AN AMERICAN GILT-BRONZE AND CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL FLOOR LAMP

These highly unusual lamps (lots 94 & 95) are attributed to the renowned firm of Edward F. Caldwell & Co., the prolific New York lighting firm who illuminated the mansions of America’s Gilded Age. The form and use of ‘exotic’ enameling techniques dates the lamps to the first quarter of the 19th century when Caldwell’s partner, Victor von Lossberg, championed the use of champlevé and cloisonné enameling on mounted objects and lighting. Fixtures in the ‘chinoiserie’ style remained a cornerstone of the firm’s output and Caldwell produced a large series of fixtures simulating scarlet and gilt-lacquers and incorporating Chinese ceramics and imported precious jade for carved finials, such as those on lots 94 and 95.  Lot 95, whose base is decorated with a pair of dragons in pursuit of a ‘sacred pearl’, taps into common Chinese motifs.  The pearl, a metaphor for wisdom and enlightenment, and remains and elusive just beyond their eager grasp.
A related pair of blue-enameled standard lamps by the firm was sold at Christie’s, New York, 9 June 2014, lot 57 ($37,500).  A single red lacquer lamp in the Chinese taste with jade finial was sold at Christie’s, New York, 18 November 2014, lot 51.