Le Dauphin Corn Table Lamp
Materials: Square brushed brass base. Aluminium and brass parts. Some type of resin for the round maize/corn. Tubular fabric lampshade with 2 brown rims. Gold painted Bakelite E27 socket.
Total Height: 49 cm / 19.29”
Height: 33 cm / 12.99”
Width: ∅ 22,7 cm / 8.93”
Base: 10 x 10 cm / 3.93” x 3.93”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 75 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.
Period: 1980s – Hollywood Regency.
Designer: To be appraised, inspired by a lamp in the form of a corncob made by Maison Charles, Paris.
This table lamp is often sold as a Maison Charles lamp, but it is not. The Maison Charles table lamps always have a stamp in the metal on the back of the base with the company’s name on and they are all handmade and produced in a superb quality.
Manufacturer: Le Dauphin, Saint Marcellin, France.
Other versions: This Le Dauphin corn table lamp exists also in a long, more real corn form version. This lamp has the name “Aquitaine“. This table lamp was probably sold with several other lampshades. A version exists with a black rectangular base, it is named “Versailes“.
Aquitaine is a region in the south of France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain.
On the bottom of this round corn lamp is a sticker glued with the text typed (with a typewriter): “Mazet“. A Mazet or maset is a little house in France that is used to store materials but it can also be used as a house for a short stay or summer holiday. Primitive constructed and most of the time used by farmers. Or is it just a variation on maize/corn?
Le Dauphin
The Le Dauphin company was founded in January 1966 by Maurice Tournu as a small lampshade company. A first factory was built in 1970. In the 1980s, more than 250 employees worked there. More than 50.000 lamps a year were produced.
Le Dauphin: Located in the heart of the region Rhône Alpes, Le Dauphin is a brand famous for its high-end luminaires and its timeless style. The artisan factory is located in Saint-Marcellin, some 50 kilometres from Grenoble.
Le Dauphin created a wide range of light fixtures, from classic ceramics to decorated metal, through the transparency of hand-cut glass.
“To dress the light so that it becomes a source of decoration” was the motto of the Le Dauphin company.
The company name has it’s origin in the former name of the province were it’s located: Dauphiné.
Le Dauphin no longer exists. It ended business in 2009 and was deleted from the register in 2013. The website stayed online until 2017.
Links (external links open in a new window)
The village of Saint-Marcellin – Wikipedia