L.362
One of the most unusual lamps in my collection! A German lamp by Koeppen & Wenke in Berlin, with an elaborately constructed lamp body consisting of several zinc castings and a glass vase in an exciting cranberry colour, precisely adapted in shape. Certainly made for wealthy customers with very discerning tastes. Production probably around 1880-1890.
The eBay photo did not show much more than a very dirty lamp. The seller had photographed the lamp so unfavourably that one thought one was looking at a completely tarnished, dirty lamp made of metal. Only when you took a closer look did you get a glimpse of the unusual vase shape. And it inspired me to buy this supposedly unimportant lamp. When I had disassembled it and cleaned it thoroughly, the full beauty of the lamp came to light. In particular, the top of the font, which looked like tarnished black brass in the photo, turned out to be a glass font with the beautiful cranberry colour!
The special, lateral holders of the glass vase are screwed onto a cast zinc base, which is decorated in great detail with baroque-looking ornaments. There are actually 6 identical holder segments, every two of them are soldered together. They frame the 6 protrusions of the glass vase. One segment had 3 breaks which I repaired with brass plates glued to the back. The vase and the zinc cast connector between the column and the vase each have brass rings as the upper finish.
The burner is from Wild & Wessel, because the wick knob has the typical decorative cord from W&W on the back. The logo shows an eagle and the abbreviation K&W (= Koeppen & Wenke in Berlin).
A tulip shade from the French glass manufacturer Vianne suited the colourful design of the lamp well. Finally, I primed the cast zinc parts with shoe polish as usual and carefully bronzed them with brass wax.
This lamp has thus risen like a phoenix from the ashes! It is an exceptional showpiece of the Wilhelminian era and certainly a highlight in my collection.
Lamp Data
Added by me:
Glass chimney, tulip shade and globe holder.
Cleaning and repairs:
Broken zinc cast parts glued together with backing brass plates. Lamp cleaned, primed with shoe polish and bronzed with brass wax (Laiton).
Lamp body:
Lamp body of base, column and vase holders of ornamental openwork zinc casting. Base on 4 feet, Ø 198 mm. 3 individual vase holders screwed to the threaded rod. One vase holder broken in 3 places.
Vase of clear glass, cranberry-coloured, with 6 protrusions, Ø 183 mm (together with zinc parts).
Drop-in font of clear glass, cranberry-coloured, profiled, Ø 126 mm.
Burner:
14’’’ Kosmos burner of Wild & Wessel, Berlin, for Koeppen & Wenke, Berlin.
Wick knob marked: K&W with eagle. Wick knob back: Ornamental W&W cord.
Flat wick 67 mm.
Glass chimney:
14’’’ Kosmos chimney. Height 266 mm, Ø fitter 53 mm.
Marked: C F & S in oval frame.
Shade and shade holder:
French tulip shade by Vianne (unsigned), frosted glass, purple-red on top, colourless on bottom, flat transparent motifs, fluted top rim, lipped fitter.
Height 175 mm, Ø fitter 98 and top rim 210 mm.
100 mm globe holder for 14’’’/15’’’ burners.
Lamp dimensions:
Height up to collar 32.3 cm, total height with chimney 62.9 cm.
Total weight 4020 g.
