Thursday, January 19, 2012

Antique Lighting - Bisque Porcelain Antique Lamps

!±8± Antique Lighting - Bisque Porcelain Antique Lamps

Bisque porcelain or biscuit porcelain, takes its name from it's first or initial firing, when the brittle porcelain could be snapped off like a biscuit.

Bisque porcelain is also widely known as "biscuit ware", unglazed ware and more popularly as "parian" ware. All bisque or parian porcelain is unglazed and in Victorian times was admired for its sculptural qualities. The name "Parian" is in fact attributed to Thomas Minton, the famous 19th century English potter, who coined the name Parian after Paros, the Greek island that quarried much of the pure white sculptural marble used in studios. Of course, the originator of porcelain was China, including unglazed white bisque porcelain, known to the Chinese potters as "Fan Ts'u". China was, before the early 18th century, the only producer of porcelain in the world and this is commemorated by the standard name we give to porcelain - "China".

When porcelain receives its first firing, it is porous. It is then glazed and refired. This second firing causes the glaze to fuse with the porous shape and become vitrified, or "glass-like". From this "glazed in the white" state, it is then moved to the decorating department to be painted by skilful porcelain painters, or to be transfer printed.

At the finish of this decorating process, the shape is then refired to fix the coloured enamels. If gilding is to be applied, the shape is fired yet again with each firing at a lower temperature than the last, the heat being gradually reduced. In the production of bisque porcelain, the porcelain is left in the white and unglazed.

Ceramic glazes have an enormous benefit to porcelain manufacturers as glazes hide faults. With bisque, this helpful element is missing and quality is entirely dependent on detailed modeling and production control.

We illustrate a pair of Bisque lamps, described as -

A fine pair of, English, high Victorian, or possibly, American made, slip cast, bisque lamps. Bisque, also known as "biscuit", is unglazed porcelain which has been fired only once.

The lamps of formal neo classic style with a deep cream colour. The upper section of the lamps, moulded as formal acanthus compositions and the central urn shapes moulded with evenly spaced swags supported by tied ribbons. The centres of the urns decorated with large loose bouquets of garden flowers and foliage supported by a suspended tie.

The urn shaped lamps on short circular socles, the rims dragooned and standing on square shaped plinths.

Bisque, with a new creamy colour was revived in 1846 and again at the close of the 19th century. It has a range of colours, from white to cream and was also known as "Parian", a reference to the white marble from the Greek island of Paros, much sought by sculptors. Bisque was much favored throughout the Victorian period, due to its rather sculptured appearance.

These are very stylish pair of late Victorian lamps.

Circa 1890 Overall height (including shades)20 "/50 cm

Although we still retain the name "bisque porcelain", modern production methods now produce a hard, durable, ceramic body, without the brittleness of very earlier bisque which required glazing to stabilize the shape.

In Europe, pure white, bisque porcelain, just like a ballerina, stepped onto centre stage in the 1750's with the production of stunning portrait busts and figure groups in dazzling, white marble look-a-like.

At the Vincennes factory, a beautiful series of children, modelled from sketches by Boucher and modelled by Blondeau were produced with other mid 18th century factories, like Sevres and Mennecy, producing figure subjects of sublime quality.

In 18th century England, the Derby factory produced finely detailed figures in undecorated bisque. With English figures being conventionally decorated in colour, these figures must have looked outstanding.

The English 18th century highpoint came in 1774, with Josiah Wedgwood's discovery of jasper. Jasper is a fine grained, unglazed stoneware, now so well recognised as to be seen as synonymous with the name of Wedgwood.

Jasper was copied by the French at Sevres, in biscuit porcelain and at other French and German factories. By the end of the 18th century, as usual, tastes changed and the unadorned, neo classic styles predominated. Bisque porcelain reached new heights of refinement with elegant Regency styles.

Bisque library busts, Wedgwood unglazed white jasper and elegant French and English bisque models. Bisque, with a new creamy colour was reintroduced by Copeland in Staffordshire in 1846 and was soon taken up by other English and American makers.

And now, for the technical part! The production of a bisque porcelain figure, or lamp base, begins with the eye of the designer, who, with sketch pad and pencil, outlines the design idea. This idea, will naturally, be framed by the contemporary styles of the time.

Bisque porcelain, like all complex ceramic shapes, is cast or slip moulded. Slip is liquid slurry, which is comprised of potters' clay mixed with water to a semi liquid creamy state which is literally poured into preformed plaster of Paris moulds to take shape.

Slip is the raw material behind the beautiful porcelains we see. This liquid porcelain is a mixture of kaolin, feldspar and finely ground flint. Kaolin is naturally occurring, very fine clay with a high percentage of silicate.

Feldspar is a crystalline mineral, also with a high level silicate content and the finely ground flint is a hard quartz. This lists only the primary content of this porcelain mixture, which was refined and developed over hundreds of years.

The chemistry is much more complex with potassium, sodium and calcium contributing to the finished product. Both pottery and porcelain are made by pouring the slip into plaster moulds, the plaster absorbing water from the slip, causing a firm layer to form, the surplus then being poured off.

It is interesting to note that the tradition of slip casting with plaster of Paris, preshaped moulds is not new, the process being introduced in England in about 1745, reputedly by a potter named Ralph Daniels of Cobridge.

When the remaining slip has become cheese hard or sometimes referred to as "leather hard", the plaster moulds are removed and the slip cast shapes assembled to produce the desired design.

Traditionally, this assembly function was performed by a member of the staff called "the repairer". It was his job to remove all seams and smooth out any traces of the mould. This finishing process is much the same as today with slip being used to act as an adhesive. When the assembly is completed, the shapes are thoroughly air dried to allow the pieces to dry.

The now finished shape is sent to the kiln for firing. Some things never change and the basic production of this elegant porcelain it would seem is one of them.

And remember, a good lamp, used to be hard to find!


Antique Lighting - Bisque Porcelain Antique Lamps

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Monday, January 9, 2012

Antique Lamps and Lampshades - Nina Campbell's Shoes & Handbags

!±8± Antique Lamps and Lampshades - Nina Campbell's Shoes & Handbags

According to world-renowned interior designer Nina Campbell, "Lampshades are like the shoes and handbags of the home: the right shoes can make an outfit - but if you have the wrong shoes, you can feel old-fashioned in the smartest suit". She further adds: - "They also need to be beautiful" - how true!

When it comes to polished interior design, getting an interior looking just right can be tricky, (which is why God made talented interior designers in the first place)!

Getting it wrong can be expensive, time consuming and disheartening to say the least, so it pays to employ an experienced and skilled "eye", or, if gifted with this most valuable asset yourself, its time to open your mind to the wealth of looks and effects available in the world of quality lampshades!

Sumptuous silks, linens, leathers, wallpapers and exotic passementerie, rich colours and textures, treatments such as pleating, gathering, crosshatching and piping, unexpected touches such as detailed linings and unusual finials, all designed to create unstoppable looks, bringing your lamps to "the peak of chic"!

Yes,there's always the fall back "little black dress" lampshade equivalent in the form of the ivory silk, knife or box pleated cone - undoubtedly a classic, but if you want something special, something to bring out the absolute best in your antique lamp base, there is so much more....

Once the fabrics & extras are decided, it's crucial that the shape & size of your intended replacement shades be complimentary & proportional to their other halves. Will they be sitting at just the right height? Too low & you will see less of your base, too high and it starts to look silly.

Nina also makes an interesting point: - "you have to think about how many sorts of shades a room can support without looking like a lampshade shop!"

Knowing when to stop can be a problem, especially when you love the soft light and restful ambiance beautiful lamps can bring to a room. Now that you have your stunning new shades - make sure they're always looking their best. Is your shade sitting securely and level on its base? No lamp base was ever done a favour by a loose fitting, lop sided lampshade.

Keep your shade clean! A natural, fine film of oil is usually present on the palms of hands which will, over time, transfer & sully your silk lampshade. Make sure hands are well washed and dried before handling your shade. (Little hands - keep off!)

Whenever possible, handle your shade by its wires. If you need more stability, lift and carry with a hand each on the top & bottom rims. Do not squeeze in the middle of the shade where there is no obvious wire support.

If taking your shade off its lamp base and placing on another surface, make sure that that surface is clean! A small, clean towel placed on a table will eliminate any chance of dirt or dust.

To clean, do not use the dusting brush attachment on the vacuum cleaner as it will only transfer any dust from window sill's etc straight to your shade. Do not wash or dry clean. Simply flick over every few weeks with a dedicated feather duster. This is all your silk shade requires.

If moving house, don't leave the packing of your shade to others! Unfortunately so many shades are crushed because of careless removal.

Clean, then wrap in clean plastic. Place in a box, double walled if possible, packing soft tissue paper all around. Mark the box "FRAGILE - LAMPSHADE" and note to your removal people that it be especially treated as such.

Of course, most of this is just common sense but helpful reminders will serve to keep your shade beautiful, longer.

So,if you know you've been holding your elegant lamp bases hostage with dreary, outdated shades, it's probably time for a major lamp revamp. No excuses now - get to it!

Please note that this article was written with maximum input from the company's lamp shade maker!

Nina Campbell quotes via The UK Telegraph - 18 March 2010


Antique Lamps and Lampshades - Nina Campbell's Shoes & Handbags

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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Antique Kerosene Lamps - Practical and Beautiful Additions to Your Home

!±8± Antique Kerosene Lamps - Practical and Beautiful Additions to Your Home

Antique kerosene lamps can add a beautiful touch to your home while providing a practical lighting source in the case of emergency. Whether you want a simple, classic design or an elaborate antique model that graced a Victorian home in the past, you can find a kerosene lamp to meet your needs. You can find both antique and reproduction lamps from a variety of sources, making it easy to own a piece of history.

Many people like to keep kerosene lamps or other light sources in the event of power failure or natural storm. If you don't want to use kerosene, many newer lamps also use lamp oil that can be purchased for a few dollars at grocery, craft, and hardware stores. These lamps are easy to use and provide much needed light in case of emergency. While you don't need an elaborate lamp if your purpose is simply practical, you can still choose to use an antique lamp if you want. This can be particularly meaningful if it's a lamp that your family has passed down from generation to generation.

Although you can purchase simple modern lamps and lanterns, you can also seek out different antique lamps that use kerosene or other fuel sources. Many of these lamps are quite elaborate, illustrating the decoration popular at the time that they were made. You may have a historic home that you want to add period pieces to or you may just like the look of these beautiful antiques.

If you're looking for an antique piece, try looking in various antique sources. Antique dealers are one place to start, although you'll often pay more for the item with a dealer than from other sources. Treasure hunters may want to hit auctions or estate sales to find lamps. Be sure to look for lamps in good condition and look for cracks or other imperfections in the glass.

Some companies also offer reproductions of these popular lamps from the past. If you can't find an authentic piece that you want, reproductions can be a good option. Some will also be less expensive than their historic counterparts and they'll be easier to find. In some cases, you may be able to find reproductions that use lamp oils or other fuels as well.

Antique kerosene lamps can add a decorative touch to historic homes or a conversation piece to modern ones. Whether you want a lamp for added decoration or in the case of emergency, you'll find a range of lamps, both antique and reproductions, available.


Antique Kerosene Lamps - Practical and Beautiful Additions to Your Home

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