Wholesale Art Nouveau Lily Pad Table Lamp, c. 1930–1940

The Piece A beautifully sculpted Art Nouveau–inspired lily pad table lamp, dating conservatively to the 1930–1940 period, merging organic form with early 20th-century craftsmanship. The lamp rises from a cast metal lily-leaf base whose veins and pebbled texture create the impression of a water surface catching light. A slender, twisted brass arm arches upward like a plant stalk, ending in a frosted glass bloom. The shade—pressed glass with raised berry-like nodes across the body and a deeply ruffled edge—glows with soft, diffused light. Its bell shape mimics an opening flower, a classic motif of the lingering Art Nouveau revival popular from the 1910s through the 1940s. Inside the fitter, the lamp retains its original paper insulating sleeve with a stamped maker’s mark, a small but important detail that anchors its age firmly in the early–mid 20th century, before plastic and post-war standardized hardware replaced these components. Lit or unlit, the lamp feels like a quiet moment beside a pond—a botanical sculpture rendered in metal and glass, carrying the unmistakable romance of pre-modern electric lighting. Design & Construction → Form & Style The design draws directly from late Art Nouveau’s love of natural forms: * a lily pad base spreading outward as if floating on water * a slender, curved stem resembling a plant reaching toward light * a flower-form shade whose ruffled edges create an organic flare This style persisted well into the 1930s, especially in European and American decorative lighting, where floral silhouettes remained deeply fashionable. → Materials * Base: Cast spelter or bronze-washed pot metal * Stem: Twisted brass or brass-plated armature * Shade: Pressed and acid-frosted glass with raised texture and ruffled lip * Socket: Early–mid 20th century metal socket with original paper insulating sleeve and stamped maker’s mark