The first thing that got my attention were the three bright green stickers on the top of the lamp. They were absentee bids, and they stamped the lamp as an item that would attract fast and furious bidding.
It was indeed something special.
The lamp was a bronze textured monkey with its right hand on a ball and the rest of its body on a stack of books. Its curved tail at the top held the lamp itself. It had an interesting base, but the shade was the prize.
I was too afraid to lift it to find a maker’s name; it was obviously expensive given the number of bids. So I Googled, and learned that the lamp was made by the high-end furniture and accessories maker Maitland Smith. Now I knew why it was going to be snapped up quickly and expensively.
The company website described it as a “Verdigris Bronze Patina Monkey Lamp, Leather Book Design Base, Penshell Shade.” There was no price attached to it there, but I found the lamp selling for $1,000 to $2,000 and more on other retail sites. Verdigris refers to the green patina you see on bronze, and pen shell, to a clam of the same name.
The lamp is one of several Maitland Smith lamps with the bronze monkey design. I also came across Maitland Smith lamps with animals other than monkeys: bird, frog, crane, elephant, dog, dragon, bear, horse.
Here are different angles of the monkey lamp. Would it fit in your décor?
