Lamp Base

Item

Title

Lamp Base

Creator

Georges de Feure

Date

1902 (ca.)

Dimensions

10 inches

Medium

Bronze

Credit line

Collection of Drs. Cynthia and Timothy McGinn

Marks

"De Feure" on top of base

Description

Period photographs of this lamp clearly show it was electrified and had shades covering the bulbs, though what happened to these is unknown. Perched atop the large clock in the Living Room of the Log House by about 1913, it serves as a reminder that despite our impression of the Log House as a pinnacle of Arts and Crafts style, Stickley's personal aesthetic was more complicated and varied.

A photograph of this model first appeared in the December 1902 Craftsman, prior to Stickley’s trip to England and France later that month, and demonstrates his awareness of Bing’s wares before his trip in late 1902 and early 1903. An image accompanying that article vaguely titled “group of bronzes” included work by Rupert Carabin, De Feure, and an inkwell by ceramist Pierre Adrien Dalpayrat with gilt bronze mounts by Edward Colonna, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The image was probably supplied by Bing and taken at his shop L’art Nouveau, based on the large mounted panel of de Feure door hardwire hanging in the background. Similarly adorned panels were purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum directly from Bing in 1900.

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