Blackened Wood And Ostrich Egg Table Lamp, French Work, Circa 1970

The ostrich egg has occupied a place of singular fascination in the decorative arts of the Western world for centuries. From the medieval church treasury, where eggs hung as votive offerings above altars, to the Renaissance Wunderkammer, where they were mounted in silver or gilt metal as objects of curiosity and wonder, the ostrich egg has always been a luxury material — its extraordinary size, the perfection of its ovoid form, and the luminous quality of its surface placing it in a category apart from all other natural materials. By the 1970s, Parisian decorators and craftsmen had rediscovered this ancient tradition, incorporating whole ostrich eggs into table lamps with striking effect. This lamp is a refined and confident example of that tradition. The body is a whole ostrich egg in its natural state, its creamy ivory-white surface polished to a gentle lustre and fitted at top and base with precisely machined metal mounts. The whole is raised on a base of blackened wood, whose dark, graphic tonality provides a bold counterpoint to the luminous pallor of the egg above. The overall height of fifty-six centimetres gives the piece a commanding presence, and when lit, the egg diffuses a warm, enveloping light of quite exceptional quality. Ostrich egg lamps of this character and quality are among the most sought-after curiosities of the French 1970s interior, occupying a position at the confluence of the natural history cabinet and the luxury decorative arts. They speak of an international, cosmopolitan taste — alive to the beauty of natural materials, respectful of the older traditions of the Wunderkammer, and at ease with a formal vocabulary of refined simplicity. This lamp is an object of real distinction, equally at home in a collection of curiosities, a library, or a contemporary interior seeking pieces of exceptional character.