The fun of creating an original lamp from found objects is undeniable, and so easy with the DIY lamp conversion kits that I’ve written about before. And inspiration is everywhere!
Here, for example, is an up-market conversion that’s respectful of the original object, but oh so practical — an elegant 1920s Art Deco table lamp made from a vase.
The lamp decorated with the “Byzantine” pattern, a mottled powder blue ground with a principal subject of a long tailed Mandarin pheasant. The pheasant perched on gilded flowering branches of burnt orange, yellow and green enamels. The lamp with very fine gilding producing a strong decorative statement. The table lamp on a turned maple wood stand, water gilded. [Architectural Classics]
It’s always fun to know something of the story behind the objet, too:
The original vase, circa 1925, is by Thomas Forester, an English potter who launched his business in 1877 to produce affordable and colourful Majolica ware. He soon expanded into the Phoenix Works, by which name the hugely popular ceramics are widely known, and later went into partnership with his sons. Thomas Forester & Sons continued to produce their lively ceramics while broadening their line through the 1920s and 30s to include oriental-inspired Art Deco china, and continued in business until 1959.