Lamps Predominantly Made of Cast Zinc
As often mentioned, cast zinc was the preferred lamp material of the German lamp industry from Historicism to Art Nouveau. In the 4-5 decades from about 1865/1870 to 1910/1915, i.e. in the most productive times of lamp production in Germany, lamps made of cast zinc (either completely or partially) played a pioneering role both in terms of production figures and in terms of the development of shapes and decorations.
Some German cast zinc lamps in my collection
From left: L.001 – L.345 – L.272 – L.086 / L.007 – L.207 – L.258 (all three by K&T) – L.347
The simple lamp L.001 made of a zinc cast base and cut crystal font is my very first lamp, which I bought in the 1990's in Frankfurt. At that time, collecting lamps was not my focus at all. The base with the simple Art Nouveau decor had attracted me.
The tall zinc cast lamp L.345 in the shape of a conical goblet is probably somewhat famous, because porcelain copies of this lamp also exist, made by the famous Berlin porcelain manufactory KPM. My zinc cast example has a 14''' Kosmos burner by Stobwasser.
The highly finely decorated cast zinc lamp L.272 was clearly produced in 1888, as it bears the portraits of two German emperors, Wilhelm I and his son Friedrich III. In 1888 the first emperor of the newly founded German Empire died and his son succeeded him on the throne. My lamp was probably created during this period. The year 1888 is also called the "Three Emperors' Year", because the second Emperor Friedrich III, crowned in 1888, was unfortunately not granted a long reign; he died the same year due to cancer, and his son came to the throne as Wilhelm II. There are actually lamps depicting all three emperors.
Lamp L.086 with the beautiful putti medallions on the vase poses a few puzzles, because the font is clearly marked as an "Intensiv-Clara-Lampe" (lamps by Albert Riegermann from Wuppertal with central draft), but is not itself a central draft lamp. Presumably, this lamp was converted at some point into a normal lamp without a central draft. The stylistically well-matching glass tulip is from Great Britain.
Another very renowned German lamp manufacturer was Kästner & Töbelmann in Erfurt. The lamps from K&T are not marked in any way, but by means of the existing catalogues one can still identify them. A very beautiful early K&T lamp in my eyes is L.207 made of beautifully modelled cast zinc. This unique figural lamp depicts the struggle for survival between an eagle and a snake and is illustrated in an early K&T catalogue from 1884. The beautiful glass tulip is from Great Britain.
Two other K&T lamps from the Art Nouveau period can be identified by their base design. L.007 has a rare base/column combination of cast zinc and pressed glass and a painted Vesta shade. L.258 has a beautifully painted glass font and also a hand-painted Vesta shade. The base/column combination here consists of alabaster and zinc cast parts.
The simpler L.347 in elongated urn shape is built quite similarly to the lamp L.345; however, here the base is not made of serpentine but of black lacquered plaster. Round handles are my own design. The inverse-coloured tulip shade is from Great Britain.
More cast zinc lamps in the collection
From left: L.259 – L.287 – L.351 / L.256 – L.183 – L.362 (Koeppen & Wenke) – L.014
L.259 with its beautifully shaped and cut crystal font is fitted with a rare Hugo Schneider burner with raiser and extinguisher.
The large, stately-looking L.287 has an imposing base of green-patinated zinc casting and a large glass vase of black, accurately faceted cut glass in the shape of a conical goblet. An all-zinc cast version of this lamp is illustrated in a British catalogue from 1875. The elaborate, costly construction and certain design elements point to Wild & Wessel as the producer. In keeping with this, I have used a 20 lines Agni burner. The elegant ball shade with beehive shape and Art Nouveau decoration is three decades younger than the lamp, but suits the upscale design of the lamp very well.
The simpler L.351, on the other hand, only has the painted Vesta shade as a decorative element.
I found the squat lamp L.256, designed in eclectic historicism, in the medieval Italian town of Viterbo. All components are original to the lamp. I have merely re-bronzed it. The Italian-marked glass chimney is interesting. The ball shade is probably also of German production.
L.183 flaunts a glass font by the Bohemian manufacturer Pallme-König. The rest of the lamp is assembled from alabaster and zinc cast elements, similar to the K&T lamp L.258. The painted Vesta shade is from the same period.
The lamp L.362 by Koeppen & Wenke has a rare and interesting design. The lamp body consists of several zinc castings, which are assembled in such a way that they partially enclose the glass vase made of cranberry coloured glass. The vase is suitably bulbous in shape. The font for kerosene/paraffin is made of the same glass. The burner is a W&W Kosmos burner. The tulip shade is from the French glass manufacturer Vianne.
The pure zinc cast lamp L.014 impresses with the very realistically reproduced cyclamen motifs that take up the entire surface. I have fitted the lamp with a painted Vesta shade.