L.165

A converted metal Moderator lamp, but this time with an attached glass font. The former Moderator lamps with sculptured brass walls exert a special charisma because their subjects or scenes are very detailed and very vividly depicted. This lamp was probably made around 1850-1870. When I held the lamp in my hands, I noticed that the half-naked female figures are actually allegorical representations of four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, America).

The lamp came with a broken font, so I had to replace it with a crystal font from Baccarat. So, with a lot of effort, I removed the remaining putty components. I also had to cut off the rather rusted iron sheet under the base. Almost a kilo of sand came out of the inside, and also a lot of crumpled newspaper scraps. From the newspaper clippings I could see that the lamp had probably been rebuilt in The Hague in 1939 (newspaper: Haagsche Courant, 6 Februari 1939). I soldered up the rusty parts of the inner wall with new sheet metal, and then added a new base made of thick sheet brass, which I had previously weighted with lots of lead tape on the inside.

The wonderful St. Louis ball shade (probably for Moderator lamps) is not marked, but is shown on the cover photo from the book B. Mahot (in signed form). I only had to sand down the lower opening a little to make the shade usable for 14’’’ Kosmos burners.

Lamp Data

Added by me:
Glass font, burner, glass chimney, ball shade and globe holder.

Cleaning and repairs:
Font rests and putty residues removed. Sand and newspaper remains emptied from the inside. Painted the background of the allegorical figures with matching paint and polished with wax. The replacement font cemented in place.

Lamp body:
Base and lamp body made of very sculptured brass sheet. Allegorical representation of the four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa and America). The inner parts of the Moderator technique completely removed. Round base, Ø 133 mm. The neck section slightly crooked.
Replacement Baccarat crystal glass font, two rows of olive cuts, Ø 141 mm, undermount thread 23 mm, font can be unscrewed.

Burner:
14’’’ Kosmos burner of Wild & Wessel, Berlin, soldered to the globe holder.
Wick knob marked: W&W Kosmos. Wick knob back: Ornamental W&W cord.
Wick tube marked: Patent Breveté S.G.D.G.
Flat wick 70 mm.

Glass chimney:
14’’’ Kosmos chimney. Height 245 mm, Ø fitter 52 mm.
Marked: Cristalline - Unis France 14''' – crown and eagle.

Shade and shade holder:
Ball shade by St. Louis in melon shape, colourless glass, frosted and embossed, cameo-etched ornamentation. Without slip fitter.
Height 168 mm, Ø bottom opening 56 and bulge 174 mm.
85 mm globe shade holder for 14’’’/15’’’ burners, original by Wild & Wessel, soldered to the burner.

Lamp dimensions:
Height up to collar 39.6 cm, total height with chimney 68.1 cm.
Total weight 2530 g.