Argand lamp

Argand table lamp
c. 1790
Fused silver plate on copper and brass, base metals, iron, glass

Status

On view

Label Text

This sleek "patent lamp" was at the forefront of style as well as lighting and manufacturing technologies when Gouverneur Morris purchased fourteen of them at George Washington's request while in London in 1790. A single piece of fused silverplate forms its classically inspired, urn-shaped body, which serves as the oil reservoir. The drop burner employs a tubular wick held between two concentric metal tubes with a glass chimney above. Genovese inventor François-Pierre Aimé Argand (1750-1803) revolutionized lighting with this deceptively simple innovation. His patented design dramatically improved airflow, thereby producing a brighter flame that burned longer and produced less smoke than earlier oil lamps and candles.

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Date1790

Geography Probably retailed - EnglandProbably made - England

Medium/TechniqueA-E: Fused silverplate on copper and brass, base metals, iron, glass A: Fused silverplate on copper and brass, base metals B: Fused silverplate on copper and brass, base metals, iron C-D: Fused silverplate on copper and brass E: Glass

DimensionsOther (A): 6 5/8 in. x 8 7/8 in. x 4 1/8 in. (16.83 cm x 22.54 cm x 10.48 cm) Other (B): 3 1/2 in. x 3 3/8 in. x 3 1/8 in. (8.89 cm x 8.57 cm x 7.94 cm) Other (C): 4 1/4 in. x 3 5/8 in. x 3 5/8 in. (10.8 cm x 9.21 cm x 9.21 cm) Other (D): 5 5/8 in. x 1 7/8 in. x 2 1/4 in. (14.29 cm x 4.76 cm x 5.72 cm) Other (E): 7 1/2 in. x 1 1/2 in. x 1 1/2 in. (19.05 cm x 3.81 cm x 3.81 cm)

Credit LinePurchase, 1950

Object numberW-1545/A-E

DescriptionA:
Silver plate urn-shaped Argand-type lamp with two scrolled wire handles on a tall, flared, and stepped pedestal base; elliptical body; tinned interior.

B:
Sheet iron central draft burner with decoratively pierced silver plate top fitted with an iron and brass rack-and-pinion mechanism for elevating the wick.

C: Silver plate oval ring.

D:
Silverplate wire arm with a pinch-held silverplate horizontal hoop extending from the top.

E:
Cylindrical glass chimney.

Published ReferencesCarol Borchert Cadou, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), 150, 285.

James C. Rees, Treasures from Mount Vernon: George Washington Revealed (Mount Vernon, VA: Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1999), 95-95.

Martha Gandy Fales, "The Silver," Magazine Antiques 135/2 (February 1989): 521-523.

Kathryn C. Buhler, Mount Vernon Silver (Mount Vernon, VA: The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1957), 53.

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