Girandoles
Isaac F. Baker (American, active mid-19th century)
Gilt girandoles adorned countless parlor mantelpieces and tables in mid-19th century American homes. These particular girandoles refer to James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans, which tells the tragic story of the Mohawks and their attempt to rescue a young white woman abducted by a renegade Huron. The central candelabra shows Chief Chingachgook seated on a log, next to Natty Bumppo, whom he raised to manhood.