Dominick and Haff American, active 1872–1928 Retailed by Cowell and Hubbard Co. American, founded 1861 New York
About this artwork
This commanding centerpiece, with its glistening winged sphinxes and stylized lotus blossoms on the glass and silver elements, captures the passion for all things Egyptian in both Europe and the United States during the 19th century. Archaeological excavations of Egyptian tombs; the premiere of Verdi’s opera set in Ancient Egypt, Aida; and the popular Egyptian Court at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia inspired a diverse array of objects, art, and architecture—although surviving examples of Egyptian Revival silver such as this one are rare.
Date
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Laura Beach, “The Sphinx and the Lotus: The Egyptian Movement in American Decorative Arts, 1869–1935,” Antiques and The Arts Weekly (Mar. 30, 1990), 1, 102–03 (ill.).
Judith A. Barter et al., American Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago: From Colonial Times to World War I (Art Institute of Chicago, 1998), , 237–38, no. 113.
Judith A. Barter, Elizabeth McGoey, et al., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016), cat. 53 (ill.).
Yonkers, NY, Hudson River Museum, The Sphinx and the Lotus: The Egyptian Movement in American Decorative Arts, 1865–1935, Feb. 4–Apr. 29, 1990, fig. 8.
Dallas Museum of Art, A Century of Splendor: Silver in America, 1840–1940, Nov. 6, 1994–Jan. 29, 1995, cat. p. 68, 331, fig. 3-24 (ill.); Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art, Mar 12–May 21, 1995; Milwaukee Museum of Art, June 18–Aug. 13, 1995; Wilmington, Winterthur Museum, Sept. 9, 1995–Jan. 7, 1996.
With Constantine Kollitus, New York City, by 1983; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1983.
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