A large Hollywood Regency lamp with stylised 'Asiatic' decoration, standing 32 inches tall to the top of the shade.

In keeping with the 1940-50s decorative style which saw large lamps move into the domestic market, this lamp is influenced by the scale and themes of Hollywood blockbuster set design.

These make fabulous lamps for cocktail lounges or theatres of public entertainment such as bars, restaurants or cafes. They are pure expressions of maximalism and mid 20th century Hollywood glamour. Today they evoke a great sense of nostalgia.

This lamp displays the naive theatricality of the period, referencing Asian motifs without any accuracy for known patterns, languages or symbols. It conveys an impression of Asian art, rather than being a true representation.

As such, it comes from a culturally interesting moment - that period of the mid century in which immense US economic and political power meant that little interest was taken in representing non-white, non-European cultures accurately, especially in film and television. The 1956 Walter Lang film production of 'The King and I' comes to mind.

DIMENSIONS

Height with shade 82 cm

Height w’out shade 55 cm

Diameter 18 cm

CONDITION

There are some losses to the gold leaf and some pitting to the ceramic under the gold leaf in a few places. This is hard to detect with the naked eye. One small shallow flake to foot. See final images. Shade not included.