Pair of French Bronze Wall Sconces, Nubian Hand Holding Torch, Arlus — France, circa 1960

The figural torch sconce has a long history in European decorative arts — the hand emerging from a wall to hold a light was a conceit that appeared in the grandest French interiors of the eighteenth century and was revived with particular confidence in the Art Deco period, when designers looked again to antiquity and to the wider world for their imagery. The Parisian lighting house Arlus, working with designers including Jean Devoluy, brought this tradition into the mid-twentieth century with bronzes of genuine sculptural quality — pieces made for rooms that wanted something to look at when the lights were off.

This pair is French, circa 1960, attributed to Arlus, each sconce modelled as a hand and forearm in patinated black bronze, fingers closed around a gilt brass torch shaft that rises to a frosted glass tulip globe. The hand is cast with care — the knuckles, the grip, the slight tension in the fingers where they close around the shaft — and the contrast between the matte black patina of the hand and the warm gilt of the brass is the whole design: two materials, one gesture, no ornament needed beyond the form itself. Note how the torch shaft tapers to a point below the hand, as a held torch would, grounding the piece in its own fiction. The frosted globes diffuse the light evenly, with none of the harshness of clear glass.

Whoever lit their rooms with these before you kept both sconces in good order. The patina is consistent across the pair; the frosted globes are sound. They arrive fully rewired and ready to hang, plug adapted to your country at no charge — a pair that works as well in a modern interior as in a period one.

They arrive 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:
Size: each — Height 33 cm (13 in) · Width 11.5 cm (4.5 in)
Material: patinated black bronze hand and forearm; gilt brass torch shaft; frosted glass tulip globes
Style/Period: Art Deco tradition, French, circa 1960 — attributed to Arlus
Electrical: Fully rewired and ready to use for your country
Lampshades: frosted glass globes included
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide — all import duties paid by us, nothing to settle on delivery
Condition: very good; patina consistent and even across the pair; frosted globes sound
Returns: accepted within 30 days

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