Large Mid 19th Century Decalcomania Table Lamp

Decalcomania is the process of transferring designs from prepared paper on to glass or porcelain. The decoration is on the inside of the vase, essentially making it a reverse glass painting.

The Chinoiserie design here features engravings of exquisite quality, the detail in places so pin sharp and fine it’s difficult to photograph. The design is bright, bold, charming and playful as well as being a beautifully executed and highly accomplished work of art. The juxtaposition of people and birds, arranged with no regard to scale, gives it an almost surreal, Alice in Wonderland feel. This is a considerably better example than any other we have seen, a real cut above.

Condition overall is superb, with only scattered small losses of paint. These are not obvious and don’t detract. The bands of gold decoration (around the top and bottom of the belly of the vase) have degraded, probably a result of oxidisation of the bronze pigments in the gold paint. There is wear to the gold leaf at the base and top of the lamp. There is a small circular hole approx 6mm (underneath the caterpillar, only visible when turning upside down) where the lamp was wired at one point. Please contact for extra images.

The lamp has four bulb holders and has been rewired to modern UK standards with braided cotton cable and an inline switch. We have kept the beautiful early 20th century chain pull bulb holder for the main bulb. This operates independently from the inline switch, so you can use with four bulbs or three for more ambient lighting.

The shade, 50cm x 34cm (20 inches x 13.5 inches) was custom made for this lamp, from a beautiful hand woven silk ikat, carefully chosen to best compliment the bold sensibilities of the base.
UK Plug (up to 250V).The wiring of this item may be original and might need replacement, if not specified otherwise.