Vintage English Chinoiserie Style Floor Lamp England circa 1910

A lovely antique English black lacquered floor lamp with the original Chinoiserie style decoration from the Edwardian period in England circa 1910. This is a fabulous example of the intense interest in the exotic Orient prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as seen in the decorated surface of this lamp. The circular base of this lamp shows a marvelous and detailed variety of scenes including a figure within a house looking out toward a figure in the distance, a mother and child walking together toward a house built against a mountain and several scenes of foliage with a large dwelling set in the landscape. Please look at the use of the additional colours of red and green along with the gold that brings these scenes to life and their three dimensional raised profile that adds depth and verisimilitude. The shaft of the lamp has a simple tapered shape with the largest diametre at the base with the most narrow diametre at the top. What keeps the shaft intriguing to the eye though is the use of a bobbin turned pattern at the base that is repeated one third of the distance from the top. The bobbin pattern is created by turning the shaft on a lathe and using a chisel to make equidistant grooves around the circumference of the shaft. It takes skill to make the same pattern between the individual rounded components so the  entire pattern speaks as a whole. Notice also that the upper bobbin section follows the same tapered line as the shaft itself so there is a continuous angle to the profile of the shaft. The bobbin sections have been only coated with the black lacquer finish while the individual ring turnings are gilded as are the three spherical feet that the lamp stands upon. The smooth sections of the shaft are decorated with the foliate designs and these designs wrap around the entire surface. The lamp has been rewired for American electricity and fitted with a three way socket for the bulb. Being able to change the level of illumination gives enormous flexibility in setting the correct mood for an interior. The lamp has been topped with a black paper drum shade chosen for its contemporary presence and the way it focuses attention on the lamp itself.