This wonderful pair of fused-plate table lamps is a fine example of the earliest form of argand lighting produced. These are similar to pairs in the collections at Winterthur and Boscobel. Collaborative efforts created these great items. The factory of Matthew Boulton designed and manufactured the lamps to carry the revolutionary burners patented by Ami Argand.

Birmingham, circa 1785.

References: John J. Wolfe. Brandy, Balloons, and Lamps Ami Argand 1750-1803, (Carbondale and Edwardsville, Illinois, 1999), page 147, fig. 10.7. Berry B. Tracy. Federal Furniture and Decorative Arts at Boscobel, (New York, 1981), page 28.