Butterfly Chandelier, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1902
I have a thing for Frank Lloyd Wright, I know, so it’s a little hard to be objective sometimes. But have you ever seen anything like this? Really. This fixture was originally designed in 1902 by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Dana-Thomas House. That’s 6 years before the first Model T Ford. Anyway, today it’s known as Sumac 1, or the Butterfly Chandelier. Wright’s client, Susan Dana, gave him an unlimited budget to design and build her home, and many of his design ideas of that time evolved during this project. An original cousin of this fixture, a double pedestal desk lamp, sold at a Christie’s auction in 2002 for just under $2 million. Anyway, this one is currently available as a licensed reproduction, but just because it’s a reproduction doesn’t mean it’s cheap. The photo above is from Oakbrook Esser Studios, the fabricator’s website, and last I checked, they were asking a heart stopping $58,000. Lead time? 6-8 months. Truth is, I have lusted after this fixture for quite some time, and as soon as I have 60k to spare, I’m in with all four feet.
