Carved giltwood sconces like this pair descend from a long French tradition of wall lighting shaped like torches — a nod to the flame itself, with the arm rising and flaring outward the way real firelight would. By the mid-twentieth century, the form had settled into pure decoration: still shaped like a torch, but carrying an electric candle rather than an open flame, so a room could keep the gesture of candlelight without its risk.
This pair, in the Louis XVI style and dating to the 1950s, carries two scrolling torch-form arms rising from a carved giltwood backplate on each sconce, finished with gadrooned drip-pans beneath candle-form covers. The carving is worked fully in the round rather than flattened against the wall, with fluted, tapering stems and a ribbed finial below. Note how the gadrooning around each drip-pan is cut with real depth rather than left shallow — the detail that separates carved giltwood of this quality from a cast or moulded composition copy.
Whoever owned this pair before you kept them well enough that the carving throughout remains crisp and undamaged. Wear is honest and consistent with age: small losses to the gilding are visible on close inspection. The wiring is original old cotton flex, currently untested, with one socket missing on the second sconce, so this pair should be treated as needing an electrician's review before use. The sconces are shown with bare candle covers only; no shade is included with this pair.
It arrives professionally packed and fully insured — we handle the paperwork and worldwide shipping. Returns are accepted within 30 days.
DETAILS:
Height (with candle cover): 38 cm (15 in) · Width: 21 cm (8.3 in) · Depth: 11 cm (4.3 in)
Materials: carved giltwood
Electrical: original cotton flex wiring, untested; one candle socket missing on second sconce — recommend electrician review before use
Lampshade not included
Condition: good vintage condition; genuine age wear to gilding; sold as a pair
