French Sculptural Lamps Made of Cast Zinc
Of all cast zinc sculptural lamps, the French ones are my favourite. The main reason for this is the extremely skilful artistic and creative design of the sculptures, to which some of famous French sculptors made a decisive contribution. In addition, the sometimes very playful, sometimes flirtatious, sometimes seductive female figure of French lamps plays an important role. This is why the French figural lamps are numerically the largest group in my collection.
The special zinc alloy used to make French figural lamps is called "régule" in France. I do not know if this alloy differs from the spelter (= cast zinc) composition of other countries. Since there was still no international standardization of such casting alloys at that time, one can assume that each manufacturer used a different alloy with different chemical composition at his own discretion. Often designed and signed by famous sculptors of the Art Nouveau period, the French figural lamps represent a high point in lamp design. They are usually of considerable size; with a base made of turned wood, which has been painted deceptively similar to a reddish, black-veined marble, and a patina in brown colour, which gives the sculpture the appearance of a real bronze figure, these lamps have the appearance of an expensive bronze sculpture. They carry a font and a glass tulip, which don’t differ from the other, elegant French lamps. The style of the figure design is very often Art Nouveau, sometimes less, sometimes more pronounced. This type of sculptural lamp also existed in Germany and Austria-Hungary, but I think they were equipped with rather “static” looking figures that in no way match the flirty playfulness of the French figures. I personally have the feeling that some of these lamps are almost a hymn to the well-built female body.
The highest quality examples of the French sculptural lamps are patinated in two slightly different bronze tones. The artists of these designs are also well known for their other objects, above all with their real bronze sculptures, which of course are traded at a much higher price level.
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French sculptural lamps, with artist’s signature
From left: L.176 – L.018 – L.081 / L.046 – L.083 – L.290 – L.200
The lamp L.176 from the beginning of the Art Nouveau period was just a torso when I bought it. All parts except the figure of this lamp are additions by me. The figure, made in one color with a brown patina, is by Eugène Capy (1829-1894). I gave the lamp the fantasy name “La Lumière” (= The Light).
The tallest figural lamp in my collection, lamp "L'Eveil" (= The Awakening) L.018 is by Henri Honoré Plé (1853-1922). The two-tone patina colour is very well preserved.
The lamp L.081 with a rare male figure in my collection is entitled “Rencontre à la Fontaine” (= Meeting at the fountain) and is by Ernest Rancoulet (1870-1915). There was probably a corresponding counterpart with a girl at the well. Unfortunately, the figure was painted by someone afterwards and in a rather amateurish way. The tulip shade is by Vianne.
The "Diane" lamp L.046 by François Hippolyte Moreau (1832-1927) is a revealing depiction of Diana, the goddess of the moon and the hunt. I had to completely re-bronze this lamp. I also inserted the bow in her hand myself.
The figure of L.083 cast in a very attractive Art Nouveau bears the title "L’Iris" (= The Iris flower) and is by Claude Bonnefond (not to be confused with Jean-Claude Bonnefond, painter). Its two-tone bronze finish shows slight abrasion in places. The beautiful tulip shade of this lamp is painted very fittingly with iris flowers.
L.290 as my second tallest figural lamp is from the late Art Nouveau period. It is signed by Paul Philippe (1870-1930), but has no title plate on its marble base. Here the female figure is holding a metal bowl in which the glass font is placed. The two-tone patina colour is very well preserved.
L.200 as the last lamp in the photo is signed by a famous sculptor, but differs from the other figural lamps in that it has a tulip as a sculpture and is painted in multiple colours. The Austrian artist Emil Fuchs (1866-1929) designed the lamp for Societé Industrielle d’Articles d‘Éclairage (abbreviated: SI Paris). The tulip shade is from Cristallerie de Pantin.
Further French figural lamps without signature
From left: L.101 – L.102 – L.120 / L.195 – L.216 – L.077 – L.239
Other sculptural lamps in my collection do not have a title and their designer is not known. On the lamp L.101 a female figure is enthroned on a baroque pedestal and holds a quill in her hand. The figure of the lamp L.102, on the other hand, is easy to identify as the moon goddess Selene. I gilded both lamps myself.
For me, L.120 is a fine example of the playful, decadent Belle Epoque period in France. With this lamp, a very lightly clad, young woman in opulent Art Nouveau sits on a marble ball, which in turn is supported by a rather baroque pedestal. The lamp almost breathes the upper class atmosphere with its incomparably refined, sensual taste of that time. The beauty of this lamp is complemented in style by a rare St. Louis tulip shade.
The lamp L.195 from a somewhat earlier period, on the other hand, has a female figure that cannot quite compete with the coquettish, sensual charisma of the previous lamp. But this lamp impresses not only with its figural sculpture, which I had to re-bronze in two colours, but also with its very elaborately constructed base part.
A nice example of the playful figural lamps of the French Art Nouveau is the lamp L.216. I think I can see a signature (unfortunately completely illegible) on the base. This lamp was also re-bronzed by me.
The lamp L.077, which is completely patinated in green, is one of the figurative lamps made in series that are of low quality. Here I had to do some repairs and add additional colour accents to the base part to remedy the monotony of the patina.
The last lamp in the photo, L.239, is relatively modest with a small, sleeping boy in the base part.