Silvered Brass Hand Wall Sconce with White Opaline Globe

Silvered brass hand wall sconce holding a white opaline globe, made by Arlus in France in the 1970s. The arm rises from a slim cylindrical wall mount and opens into a cast hand, fingers spread, carrying the glass globe in its palm. The metal is silvered and highly polished, so it picks up warm golden reflections from the surrounding light, and the modelling of the knuckles and nails is crisp and carefully finished. The globe is a thick white opaline sphere that diffuses the light evenly and reads as a soft white ball when the sconce is off.

Arlus was one of the principal French lighting manufacturers of the post-war decades, working in Paris from the late 1940s onward and known for wall lights and ceiling fixtures that combine brass, opaline glass and simple geometric volumes.

A beautiful piece.