In the 1960s, European lighting shook off ornament and went botanical in the simplest way possible: a stem and a bloom. Sconces like these reduced the wall light to a single curved brass stalk rising from an oval backplate, opening into a cone like a tulip — colour doing the work that carving had done for two centuries.
This pair dates to the 1960s–70s, in polished brass with metal lacquered in its original violet — a mauve-purple rimmed in bright brass at the cup and backing the gilt oval at the wall. Look at how little there is: one sweep of stem, one cone, one disc — and notice that the colour is lacquered onto the metal rather than painted, which is why it still carries a glass-like gloss sixty years on where paint would have gone chalky. Each cup takes a B22 bayonet bulb and carries a shade-fixing ring, so the pair can be used as-is, cups open, or dressed with small shades. Both are functional and sold without bulbs, prepared for wall installation.
The lacquer has a few small losses and there are light traces of oxidation to the brass, as the photographs show plainly. Whoever chose this violet for their wall before you kept the pair well. They are ready to flank a bed, a mirror, or brighten a narrow hallway.
The pair is lightweight brass and lacquered metal, both lights 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 19 cm (7.5 in) · Width 9 cm (3.5 in) · Depth 10 cm (3.9 in) — each roughly the height of a paperback
Weight of pair: 0.29 kg (0.6 lb)
Polished brass; original violet lacquered metal · Sold as a pair
Electrical: B22 bayonet sockets with shade-fixing rings; functional; sold without bulbs; wall-mounted, for fixed installation
Condition: good vintage condition; small lacquer losses and light oxidation traces to brass
