My lamps from Belgium
I only own 12 Belgian lamps. The reason for this is - if one may say so - the monotony of most Belgian lamps offered on eBay. They don't differ much from each other. And since the lamp bodies made of sheet brass do not allow for any unusual, colourful, eye-catching decoration, the range of different Belgian lamps is quickly exhausted.
Lamps of Lempereur & Bernard
From left: L.288 – L.076 / L.286 / L.134
L.288 with a painted Vesta shade is a typical table lamp by Lempereur & Bernard. It is a souvenir from Bruges.
L.076 with a green tulip shade is another L&B lamp, but now with a kerosene/paraffin tank plugged into a three-legged base from a later period.
The hanging lamp L.286 in a typical lyre suspension is a souvenir from Utrecht and impresses with a beautifully painted, large shade. It was electrified and has been returned to its former purpose.
I had to collect the floor lamp L.134 personally from Bad Ahrweiler. It has a centre table made of marble, which is more often found in continental European floor lamps. The three additional candlesticks are interesting.
In the following collective photo, the remaining 8 Belgian lamps in my collection are assembled.
Belgian lamps from other producers
From left: L.280 and L.360 (both by Sépulchre) – L.293 and L.350 (both by Wauthoz) / L.072 and L.348 (both by Moreau Frères) – L.309 (Maison Hanniet) – L.160 (Wasmuël)
L.280 and L.360 as very typical brass lamps are made by Louis Sépulchre. The sparsely cut ball shade on the first lamp is of British origin. The dark red etched tulip shade on the second lamp is a gas lamp tulip, also from Great Britain.
L.293 and L.350 are two lamps made by the Brussels manufacturer Albert Wauthoz. These lamps are also made of embossed brass, but are more sophisticated in their appearance. The former bears a tulip with engraved ornaments, while the latter has an etched St. Louis shade.
L.072 is from the little-known Belgian producer Moreau Frères. It is almost identical in appearance to the typical L&B lamps. However, the burner and the flame disc are fundamentally different from corresponding L&B products.
L.348 from the same Moreau Frères manufactory cannot be compared with the other relatively unadorned Belgian lamps, as it has all the stylistic features of exuberant Belgian Art Nouveau and stands very tall with its long legs. It flaunts a British Art Nouveau tulip shade here.
The lamp L.309, which does not look Belgian at all, is a unique lamp whose font collar is stamped with Mson. Hanniet Bruxelles. This lamp is fundamentally different from the Belgian central draft lamps, because the lower part of the lamp with the three figures reminiscent of the Egyptian sphinx is made of several parts in cast iron, and the large petroleum tank made of sheet brass is loosely suspended in there. This lamp has no central draft and can therefore be used with quite common side draft burners. I suspect that this lamp belongs to an earlier period than the typical central draft lamps from Belgium.
L.160 by the Belgian ceramic manufacturer Wasmuël was produced on the occasion of the Paris World Exhibition in 1889. Its lamp body, which is also the font, is modelled on the Eiffel Tower built just for this exhibition at the time and is therefore very highly prized by collectors of Eiffel Tower memorabilia. It is unclear to me whether only the ceramic part was produced by Wasmuël on behalf of a French lamp manufacturer or whether the complete lamp was made by Wasmuël. In the first case, the lamp would have to be counted among the French lamps.