Orientalist, Islamic Persian Ceramic & Ormolu Enameled Table Lamp, E.F. Caldwell

Description

A Rare E. F. Caldwell & Co. Ormolu Mounted Orientalist, Islamic-style Persian Ceramic Lamp with Champlevé Enamel Mounts, Jeweled Ornament, and Limoges Enamel Decoration. An exceptionally rare and highly decorative table lamp by E. F. Caldwell & Co., New York, masterfully combining a nineteenth-century Persian ceramic vase with richly cast gilt bronze mounts lavishly ornamented in polychrome champlevé enamel and jeweled decoration. The baluster-form vase, dating to approximately 1870, is decorated in underglaze cobalt blue, turquoise, black, and pale green enamels with flowering plants, scrolling foliage, and perched birds arranged within vertical panels, all painted against a creamy white crackled ground. The refined Persian decoration reflects the revival of Safavid ceramic traditions during the late Qajar period and provides a striking contrast to the luxurious gilt bronze mountings created by one of America's foremost makers of artistic lighting. The vase is mounted within an elaborate gilt bronze framework designed and executed by E. F. Caldwell & Co., whose workshops were celebrated for producing the finest lighting and decorative objects for America's Gilded Age mansions. Particularly remarkable are the exquisitely enameled bronze mounts decorating both the pierced domed collar and the tripod base. Executed in deep cobalt blue, turquoise, white, and crimson enamels enriched with cabochon-style jewel ornaments, these mounts are inspired by the celebrated medieval Limoges enamels of twelfth and thirteenth-century France. Caldwell very rarely incorporated this type of richly colored champlevé enamel into its lighting designs, making examples such as this highly unusual and especially desirable. The jewel-like enamels create a brilliant contrast against the warm gilded bronze, demonstrating the firm's extraordinary command of decorative metalwork. Founded in New York in 1895, E. F. Caldwell & Co. quickly established itself as America's premier manufacturer of luxury lighting and architectural metalwork, supplying commissions for many of the country's most distinguished residences designed by Carrère & Hastings, McKim, Mead & White, and Stanford White. The firm's willingness to combine important historic objects with finely crafted bronze mountings reflects the eclectic taste of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Persian ceramics, medieval enamels, Renaissance ornament, and classical design were brought together into harmonious decorative compositions of exceptional quality. The finely cast ormolu standard rises from the enameled collar with elegantly proportioned supports terminating in a foliate finial, while the original double-socket fitting preserves the refined architectural character for which Caldwell is renowned. The richly colored Persian ceramic, rare Limoges Revival enamel work, jewel ornamentation, and exceptional bronze casting combine to create a lamp of remarkable artistic presence. Examples incorporating such elaborate enameled mounts are among the rarest productions of E. F. Caldwell & Co., representing the firm's highest level of craftsmanship and making this an outstanding example of American decorative arts from the Gilded Age. Dimensions: 25" Height 11" Width 9" Depth

Details

Dimensions