Falcon Copper Bronze Table Lamp

The "Falcon Copper Bronze Table Lamp" by James Said pays tribute to a bronze falcon (ca. 1200–1220) forged in southern Italy and now in the collection of The Cloisters, The Met's location dedicated to the art and architecture of the Middle Ages. This skillfully cast figure has been associated with the Hohenstaufen emperors, a Germanic dynasty ruling over territories belonging to modern-day Germany and Italy. This proud avian likeness, which perhaps decorated a throne or the top of a tent pole, is reimagined as the base of this lamp, crowned with a linen-mix shade handmade in the Netherlands.

HISTORIC PROVENANCE

The Falcon Copper Bronze Table Lamp takes its form from a southern Italian cast-bronze falcon that dates to the 13th century and is said to have been found in Italy in 1925. Now in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, this falcon has been associated with the Germanic dynasty of Hohenstaufen emperors, who ruled over much of what is now Germany and Italy. While the emperors were known to carry staffs with eagles on top of them, this sculpture is thought to have decorated a throne or other piece of furniture. It appears to specifically depict a gerfalcon, which suggests a connection to Emperor Frederick II, who wrote about the aristocratic art of falconry and pursed it as a sport. The Table Lamp Falcon has been precisely crafted with a copper-bronze finish and a linen-mix shade, handcrafted in the Netherlands.