BY W.A.S. BENSON & CO., CIRCA 1900

Details

A BRASS AND COPPER HANGING OIL LAMP
BY W.A.S. BENSON & CO., CIRCA 1900
Model no. 92, the corona suspending five chains and a reflective petal shade above an oil lamp with associated etched frosted glass shade, the winder signed BENSON & CO NEW BOND ST. LONDON, lacking chimney and further hanging glass smoke shade
36 ¼ in. (92 cm.) high; 23 ½ in. (60 cm.) diameter

Literature

P. Rose, ‘W. A. S. Benson: a Pioneer Designer of Light Fittings’, The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society 1850 - the Present, 1985, vol. 9, p. 52, pl. 9.
I. Hamerton ed., W.A.S. Benson: Arts and Crafts Luminary and Pioneer of Modern Design, Woodbridge, 2005, pp. 130-131, pls. 108 & 109.
B. Coleman, The Best of British Arts & Crafts, Atglen, PA, 2004, p. 98.

Special notice

Specified lots (sold and unsold) marked with a filled square ( ¦ ) not collected from Christie’s, 8 King Street, London SW1Y 6QT by 5.00pm on the day of the sale will, at our option, be removed to Crozier Park Royal (details below). Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite.If the lot is transferred to Crozier Park Royal, it will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day following the sale.Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only.Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com.If the lot remains at Christie’s, 8 King Street, it will be available for collection on any working day (not weekends) from 9.00am to 5.00pm

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Adrian Hume-Sayer Director, Specialist

Lot Essay

An oil lamp of this model hung in Benson's own dining room rather than gas or electric light, which he considered unflattering to the complexion. Peter Rose observed that, as technological advances yielded increasingly intense light sources, Benson recognized the need to develop two forms of lamps, noted by Benson himself in Notes on Electric Wiring and Fittings (1897) as "one for the general lighting of the room and the other sort to throw a strong light upon particular surfaces or objects without exposing the glare of the actual flame to view" (Hamerton, loc. cit., p. 108). This model is illustrated in the W.A.S. Benson & Co. Catalogue 1899/1900, no. 92.

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