Lamps Made of Porcelain
In a collection of French lamps, lamps made of porcelain or ceramics should not be missing. In this sub-chapter I describe a total of 23 French lamps whose vases or lamp bodies are either made of porcelain, ceramics or glass.
It is interesting to note that there are very few porcelain lamps from the very famous French porcelain manufactories such as Sèvres or Limoges. In the 10 years of collecting I have only very rarely seen such lamps; and they were almost without exception offered on eBay USA, albeit at very high prices. I assume that lamps with very high quality vases from such renowned manufactories are almost exclusively waiting for customers in auction houses and high quality antique shops. Therefore, my statement above has to be put into perspective; since I am only on eBay portals.
Are there now only a few, high-priced porcelain lamps from France? Not at all! There are a large, even very large number of porcelain lamps, but they come from manufactories that remain unknown and are offered under the collective term "Parisian porcelain". These porcelain wares do not bear a bottom mark. They can hardly be assigned to a manufactory. It is relatively safe to assign porcelains to Valentine Saint-Gaudens and Bayeux even without a signature, since their style (choice of motifs, painting) was school-forming. But these porcelain lamps were exclusively Moderator lamps, which I have already presented in the sub-chapter Converted Moderator Lamps.
The vast majority of porcelain lamps that appear on eBay France are the so-called "Valentine" lamps. The name "Valentine" has nothing to do with the porcelain manufacturer Valentine Saint-Gaudens. This name is said to come from a song in a musical film with Maurice Chevalier. Be that as it may, these are small, simple lamps in which the porcelain body is both the font and the base. These lamps were probably the everyday working lamps of the French; and I suspect they were used without any shade.
French porcelain lamps in my collection
From left: L.289 – L.144 – L.085 – L.270 / L.240 – L.302 – L.227 – L.244
Both L.289 and L.144 are hand-painted Valentine lamps, where - in keeping with my habit - I have added a matching tulip shade to each of them.
L.085 belongs to a better class, because it has its own foot and a decorated surface. It probably comes from the same manufacturer as the smaller lamp left to it, because both have the same glaze and are decorated with small fields with painted flowers.
L.270 imitates the old Chinese porcelains both with the light green glaze colour ("celadon glaze") and with its shape. There are also two hunters in presumably Chinese costumes depicted on it, oddly enough hunting with rifles. The supplied ball shade harmonises perfectly with the lamp.
The three last lamps in the left photo have one common feature: the light blue or light green coloured glaze has been used to create a surface decoration in that the thicker layer of glaze creates a darker tone in the recesses of the porcelain surface.
L.240 and L.302 are small, cute porcelain lamps with bases made of cast brass. Both lamps come from the same manufacturer. Only the one vase, however, is signed with the bottom mark of a Bavarian porcelain manufactory. Both lamps have small, painted tulip shades with an interesting shape.
The large, elegant porcelain lamp L.227 stands out in this series with its fine painting and high quality fittings. It is the only lamp in my collection with a burner by Maris & Besnard in Paris. A St. Louis tulip shade pays homage to the lamp (noblesse oblige!).
The last lamp in the photo, the L.244, again belongs to the small lamps made of Parisian porcelain. It is painted with a rococo scene. The brass base is added by me. The glass chimney is a rare Phénomène chimney and the tulip shade is made of opaline glass.
Lamps Made of Ceramics or Glass
In contrast to the porcelain lamps, the lamps made of ceramics are partly world-famous. The reason for this is the fact that there were (and even some still exist) some famous ceramic manufactories (faienceries) in France, which became very famous with their innovative design and masterly painting. These undoubtedly include Longwy and Gien, which still exist today. But other ceramic producers, such as Vieillard in Bordeaux, Keller & Guérin in Lunéville, also had very important manufactories and produced vases for kerosene/paraffin lamps. Most of these products are signed or bear a bottom mark, which makes it very easy to identify the manufactory.
French lamps with ceramic vases
From left: L.015 – L.056 – L.127 (Longwy) – L.145 (Longwy) / L.219 - L.220 – L.337 (all three by Gien) – L.310 (presumably Sarreguemines)
L.015 is in itself a simple ceramic lamp with painted swallows and flowers. The painted motifs were probably popular; there are also other lamps in different shapes but with the same painted motifs from the same manufacture. This lamp is one of the very few French lamps in my collection where I have used a Vesta shade (here a Paris shade).
The L.056, made for hanging lamps, surprises with a finely painted vase made of stoneware. The tulip shade is from St. Louis. Lamp L.127 is also intended for use in a hanging lamp. The vase with the arabesque motifs painted in strong colours is by Longwy. The shade is an American gas lamp tulip.
The cylindrical vase by Longwy at L.145 is similarly colourfully painted. This vase is subsequently drilled, so it was originally a flower vase. The tulip shade is also colourfully painted and is likely to give off little light.
The lamps L.219 and L.220 as a pair have vases by Gien. The floral motifs are printed in outline and were then hand-coloured. The twin tulips are by St. Louis. The imposing L.337 is also based on a vase by Gien, the painting of which is very reminiscent of Longwy products. Here, too, a tulip shade from St. Louis is enthroned.
L.310 is then again a rare and unusual lamp, in which the rectangular painted vase is placed in a formerly gilded brass or bronze mount. The ceramic vase is stamped completely illegibly at the bottom. The seller had speculated that the stamp might be from Sarreguemines (Saargemünd).
Further lamps with ceramic or glass vases
From left: L.265 (Keller & Guérin) – L.346 – L.305 (Fourmaintraux Frères) / L.149 – L.187 – L.188 – L.322
The lamp L.265 has beautifully decorated cast zinc contours. The spherical vase is by Keller & Guérin in Lunéville. The extremely finely etched ball shade from Great Britain is designed for gas lamps. With a 15’’’ Saturn burner by R. Ditmar and a German glass chimney, the lamp is internationally equipped.
The smaller lamp L.346 has hints of Empire style with its attractive, contrasting combination of cobalt blue vase and brass mounts. The finely etched ball shade is a product of St. Louis.
The mighty (96 cm high), imposing ceramic lamp L.305 is a rarity. It is a product of the northern French ceramic manufacturer Fourmaintraux Frères in Desvres and is completely painted with blue Delft motifs. The lamp was intended for export as it is only signed "France" and I received it with an American #3 collar. Now there is a 20’’’ Odin burner by Carl Holy with the matching shoulder chimney on it. The ball shade printed with blue decoration came from the USA. This lamp is certainly one of the highlights of the collection.
The lamp L.149 captivates alone with its vase of pasty painted white flowers on a cobalt blue background. The ball shade made of white milk glass harmonises perfectly with the painting of the vase.
The next three lamps are mainly made of glass. Both L.187 and L.188 have ingeniously shaped and made glass vases consisting of two layers of glass laid on top of each other with air chambers in between. This technique probably required masterful skill on the part of glassmakers. The tulip shade of the former lamp of the two is also made with the same technique.
L.322 is an exceptional lamp that has a glass font and a tulip shade, both from the glass manufacturer Baccarat. Both glass parts are decorated with refined etched patterns. This lamp is one of the few lamps in the collection that has been allowed to retain its patina gained over long periods of time.