Cornelius and Company (American, 1839–1851)
Pair of Sinumbra Lamps
INV-1589
Cornelius and Company (American, 1839–1851)c. 1827–31
Pair of Sinumbra Lamps
Cornelius and Company (American, 1839–1851) →lamp (lighting device)furniture accessory
Date
c. 1827–31
Medium
Gilded brass, bronze, and glass
Dimensions
H.: 51.4 cm (20 1/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Herbert A. Vance
This type of lighting device, popularly referred to as a sinumbra (without shadow) lamp, was conceived to help reduce the shadows created by the more elaborate Argand lamp. American firms such as Cornelius and Company may have created sinumbra lamps, perhaps modeled after French examples, in order to compete with European imports. Replete with classically inspired decoration, this pair of lamps would have been used in a fashionable domestic parlor.
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