In the Paris of the 1940s and 50s, wall lighting rediscovered the torch — not the carved gilt torch of the Empire mantel, but a sleeker one: a tapering black cone tipped in brass, held to the wall like a flambeau at a doorway, its flame a tulip of frosted glass. Makers of the period dressed these torches in the decade's favourite emblem, the small gilt star, scattered as if the torch had been lit under a night sky.
This pair is French, from the 1940s–50s: each sconce a tapering torch of black-lacquered metal appliquéd with small brass stars, ending below in a turned brass tip, held to a round brass backplate by a sphere, and carrying above a bulbous frosted glass shade on a polished brass cup. Light them and watch the division of labour — the frosted tulip glows soft and shadowless while the black torch beneath all but disappears against the wall, leaving the stars and brass floating; the two-material trick is the whole design. The pair has been newly re-electrified, takes B22 bayonet bulbs, and arrives prepared for wall installation, in working order.
Both glasses are intact and the finishes carry the soft patina of their years — the brass mellowed, the black lacquer with light age-consistent marks — as the photographs show. Whoever lit their hallway with this pair before you kept them together. They are ready to flank a mirror, a bed, or march down a corridor.
The pair is newly re-electrified metal and glass, in working order. It arrives professionally packed and fully insured — we handle the paperwork and worldwide shipping, with all import duties paid by us, so there is nothing to settle on delivery. Returns are accepted within 30 days.
DETAILS:
Each sconce: Height 33 cm (13 in) · Width 9 cm (3.5 in) · Depth 15 cm (5.9 in) — each roughly the height of a wine bottle
Black-lacquered metal torch with brass stars; brass mounts; frosted glass tulip shades · Sold as a pair
Electrical: newly re-electrified; B22 bayonet sockets; wall-mounted, for fixed installation; delivered in working order
Condition: good condition; glasses intact, mellowed brass, light age-consistent marks to lacquer
