Lamps with Cast Zinc Parts
Many lamps with the unknown origin are either entirely made of cast zinc, or at least carry a cast zinc part, mainly as a base. Almost all of these lamps are bronzed by me personally.
Lamps made of cast zinc
From left: L.192 – L.246 – L.039 / L.011 – L.158 – L.331 – L.276
L.192 is a wide-spherical lamp with a zinc cast vase decorated with birds and vines. The shade is a British tulip shade for gas lamps. A 20’’’ Matador burner by E&G is mounted here.
L.246 is a very ostentatious cast zinc lamp with an elaborate decoration. It stands on four feet made of small angels. My feeling is that it could have been made by Wild & Wessel or R. Ditmar, as these companies tended to make this style. A 22’’’ Titan burner from K&T does its job here. The large melon shade is from Germany.
The totally playful L.039 in neo-rococo style came to me completely polished without any colour. The current colouring is my work. The shade is probably a new production from old moulds by S. Reich. The burner is a 20’’’ Augusta burner by Otto Müller.
The lamp L.011 is a fine zinc cast lamp from the historicism era. I have seen the base with the depicted toddler and four lion paw feet on 4 different American (!) column lamps. The Kosmos burner is by Wild & Wessel, but for a dealer.
The lamp L.158 in the form of an elegant antique vase with the portraits of a man and a woman from Hellenic times came with a rare Kosmos burner by Fr. Hoffmann (Ueber Land und Meer), whose wick insertion is only via a slit at the bottom.
L.331 with the obligatory putti depictions came to me completely blackened. The lamp owes its present appearance to me. The Kosmos-Normal burner is by W&W; the finely etched ball shade by Schreiber & Neffen from Vienna.
The lamp L.276 consists of a base and vase that appear in two separate lamps by the British manufacturer Silber & Fleming, but is probably of continental European origin. The handles could be by R. Ditmar. The tulip shade, on the other hand, is clearly of British origin.
Further cast zinc lamps, partly with stone pedestals
From left: L.224 – L.225 – L.342 / L.226 – L.318 – L.068
The first two lamps, L.224 and L.225, came from Italy. The bases are serpentine, but in two different colours. I used a 16’’’ Salvator burner by E&G in each. The ball shades were supplied with the lamps.
L.342 with the three female figures carrying a spherical vase decorated with small flowers is made of copper-plated zinc casting. The copper layer is only sporadically preserved; consequently, I have re-bronzed the lamp.
L.226 is presumably a commission from a wealthy client, for it is quite meticulously and elaborately painted in three colours. Yet the gold and silver colours used are actually gold and silver. I did not change anything on the finish of the lamp. The tulip shade is from Hungary (Vereinigte ungarländische Glasfabriken = United Hungarian Glass Factories), the Kosmos burner from Carl Rakenius in Berlin.
Addendum Feb. 2023: This lamp is by Wild & Wessel! Under the base is stamped 2295=96=97. Three lamps that differ in the upper part of the vase have the same base; hence the somewhat strange numbering by W&W (see the fact sheet).
The large and very heavy lamp L.318 was probably originally an expensive electric lamp, which was made into a kerosene/paraffin lamp, or a kerosene/paraffin lamp that was later converted to electric operation. A collector friend still has this lamp in his collection as a real kerosene/paraffin lamp (see the fact sheet). There was some repair work to be done here. The burner is a 20’’’ Matador burner from E&G.
The dainty L.068 flaunts a glass font stained in red and elaborately engraved by hand. The lamp came from Great Britain. I chose the colour scheme to match. The tulip shade came from France.
Other lamps made of cast zinc or with cast zinc parts
From left: L.126 – L.263 – L.268 / L.190 – L.066 – L.223
L.126 with its playful manner could be from France, but could also be from Germany or Austria. I have bronzed it in two colours, matching the colour of the base to the original colour. The beautiful tulip shade comes from Great Britain.
L.263 has a martial look with a dragon claiming the whole vase. The stylistic make and colouring want to imitate Far Eastern bronze vases; possibly the vase is actually made of cast bronze. The lamp was fitted with a 16’’’ Central Vulkan burner by W&W. I gave the Baccarat ball shade with the twin dragon to this dragon lamp.
A similar case lies with L.268, whose vase is decorated with birds in relief. The lamp is probably from France. It is completely lacquered with a reddish colour, which also gives the lamp a Far Eastern look. The Kosmos burner is from W&W. The beautifully coloured matching tulip shade came from the USA.
The lamp L.190 is quite unusual because the vase is made of hand-carved alabaster. The base is probably gilded. The 12’’’ Kosmos burner and the ball shade have been added by me.
The large lamp L.066 has a painted glass vase similar to the vases of the American GWTW lamps. The cast zinc base, however, is clearly European. It could be a "mariage" lamp, i.e. a lamp assembled from different lamp parts. The burner is a 20’’’ Matador Modern by E&G. A large American ball shade suits the lamp very well.
The last lamp in the photo, L.223, is an unusual lamp, because its design with a long glass vase and the equally long handles made of cast brass are not common. The base with 4 small dolphin heads also looks like a brass casting, but it is made of zinc casting whose bronzing is excellently preserved.
Lamps with cast iron and cast zinc parts
From left: L.021 – L.203 – L.356 / L.212 – L.069
L.021 consists of a simple base made of cast iron, on which sits a large, painted glass font that draws the eye. The decoration on the Vesta shade is sprayed with stencils.
The squat lamp L.203 is a find from southern Italy. Here, the black glass font sits in an intricately decorated cast zinc vase. The tulip shade is an American gas lamp tulip. The burner is 20’’’ Matador burner by E&G.
L.356 with its unusual baroque base carries a glass font by Baccarat. But the lamp came to me from Great Britain. It got a smooth ball shade, probably for Moderator lamps, also from France.
I bought the lamp L.212 from a German collector. The cast-zinc base could actually be German. The glass font, however, I have seen twice before in British lamps. At least the lamp got a large Vesta shade from Silber & Fleming, London. The 20’’’' Concurrenz burner by Carl Holy, on the other hand, is from Germany.
L.069 flaunts a beautifully painted glass vase whose painting is even reminiscent of Zsolnay or Ignác Fischer. The Vesta shade is also painted to a high standard. Here, too, the burner is the 20’’’ Matador burner from E&G.