2-832-534 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

A metal lamp base with a painted porcelain decoration of an English maiden. The lamp base is oval in shape with a brass finish and a tiered decorative design. The base stands on four feet. A metal stem protrudes upward from the back of the base and bends slightly at the top so that the bulb mechanism is above the head of the porcelain figure. The figure depicts the bust of a brunette woman wearing a blue gown, a pink flower at her neck, and a black hat with an orange flower. She is looking slightly downward to the proper left. A brown electric cord with a two-pronged plug runs out from the center back of the base. The underside of the base has the text "4 F" engraved into it. Mae Reeves (1912-2016) was a pioneering African-American milliner who was famous for her custom-made hats. Her business, Mae's Millinery Shop in downtown Philadelphia, was one of the first shops in the city to be owned by a woman of African American heritage.