Pair of French Bronze Wall Sconces, Hand Holding Torch with Frosted Flame Glass Globes — France, Mid-20th Century

The hand emerging from a wall to hold a torch is one of the oldest conceits in European lighting — borrowed from antiquity, revived in the grand interiors of the eighteenth century, and brought into the twentieth by the Parisian lighting houses that understood theatricality as a design principle. The best examples paired the dark patina of the hand against warm gilt metal, the contrast doing the work that ornament does in heavier pieces. Houses including Arlus kept this form in their catalogues well into the mid-century because rooms of a certain ambition kept asking for it.

This pair is French, mid-twentieth century, each sconce modelled as a closed fist in dark patinated bronze gripping a horizontal brass torch rod, the wrist emerging from a circular gilt bronze backplate chased with a sunflower-head border — the disk of petals that frames each piece and anchors it to the wall. The torch rod extends outward and terminates in a gilt socket cup, from which a frosted flame-form glass globe rises, its surface moulded with swirling leaf and petal forms that catch and diffuse the light. The contrast between the matte black of the hand, the warm brass of the fittings, and the white frosted glass gives each sconce a three-material composition that reads clearly across a room.

Whoever lit their rooms with these before you kept both sconces in very good order. The bronze and brass are sound across the pair; one globe has a small chip at the collar rim, as noted and photographed. They arrive fully rewired and ready to use.

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 32 cm (12.6 in)
Material: dark patinated bronze hand; gilt brass torch rod and fittings; gilt bronze sunflower backplate; frosted moulded glass flame globes
Style/Period: French, mid-20th century — in the manner of Arlus
Sockets: one per sconce, two total — fully rewired and ready to use
Lampshades: frosted flame glass globes included
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide — all import duties paid by us, nothing to settle on delivery
Condition: very good; bronze and brass sound across the pair; one globe has a small chip at the collar rim, as photographed
Returns: accepted within 30 days

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

We ship worldwide, with each piece carefully packed, tracked and insured. The available shipping service and final shipping charge are shown at checkout before payment. If your destination is unavailable, please contact us before ordering.

Maison Jaspers handles US 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.

Dispatch timing is shown above. Transit time depends on your destination.

Delivery information

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.

Return instructions and your consumer rights