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Lot Essay
The girandoles and the single giradole in the following lot were made by the Philadelphia-based lighting fixture company Cornelius and Company (fl. 1839-51). Cornelius and Company was much celebrated for its artistically inspired and highly detailed lighting fixtures counting among its prominent commissions the massive chandelier for the Hall of Representatives, Nashville, Tennessee.
The present two lots depict five figures adapted directly from drawings in James Fennimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, first published in 1826, by Isaac F. Baker in 1848 and 1849, a partner in the firm. The single girandole (lot 49) depicts the chief of the Mohican tribe, Chingachgood, seated next to Natty Bumppo, with Uncas, Chingachgood's son and the last of the Mohican tribe, standing behind them. This pair represents Major Duncan Heyward and Cora Munro, who was kidnapped by hostile indians and then rescued by the Mohicans, Natty Bumppo and the Major. Another complete garniture of these girandoles can be found in the Winterthur Collection (illustrated in D. Fennimore, Metalwork in Early America, 1996, cat. no. 137, pp. 226-227).
Originally listed in the city directory as a silversmith in 1810, by 1825 Christian Cornelius had expanded his repertoire and was soon joined by his son Robert around 1831. In 1837, the firm was also listed as lamp and chandelier manufacturer, while by 1866, the firm had grown considerably to include an immense factory, steam driven engines and several hundred workmen.
The present two lots depict five figures adapted directly from drawings in James Fennimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, first published in 1826, by Isaac F. Baker in 1848 and 1849, a partner in the firm. The single girandole (lot 49) depicts the chief of the Mohican tribe, Chingachgood, seated next to Natty Bumppo, with Uncas, Chingachgood's son and the last of the Mohican tribe, standing behind them. This pair represents Major Duncan Heyward and Cora Munro, who was kidnapped by hostile indians and then rescued by the Mohicans, Natty Bumppo and the Major. Another complete garniture of these girandoles can be found in the Winterthur Collection (illustrated in D. Fennimore, Metalwork in Early America, 1996, cat. no. 137, pp. 226-227).
Originally listed in the city directory as a silversmith in 1810, by 1825 Christian Cornelius had expanded his repertoire and was soon joined by his son Robert around 1831. In 1837, the firm was also listed as lamp and chandelier manufacturer, while by 1866, the firm had grown considerably to include an immense factory, steam driven engines and several hundred workmen.