Antique French Bouillotte Lamp, Silvered Metal with Black Tole Shade — France, circa 1920

The bouillotte lamp was invented for the card table and never entirely left it. Named after the French gambling game played by candlelight in the salons of the late eighteenth century, it solved a specific problem with unusual elegance: how to light a table from above without blinding those seated around it. The shade — a metal cylinder, closed at the top, open at the bottom — directed all the light downward while leaving faces in shadow. The shade lowers along the stem as the candles burn down, keeping the light always just above the flames — a mechanism so precisely considered that it remained unchanged from the Directoire period through the Empire and well into the twentieth century.

This lamp is French, circa 1920, in silvered metal with the original black tole shade. The base is a faceted circular platform in silvered metal, its stepped edge giving it the architectural weight the bouillotte form requires. From the body, two scroll arms extend on either side, each ending in a turned socket and a wide flat bobèche — the simple, functional candle arm that the bouillotte tradition never saw reason to complicate. The central stem rises through the shade's adjustable locking mechanism — a side-mounted collar that holds the shade at any height along the rod — to a plain cylindrical stop at the crown. The black tole shade is the understated version of the bouillotte tradition: no gilt frieze, no ornament, just a clean lacquered drum with two fine silver pinstripe lines at the upper and lower rim — the graphic restraint of the 1920s applied to an eighteenth-century form. The silvered metal throughout has the warm, slightly darkened tone that comes from a century of honest indoor use.

The lamp is in original condition throughout — the shade sound, the silvering present, the candle arms firm. It arrives fully rewired and ready to use, plug adapted to your country at no charge.

It arrives professionally packed and fully insured. All duties and import charges are our responsibility — you pay nothing beyond the listed price. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

DETAILS:
Material: silvered metal base and arms; black lacquered tole shade with silver pinstripe trim; adjustable brass stem
Style/Period: French Empire tradition, circa 1920
Sockets: two — fully rewired and ready to use; plug adapted to your country (US/UK/EU) at no extra charge
Lampshades: original black tole shade included
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide — all import duties paid by us, nothing to settle on delivery
Condition: good original condition; silvering present with honest age-consistent darkening; shade sound; candle arms firm
Returns: accepted within 30 days

Read our condition standard. Please ask if you need additional photographs or measurements.

Worldwide delivery is included in the price. Every piece is individually packed, tracked and fully insured. No shipping charge is added at checkout. If your destination is not listed, please contact us before ordering.

Maison Jaspers pays US tariffs and import duties. For other destinations, local import taxes and duties may apply and are payable by the recipient. Contact us before ordering if you need destination-specific guidance.

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Notify us within 30 days of delivery if you wish to return a piece. No reason is required. You pay return shipping for a change-of-mind return.

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