Medium
Blown and cut glass, marble, brass
Dimensions
H. 20 in. (50.8 cm)
Classification
Lamp
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stuart P. Feld, 1983
Accession Number
1983.534
Art Historical Context
This elegant lamp, created between 1850 and 1860 by the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company and the New England Glass Company, represents a high point in mid-19th-century American glassmaking. Standing twenty inches tall, the piece combines blown and cut glass with marble and brass, materials that together convey both delicacy and solidity. These New England firms were renowned for their technical expertise, producing objects that brought refined European-inspired design within reach of prosperous American households. The techniques visible here—free-blowing followed by precise cutting—allowed ar...
About the Artist
Boston & Sandwich Glass Company|New England Glass Company · 1825–1888
The Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, a pioneering force in American glassmaking, was established in 1825 in Sandwich, Massachusetts, by visionary entrepreneur Deming Jarves, who had honed his expertise as an agent for the New England Glass Company in Cambridge. Jarves built the factory on the banks of the Cape Cod Canal, incorporating it formally the following year with Boston investors. Drawing o...