The mixture of styles on this lamp, from the rococo scrollwork and diamond pattern to the Gothic niches for the columns, are typical of late-nineteenth-century revivalism in Judaica. An American origin can be deduced from the fact that this lamp was pressed from the same die stamp as another lamp in the collection that has American machine-made screws. In addition, the use of the Russian assay mark "84" without the required city and maker's mark also suggests American production.
The lamp was donated to the museum by Frieda Schiff Warburg. She and her husband, Felix, who achieved great wealth in the banking business in NewYork, were major philanthropists in the first half of the twentieth century. Her family, the Schiffs, had been instrumental in the founding of the Henry Street Settlement House and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, organizations which Frieda and Felix Warburg maintained an active interest in. She also served as president of the Young Women's Hebrew Association and was a supporter of Hadassah. Of particular interest is the fact that in 1944 Mrs. Warburg donated her mansion on Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street as the home of The Jewish Museum.