This signature wrought iron desk lamp is attributed to Edgar Brandt and hand-crafted to the utmost high quality but remains apparently unsigned. From the intricate and highly delicate wrought iron fronds to the bespoke bearings for the swivel mechanism on the shade gallery this piece has a remarkable design throughout. The base is complemented with an equally beautiful pate-de-verre lampshade in strong mottled tones of green & red. Signed “Daum, Nancy” with the Croix de Lorraine. France c1920

Ht. 49cm/19in, Ht.(shade)14/5.5, W.(shade)13/5, W.(base)15/6, Dpth.(base)29/11.5

Edgar Brandt 1880-1960

• Trained in the Ecole Professionnelle de Vierzon.
• Operated a large atelier and showroom at 101, Boulevard Murat in Paris and ran a successful gallery that featured his own work as well as that of his contemporaries.
• He opened a gallery in New York and another one at the Boulevard Malesherbes in Paris .
•  Edgar Brandt is still regarded as the premier artisan “iron worker” of the Art Deco period.

Daum Frères, Nancy 1900,

• The famous Daum glass factory dates back to 1878 when Jean Daum, a lawyer with no glass-making experience, took the Sainte-Catherine glass-works in Nancy as payment for an outstanding debt.
• His two sons soon became partners in the business, August in 1879 and Antonin in 1887.
• The 1889 World Exposition and the objects exhibited by Art Nouveau master Emile Gallé greatly inspired the Daum brothers and the “Daum Frères” glass factory was opened later that year.
• In 1901 Gallé founded the École de Nancy, the brothers soon became members and the glass-work produced by the firm helped establish Art Nouveau as a new era in decorative arts.
• Lighting was in its infancy as an art form and Daum collaborated with designers of metalwork such as Edgar Brandt and Louis Majorelle to produce creations of appropriate verve and originality.
• Daum along with Gallé are considered the premier French glass designers of the era.