Isaac F. Baker (American, active mid-19th century)
Made by Cornelius and Company (American, 1839–1851)
Philadelphia
Girandoles
INV-1369
Isaac F. Baker (American, active mid-19th century)
Made by Cornelius and Company (American, 1839–1851)
Philadelphia1848–51
furniture accessorycandleholder
Date
1848–51
Medium
Gilt bronze, marble, and glass
Dimensions
Max: H.: 45.1 cm (17 3/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Antiquarian Society through Judith Carmack York
Gilt girandoles adorned countless parlor mantelpieces and tables in mid-19th century American homes. These particular girandoles refer to James Fenimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans, which tells the tragic story of the Mohawks and their attempt to rescue a young white woman abducted by a renegade Huron. The central candelabra shows Chief Chingachgook seated on a log, next to Natty Bumppo, whom he raised to manhood. Behind them stands Chingachgook’s son, Unicas. These three, along with Major Duncan Heyward, seen at the right, set out to free the abducted Cora Munro, at the left.
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