20 Aug Chinoiserie Blanc de Chine Lamps
I have an affinity for lamps. If I see a great pair of vintage or antique lamps, they are hard for me to resist. They are also usually a great price, too. (considering how expensive lamps can be!) I especially love pierced lamps, particularly the blanc de chine chinoiserie variety.
Matters of Style
Quick Design Term Lesson:
Chinoiserie – French; the imitation or evocation of Chinese motifs and techniques in Western art, furniture, and architecture, esp. in the 18th century; pronounced sheen-wah-zer-ee
Blanc de Chine – French for “white from China”; traditional European term for a type of white Chinese porcelain; pronounced blau-d-sheen
These types of lamps oftentimes have a pretty cherry blossom pattern and light at the socket and glow at the base. That soft glow is so soothing to me. Delicately beautiful, I think they add a sophisticated and charmingly aged feel to a room.
Domino
Chapman Radcliffe
Little Green Notebook
Etsy
High Street Market
The modern version of this lamp is more simple, with basic pierced patterns.
Christopher Jones
Decorpad
Circa Lighting
Ruthie Sommers
Apparently, these are often hand pierced. Neat, huh? And time consuming!
I couldn’t resist throwing in a couple of photos of some brass pierced lamps. Aren’t these awesome? They add a whole new Moroccan feel to the design.
CircaWho
Etsy
After a long hunt using this Ebay search and this Ebay search, I finally found a pair of chinoiserie blanc de chine lamps of my own! Pairs of these types of lamps are soooo hard to find.
Their new home is going to be on the console table in my stairwell. I have freshly hung beautiful wallpaper in there so I didn’t want a regular height lamp base and shade to cover the pretty pattern. They are 21″ tall and super awesome. I love the light they throw around the space, and their unique look. This is a perfect example of why vintage is the way to go…would you ever find these new in a store? Doubtful.
You can actually create your own pierced lamps if you find a pair of vases, get a lamp kit from your local hardware store, and wire them! This might sound like a difficult project, but it is not. The directions are very clear on the lamp kit, and many times, blanc de chine vases already have a hole in the bottom. (and if your chosen object doesn’t, you simply use a glass/tile drill bit to drill holes)
Do you love these types of lamps? Do you need a pair of your own? Lucky for you, Gypsy Soul has a PAIR of these in perfect condition. Right now. Get ’em while they’re hot!
Do these lamps make you as happy as they make me? Where would you put them?
Kat
Posted at 22:26h, 20 AugustIt’s so funny that you mentioned these in your post today, because I’ve been thinking of them ever since you showed me one in your home. I LOVE the way the base glows. I am on the hunt for my very own. I could just see the lamp bases warmly glowing in the evening. Just lovely.
Grace
Posted at 11:07h, 27 AugustKat, I will keep my eye out for you! The glowing base is my favorite facet of these lamps, too.
katrina
Posted at 18:44h, 11 SeptemberHey!
I think you might have swayed me to buy the pair of blanc de chine lamps I’ve been eyeing on craigslist for a couple of months. I’m just having a hard time biting the bullet and paying for them. They were originally asking $200 for the pair, and that includes some pretty decent lampshades, but they said they’d take $150. What do you think? Is that a good price? I live in hawaii and awesome lamps like these are a rarity on craigslist. I should probably do it before they are gone!
Grace
Posted at 19:22h, 11 SeptemberAloha Katrina! I actually peeked at your CraigsList and found the lamps in question. I think $75 a lamp with the shades is a great deal! Those are super hard to find in a pair nowadays, and it looks like they are in great shape. In my opinion, and purely judging from the picture, the shades are a bit big for the lamps. Maybe you could use those for a different pair of lamps? (the shades are neat!) And get new shades for the chinoiserie lamps? Good luck. So happy you are reading and that I swayed you. 😉
Diane Sheffield
Posted at 22:17h, 08 FebruaryI have found one of a pair my mother has had since 1957, at least! I have always loved them and am now on a search of her “attic” for the other lamp. I might be interested in selling if I am successful in locating the other and it is intact. Then again, I love them. Mine are tubes with no pare shape. I love the black shades. Mother called these lamps ginger jars…..but they aren’t.
Grace
Posted at 09:26h, 11 FebruaryDiane, thank you so much for your comment! Pairs are sooo hard to find nowadays, so if you have a pair, that is awesome! I’m sure they are beautiful, I would love to come search your attic if you are finding stuff like that up there! 🙂 Hope you find other fun things – thank you for reading! G