Oil Lamp
Unknown Artist
1790–1800
Medium
Sheffield silver plate
Dimensions
H. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm)
Classification
Oil lamp
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the Members of the Committee of the Bertha King Benkard Memorial Fund, 1946
Accession Number
46.67.59a, b
Art Historical Context
This elegant oil lamp, crafted between 1790 and 1800, exemplifies refined taste of America's early Federal period. Standing at an impressive 15½ inches (39.4 cm) tall, it hails from the collection of The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art gifted in 1946 by the King Benkard Memorial committee. Produced by an unknown artisan using Sheffield silver plate—a innovative English technique from the mid-18th century that fused a thin layer of silver onto a copper core—this lamp offered the luster of fine silver at a more accessible price, making luxury attainable for the growing merchant c...