Alabaster Grapes Table Lamp

Materials: Square neoclassical Carrara marble base. Bunch of lacquered alabaster grapes. Brass rod. Parchment style oval conical paper lampshade with 2 gold coloured small rims. White painted Bakelite E27 socket.

Height: 46 cm / 18.11”

Width: 36 cm / 14.17”

Base: 14 x 14 cm / 5.51 x 5.51”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred. 

Period: 1970s, 1980s – Hollywood Regency.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: To be appraised.

Other versions: Also lacquered with a red glow; riper grapes, as you can see.

Often said that these lamps are much older, but to see on the electric wiring the are from the Hollywood Regency period. The late 1970s, early 1980s. The white painted Bakelite socket tells it all.

Always said these grapes lamps are Italian, and to see on the materials used, it is probably right. There is never a label present on these table lamps, unfortunately.

Alabaster

Alabaster is a soft mineral or rock, often used for carving. The name alabasteris used for for the appearance of two different minerals: gypsum and calcite (or selenite). The hardness of both variants is an important difference. Gypsum alabaster is so soft that it can easily be scratched with a fingernail. Therefore these grapes are lacquered.

The mineral can be found in England, Italy, Spain and Egypt, among others. Nowadays plaster alabaster is still used for the manufacture of art and utensils.

Carrara marble

Carrara marble is a type of marble popular for use in sculptures. The colour is white or blue-grey. It is quarried in Carrara, Tuscany, Italy. The marble was used for some of the most remarkable buildings in Ancient Rome.

VLM Components

All the electric parts were made by VLM Components in the late 1970s, 1980s. VLM Components was founded in 1945 in Buccinasco, a small village near Milan, Italy. VLM Components is part of the Relco Group, founded in 1967. Today they are the owners of the brands Relco, Leuci, Relco Lighting, VLM Components and Segno. VLM Components became famous for the switches they produce which were designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1968.