Pair of Italian Brass and Opaline Glass Pendants, Spindle Form, 1950s

The pair of pendants asserts itself through the elongated silhouette and the cage armature: a dozen slender brass rods draw a spindle-shaped profile, closed above by a dome and below by a reflecting cup. Within the cage, a cylindrical opaline glass diffuser hangs as a luminous core independent of the surrounding armature. Each pendant drops from the ceiling on a slender brass stem connected to a small conical canopy.

The structure is entirely in brass. The rods are twelve, slender, fixed at the top to the base of the dome and at the bottom to the rim of the cup with flush rivets left visible. The interior diffuser is a cylinder of white opaline glass. The stem and canopy are also in brass. The whole is resolved without visible screws or hardware beyond the perimeter rivets.

The formal scheme, the cage-and-diffuser combination and the spindle proportion are recurring traits of Italian post-war lighting production, within the tradition of the Lombard and Milanese workshops that around the 1950s reworked the vocabulary of decorative lighting in a more structural key. Names such as Arredoluce, Stilnovo, Arteluce, Oscar Torlasco and Angelo Lelii defined this language, in which brass became a primary compositional element. The piece presented here shares elements of vocabulary with this tradition: the open cage, the opaline diffuser as a luminous core, the vertical scale intended for tall rooms.

In good overall condition. The brass shows uneven oxidation, darker on the upper dome and lighter on the lower cup and rods. The opaline diffusers are intact, with slight traces of use on the upper rim. On request, the brass can be polished to restore a uniform appearance, and the electrical system can be reviewed.

Dimensions: Height 85 cm (33.5 in) x Diameter 17 cm (6.7 in)

Power Source: Hardwired
Voltage: 220-240v
Lampshade: Included