Floor Lamp
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
The designer of this rare and exotic kerosene lamp, Pierre Emmanuel Guerin, was one of the most important manufacturers of finely wrought metal furniture mounts for the most prestigious cabinetmakers of the nineteenth century: Herter Brothers, Pottier & Stymus, Léon Marcotte, and Kimbel & Cabus. The foundry, still family owned, is on Jane Street in Greenwich Village. By 1880, in an attempt to diversify his business, Guerin had begun to design and manufacture "artistic bronzes" and brass goods such as vases, clock cases, and lamps. The shaft of the lamp is a highly imaginative, menacing, eagle-like bird with an out-of-scale claw as the base. The sophistIcated design evoking ancient mythology is characteristIc of fantastical objects made in the Aesthetic Movement style of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The jewel-like colored shade and the highly polished brass of the lamp would have had a striking effect when illuminated in a densely furnished and patterned parlor of the period.
Caption
Pierre Emmanuel Guerin American, born France, 1833–1911; P. E. Guerin founded 1857. Floor Lamp, Patented April 13, 1886. Brass, glass, iron, 51 1/4 x 11 x 13 in. (130.2 x 27.9 x 33 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Clifford D. Mallory in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rogers Mallory, by exchange, 2004.32a-c. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2004.32a-c_bw.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Designer
Maker
Title
Floor Lamp
Date
Patented April 13, 1886
Geography
Place manufactured: New York, New York, United States
Medium
Brass, glass, iron
Classification
Dimensions
51 1/4 x 11 x 13 in. (130.2 x 27.9 x 33 cm)
Markings
Molded on burner knobs: "P / DUPLEX / A" Impressed on proper left underside of thumb-talon of bird's foot: "PATENT / APRIL 13, 1886" Impressed on side of proper right talon: "PAT.APPLIED.FOR." Impressed on underside of base: "P.E.GUERIN" at tips of two talons; "P.E.GUERIN / NY" twice between claws. On metal plate affixed to under side of base, impressed: "P.E.G." and "537"
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Clifford D. Mallory in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Rogers Mallory, by exchange
Accession Number
2004.32a-c
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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