L.044
Here is the proverbial Goliath of my collection! A huge, imposing column lamp that was probably made for churches, as it has religious motifs at the bottom of the base. At 108 cm, the lamp is the fourth tallest (after the 3 floor lamps) in my collection. Fitted with a large, very elaborately hand-cut crystal font of 19 cm in diameter, the lamp underlines its exalted position in sacred rooms. Made before 1900, origin unknown.
I did not know at the time that I would run into a serious problem with the lamp: the combination base + column of the lamp consists of several brass parts tied together with a very long threaded rod. Something had made it loose over time, so the column was loose and crooked. I had to assemble the column apart. Since the screws on the threaded rod were completely rusted, my cousin and I had to saw off the bottom screw and use punches to loosen the remaining part of the rod. And that's when it happened: the magnificent, large crystal font at the other end of the lamp broke in two! The font must have had a crack (which I only recognised later on the eBay photo), and it then cracked continuously under the vibration of the blows. Thank goodness the font only broke into two parts, which I later glued together carefully with UHU. You can only see the crack if you look at the font from above. A test with kerosene/paraffin over several days confirmed that the font is leak-proof.
The original burner was a Duplex burner of German origin with a damaged wick drive. Therefore, many years later, I replaced it with a 20’’’ flame disc burner by Hugo Schneider. This burner is fitted with an extinguisher which seems to be unknown in literature. The stamped patent number is from a patent that has nothing to do with the extinguisher. See also: Kerosene/Paraffin Burners - Raiser and Estinguisher - The Extinguisher.
All the brass parts of the lamp were originally silver-plated. The silver layer was almost completely tarnished, so that practically nothing remained of it when it was cleaned. But even in brass colour, the lamp makes a very lasting impression: an imposing, majestic floor lamp that is probably rarely found.
Lastly, I was able to donate a large, rare Vianne tulip shade to this large lamp, which I found on eBay USA.
Lamp Data
Added by me:
Burner, glass chimney, tulip shade and globe holder.
Cleaning and repairs:
Disassembled the lamp body and added a new threaded rod. The broken font was glued together with UHU. Constructed the missing extinguisher tube of the burner from sheet brass.
Lamp body:
Triangular foot of cast brass, decorated with religious motifs, on three paw feet.
High, conical brass column, vertically ribbed. Imposing, baroque figure (5 parts in total). Foot side length 21 cm.
Font of clear, heavy crystal glass, diamond and olive cut, Ø 188 mm. Removable only with the threaded rod. Broken into two parts when trying to disassemble the column! Carefully glued together. The font is tight.
Burner:
20’’’ Hugo burner of Hugo Schneider, Leipzig, with gallery lifter and extinguisher (extinguisher tube homemade).
Wick knob marked: Logo of Hugo Schneider. Black glass insert.
Gallery marked: D.R.P.No. 81542.
Original flame disc with large hat on double sieve tube.
Flat wick 95 mm.
Glass chimney:
20’’’ Matador chimney. Height 282 mm, Ø fitter 65 mm.
Marked: VR in a star - Fabrication Française - Marque Déposée - Matador 20'''.
Shade and shade holder:
Tulip shade by Vianne, frosted glass, cranberry on top, colourless on bottom, cameo-etched ornamental motifs, fluted top rim.
Height 238 mm, Ø fitter 99 and top rim 198 mm.
100 mm globe holder for 20’’’ burners.
Lamp dimensions:
Height up to collar 76.5 cm, total height with chimney 107.8 cm.
Total weight 5500 g.
