; (d, e, f and g) are four globular shades slightly pointed at the lower end and cut in three large in wheels which fill sides and a hobstar at the lower end. The ring and arms are hung with 34 smaller and 62 lager tripartite cut prisms. The cut pinwheels on the base and all five shades have an unusual center which is a small star surrounded by overlapping squares.
Provenance

Provenance Remark

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