L.156

A smaller Wild & Wessel lamp (W&W no. 1205) made of bronzed zinc casting. The lamp was offered on eBay Great Britain at a very high price. I was able to bargain the price down quite a bit.

The lamp was made around 1875-1880. The putto craze must have started already, because the vase of the lamp is decorated with 6 putti playing music. The rest of the decoration is also in the historicist style of the time. The font is not made of glass, as is usually the case, but of sheet copper, which was probably used more often in earlier cast zinc lamps by W&W.

The big, happy surprise was the fact that the original bronzing of the lamp was still very well preserved, except for very few, rubbed-off spots. I only had to remove the surface dirt with fine steel wool.  After polishing with steel wool, the bronzing shines excellently. This lamp is a very good example of the excellent appearance of original bronzed zinc cast lamps. It is quite a mystery how a lamp that is almost 150 years old could be preserved in such good condition.

The burner supplied was an unnamed flat burner from Britain. It bears no resemblance to the burners from W&W. I have replaced it with a 10 lines W&W burner.

A recently purchased ball shade from France fits this smaller lamp very well. A marked chimney completed the lamp.

Lamp Data

Added by me:
Burner, glass chimney, ball shade and globe holder.

Cleaning and repairs:
The original bronzing of the lamp was carefully cleaned with fine steel wool. I have corrected the slight dent on the font lid.

Lamp body:
Base and vase of ornamentally embossed cast zinc, base Ø 129 mm.
Vase decorated with 6 sculptured putti playing music. Two firmly attached handles on the vase. Vase Ø 109 mm, with handles 157 mm. Under the base stamped: 1205.
Drop-in font made of sheet copper. Cast zinc font lid, matching the vase. Lid Ø 105 mm.

Burner:
10’’’ Kosmos burner of Wild & Wessel, Berlin.
Wick knob marked: W&W Kosmos. Wick knob back: Ornamental W&W cord.
Wick tube marked: 10''' Kosmos.
Flat wick 52 mm.

Glass chimney:
10’’’ Kosmos chimney. Height 245 mm, Ø fitter 39 mm.
Marked: Cristalline - Unis France 10''' + crown and eagle.

Shade and shade holder:
Ball shade, colourless glass, frosted, deep-etched floral motifs, optically blown. Without slip fitter.
Height 136 mm, Ø bottom opening 62 and bulge 151 mm.
70 mm globe holder for 10’’’ burners.

Lamp dimensions:
Height up to collar 23.2 cm, total height with chimney 52.0 cm.
Total weight 1790 g.