Art Institute of Chicago

Double-Plated Lamp

Boston and Sandwich Glass Company (American, 1825–88)

Date

c. 1865

Medium

Cobalt blue, opaque white, and clear glass, gilt bronze, and marble

Culture

Sandwich

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This kerosene-fueled lamp exemplifies the growing taste for brilliant color and elaborate surface decoration in mid-19th century lighting. The Boston and Sandwich Glass Company produced a variety of lamps and other objects of cased and cut glass. Here, clear, white, and blue glass have been layered and then cut to create an intricate design. When illuminated, the distinctive glass casts patterns of light within a room. This technique was developed by glassworkers from Bohemia (a historic region that now forms much of the Czech Republic), who brought it to the United States.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.