Page 18 - Howe Lighting Catalogue

TÔLE PEINTE SINUMBRA LAMPS
An exceptionally fine pair of Tôle Peinte sinumbra lamps, not yet converted. Engraved: ‘CARCEL Inventeur, Rue de l’Arbre-sec No.18, A PARIS’. Of classical form, a stylobate with cast bronze lambs tongue and honeysuckle motifs supports a plinth on which sits a column, topped by a tazza shaped burner retaining all original fittings, French, c.1805
Bertrand Guillaume Carcel (1750-1812) was the inventor of the ‘lycnomena’ or mechanical lamps (oil, cylinder and piston) that bear his name. Developed in 1800, this oil lamp had a suction- driven pump activated by a clockwork motor, thus ensuring constant flow of oil to the wick. The tank, no longer lateral, sat underneath the burner and had a cylindrical wick burner with a movable glass shaft that regulated the flame. The Carcel lamp, considered to be expensive and fragile, was reserved for wealthy clientele. Carcel’s widow and son-in-law continued to run the workshop and shop at 8 rue de l’Arbre-Sec in Paris until 1821. In remarkable original condition. French, c.1950
Height: 580mm / 23” Base Width: 130mm / 5”
£6,000
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