Sanctuary Lamp

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Type: Decorative arts(Opens in new tab)
Date: ca. 1855
Accession number: 2004.5
Maker: J. Hardman & Co.(Opens in new tab) (British)
Designer: designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin(Opens in new tab) (British, 1812–1852)
Medium: gilt brass
Description: A hanging lamp with chain and rose in Gothic Revival style.
Credit: The Huntington
Department: European Art
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1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108

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Pugin's promotion of a Gothic Revival style coincided with a tremendous boom in the building of churches for England's growing industrial centers. He rapidly became the leading architect for the Roman Catholic Church, executing designs for architecture as well as interior fittings, such as this sanctuary lamp. The lamp was made by John Hardman, a button-maker and medallist in Birmingham who was also Pugin's close friend. Pugin's influence spread through his prodigious publications, which articulated his belief that Gothic designs were not only the most beautiful, but the most truthful; thus, designers had a moral obligation to employ Gothic motifs.