"Metropolitan" Candlestick Prototype

Manufacturer Swid Powell American

1983

Not on view

Stern has inverted the traditional proportions of a column shaft, which would normally taper towards the top, giving the impression of strength and solidity (an optical effect called meiosis that has its origins in ancient Greek architecture). Here, the shaft tapers toward the bottom, lending an attenuated elegance to the design.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: "Metropolitan" Candlestick Prototype
Designer: Robert A. M. Stern (American, born New York, 1939)
Manufacturer: Swid Powell
Date: 1983
Medium: Polished and painted brass, painted steel
Dimensions: 11 1/4 × 2 1/2 in., 3.1 lb. (28.6 × 6.4 cm, 1.4 kg)
Classification: Metalwork-Brass
Credit Line: Gift of Swid Powell, 1985
Object Number: 1985.199.3
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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In the same medium

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John Sloan
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French
first quarter 19th century

Necklace, Meta Overbeck American, Gold, emeralds, Montana sapphires, topazes, enamel, American — Necklace
Meta Overbeck
Louis C. Tiffany
Manufacturer Tiffany & Co.
ca. 1914–15

Candlestick, Steel, brass — Candlestick
1700–1800

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