Details
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Details of object number: 0284
Object name:standard lamp
Production date:(about) 1900 — 1910
Description:Lamp is height-adjustable, swivelling, rotatable and tiltable on a raised, bulbous, round brass base set on a cherrywood plate; vertical round rod with carrying ring at top with, at right angles, round, slightly curved arm (all parts in brass) with hanging lampshade; fabric cable extending from arm, porcelain plug, switch directly on lamp holder. Lampshade consists of cords of glass beads attached to an iron skeleton/frame: the different coloured beads visually create two rows (green/reddish) and four sectors via the accentuation of colours. The lower part is a zigzag hanging of golden pin beads with glass balls at the ends.
Hist. crit. notes:The electrification of private households occurred during the Art Nouveau era, which generally saw itself as a pioneer of modernism. The design of a hitherto unknown commodity such as an electric light fitting was thus a rewarding task for the arts and crafts practitioners of the time.
Expensive light bulbs were at first simply attached uncovered to brass bases, but the harsh light was too dazzling. Then came the lampshade and its many different ways of playing with light and coloured glass: as a result, table lamps became the favourite product of all well-known Art Nouveau designers. Probably the most influential type of Art Nouveau lamp was that created by Louis Comfort Tiffany, an American who from 1893 used the stained glass technique to produce his lampshades. In the next decades, his Tiffany lamps became classics of Art Nouveau-inspired craftsmanship, and a symbol of the fusion of form and decoration.
The use of glass beads in single- or multi-coloured combinations for decorating table and standard lamps was equally as popular and style-defining, reflecting Art Nouveau’s declared ideal of the unity of art and everyday life. The significance attributed to such everyday objects in the period around 1900 was expressed by the German architect Hermann Muthesius as follows: “The art of the household is beginning to take the place of the art that is played out within the gold frame of paintings.”
Known in English-speaking countries by its French name Art Nouveau, the style is known in German-speaking lands as “Jugendstil”, after the magazine “Jugend”, published in Munich since 1896: in Italy it is known as “Stile Liberty”. Art Nouveau was primarily supported by members of the up-and-coming middle classes, who acted as patrons and clients of Art Nouveau artists.
Expensive light bulbs were at first simply attached uncovered to brass bases, but the harsh light was too dazzling. Then came the lampshade and its many different ways of playing with light and coloured glass: as a result, table lamps became the favourite product of all well-known Art Nouveau designers. Probably the most influential type of Art Nouveau lamp was that created by Louis Comfort Tiffany, an American who from 1893 used the stained glass technique to produce his lampshades. In the next decades, his Tiffany lamps became classics of Art Nouveau-inspired craftsmanship, and a symbol of the fusion of form and decoration.
The use of glass beads in single- or multi-coloured combinations for decorating table and standard lamps was equally as popular and style-defining, reflecting Art Nouveau’s declared ideal of the unity of art and everyday life. The significance attributed to such everyday objects in the period around 1900 was expressed by the German architect Hermann Muthesius as follows: “The art of the household is beginning to take the place of the art that is played out within the gold frame of paintings.”
Known in English-speaking countries by its French name Art Nouveau, the style is known in German-speaking lands as “Jugendstil”, after the magazine “Jugend”, published in Munich since 1896: in Italy it is known as “Stile Liberty”. Art Nouveau was primarily supported by members of the up-and-coming middle classes, who acted as patrons and clients of Art Nouveau artists.
Dimensions:
- height: 61.5 cm
width: 41 cm
diameter: 13 cm
Physical description:Messing, Glasperlen, Stiftperlen, Holz, Porzellan
Institution:Museum of Popular Culture