I have purchased some odd things in my life, but this lamp ranks up there with the top few of the weirdest. It's clearly old, probably dating to 1910's-1920's or so and most likely made in Vienna, Austria. I've never seen anything quite like it and I sincerely doubt I'll ever see another one. I just knew that at the reasonable eBay starting bid, I had a little wiggle room to play. I'm lucky that I was only bid up a few bucks by a last second would-be sniper.
I am uncertain what the original intended purpose of this lamp was. It was clearly intended to house a bare bulb sans shade. It is small, not much larger than the light bulb that will go in it. At first I thought that it was an electrified gas cigar lighter, the bulb socket a retrofit to replace the gas jet. But the socket is clearly from the same period as the rest of the lamp and the back/bottom is both original and has never been removed (the screws are under the felt), and there are no signs of scorch marks or ash buildup, so this was unlikely. Then I thought that this was meant for an old amusement ride, perhaps a carousel or even a Wild West Show midway entertainment, but that is unlikely because firstly it is made of bronze and something like a carnival ride lamp would have been made of less expensive stuff, and secondly it is in exceptional condition which shows that this was not handled much. Plus the back/bottom has that old felt on it, indicating that it was meant to be placed on a tabletop or shelf, and there is nothing on the back with which to affix it to something else save a single hole with clean margins. Wall sconces usually don't have felt on the back. Then I thought perhaps it was made for the front desk of a boutique hotel, a "push button for service" bell ringer with a lamp to show that the buzzer sounding was not a figment of the imagination of the clerk. Though many different styles of art bronze desk buzzer buttons were made in Austria a century or so ago, and this could well have been the intended market for this piece, there are no records extant that I have found describing a thing like this. There is also not the kind of wear to the applied patina that I would expect to find on something that would have seen a fair bit of handling. That leads me to this being a high end novelty lamp, perhaps a gift for "the man who has everything." This lamp was sent to me from Studio City, just outside of Los Angeles, but it is far nicer than a movie prop would be. Perhaps it was owned by an actor or producer of Westerns, or maybe a Laurel Canyon musician. Perhaps this was the inspiration for Uncle Fester. I'm reaching, here.
I had the thought that this may have appealed to a man like Buffalo Bill Cody. His taste in furnishings was somewhat suspect, if his gift to the Mayor of Paris of a nine foot tall floor lamp made of steer horns and hooves with a lurid scarlet red fringed velvet shade and topped with a taxidermied bison head is anything to go by. The Mayor turned down that gift and it is unknown which fine French parlor that lamp eventually graced. I haven't looked into the whereabouts of that atrocity. As far as I'm concerned, it can remain lost. The description is enough to make me queasy. But to my thinking, anyone who thought that such a thing was appropriate as a gift to anyone much less the Mayor of Paris would have seen this lamp as positively tame and probably quite attractive.
Is this fine art or a grotesque? Is it a sculptural work or a lighting fixture? Perhaps all of the above and possibly more. What was the original intention behind this piece? When placed on a table, the similarities between this lamp and traditional depictions of the head of John the Baptist (at the "on a platter" phase of his existence) are noted. Is that incidental or intentional? The debates are ongoing. If you, dear reader, have some knowledge of this lamp, please share!
What we have here is the face of a Native American Indian man presented as a high relief plaque. He is youthful, his face unlined, jaw square and firm. His expression is not one of distress. He is wearing a feather headdress and bone choker necklace. His mouth is open wide, as if he were shouting or singing, and shows a porcelain light bulb socket inside. In the center of the choker, right over his Adam's apple, sticks out a cylindrical bronze button which operates the lamp. A cut off red-cloth-wrapped wire exits from the feathers covering the neck below the button. Closing the back is a soldered on piece of tin that is covered with stiff Manila paper-backed green felt. The whole was beautifully sculpted with a high level of detail and was cast and finished very nicely. The lamp has very little wear and requires only a good cleaning (now done) and new wiring (parts are on order) to function properly.
I'm not sure how I'll display this bronze lamp. My original thought was that it was meant to be hung on the wall, but looking at it I realized it was more likely made to sit on a table or shelf. That said, I think I'll hang it up after I clean and rewire it. I'll use red cloth lamp wire and a Bakelite plug to keep it as close to original as possible, but will be replacing the momentary switch with an off/on push button. This will look awesome with an Edison style filament bulb or a vintage Ball-O-Fire bulb (sadly these are no longer available).
The lamp has arrived. I've restored the socket but I'm now awaiting the replacement parts to return it to functionality. The original wiring is shot as is the old phenolic momentary switch (it's a truly momentary switch, contact is broken when the button is released). The switch screws into a threaded lug in the bronze which makes replacing it a bit tricky. I will take new photos once I have it working. These I saved from the auction listing. I am hoping someone recognizes it.
Enjoy!
