A PAIR OF GILT-BRONZE TWELVE-LIGHT CHANDELIERS IN THE WILLIAM AND MARY TASTE BY EDWARD F. CALDWELL

June 11 2009, 3:47pm

New York. Circa 1900. Edward Caldwell began his career as a lighting designer at the New York-based gas lighting manufactory Archer & Pancoast in the late 1880s. His pieces were often based on historical models, but Caldwell also excelled in conceiving original designs which he produced to fit his clients' individual decorative demands. The quality of his work often rivaled the 18th- and 19th-century prototypes from which he drew, and, particularly in his gilding, Caldwell’s techniques were far superior to those of his contemporaries. Caldwell’s work appeared in prominent buildings such as the White House and the Waldorf Astoria, and in homes of affluent New Yorkers including Henry Clay Frick and Andrew Carnegie. The design for the present chandeliers was undoubtedly taken from a model made by Francis Garthorne (fl. 1690-1713) for the King’s Presence Chamber at Hampton Court (circa 1690), the former royal residence, now part of the Royal Collection.