A brass and opal glass ceiling light by Henry van de Velde
Incised 4 to the top of the glass. The outside of the bulb screw cover. Minor chips to the glass. Soldered repairs to the bolts of the bayonette clasp, the porcelain insulation cracked. H of lighting element 15.5, D 22.5 cm.
Designed in 1903, produced by Theodor Friedrich Otto Seyffahrt in Altenburg in 1904 for the graphics cabinet of the Galerie Arnold in Dresden.
This ceiling light is described as follows in Föhl/Neumann: “Bell shaped ceiling canopy suspended from an electric cable. The form of the canopy is mirrored in that of the lampshade, which is formed from a quatrefoil metal sheet and four clamps holding a flat or semi-spherical glass dish, those made in 1903 of clear glass, the later productions generally of opal glass. The various designs vary in size, the depth of the clamps, and the forms of the glass bowls.” (p. 579)
This model hung in the Galerie Arnold and in the hallway of the Villa Esche, van de Velde's salon on Lassenstrasse 29 in Weimar, as well as in the study of Haus Hohe Pappeln, and in the guest rooms of Gut Lauterbach and the Villa Hohenhof in Hagen. The lamps were also produced by Otto Bergner in Bad Berka.
In contrast to his earlier lamps, this is one of van de Velde's first purely functional designs, but one which still met his high aesthetic standards. Every element of the lamp is reduced to increase the amount of light emitted and simplify the production process, all the while still maintaining van de Velde's artistic signature.
Provenance
Formerly kept in the Grafikkabinett of Galerie Arnold, Dresden.
Literature
In: Pecher, Henry van de Velde. Das Gesamtwerk, vol. 1: Gestaltung, Munich 1981, no. 3143.
In: Föhl/Neumann (ed.), Henry van de Velde. Raumkunst und Kunsthandwerk, vol. I: Metallkunst, Weimar-Leipzig 2009, no. 1.4.2.38.
Further examples in the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the Neues Sammlung Munich, in the Stadtmuseum Munich, former Gunzenhauser collection, four others in private ownership, one of which is the present work.