Are sconces sold in pairs?

Almost always. Pair appears in 684 of 986 titles, and the pair is the working unit of sale in this category. Sets go further, to three, four, six, seven and in one case eight. A lone sconce is usually described as single in the title, which tells you how unusual it is.

What are antique sconces normally made of?

Gilded bronze and gilt brass dominate, with gilded bronze alone named in 128 titles and ormolu in 54. Plain brass and copper make up a large second group, covering candle sconces, wall brackets and half-lanterns. Carved and gilded wood forms a smaller branch, described as giltwood, Florentine or Italian polychrome. The 1930s group works in chrome, glass, Bakelite and Catalin instead.

How old are most of these?

The dated field runs from 1750 to 1940. Nineteenth century is the commonest date given, on 243 listings, and titles reading 19th outnumber those reading 20th by a wide margin. Where a decade is stated, the 1930s and 1920s are the largest buckets, then the 1900s and 1910s. Eighteenth-century dating is scarce, on 14 listings. Victorian, Edwardian and 18th Century are used as loosely as nineteenth century is.

Why do so many sconces come from France?

France is far ahead of every other origin named, on 476 titles, and French pair alone accounts for 193. Gilded bronze, gilt brass and ormolu in the French manner are the backbone of the category. Italy follows at a distance, with the Florentine workshops named separately. Dutch, Swedish, Venetian, Bohemian and Indian pieces surface only once or twice.

Does rewired mean something specific in these titles?

It appears in a number of titles to show the fitting has been made ready for use. Beyond that word, the listings say little about wiring. Gas fittings turn up in only a handful of titles, so gas is a curiosity in this archive rather than a strand running through it.

What forms turn up besides twin-arm wall lights?

Candle-only sconces, girandoles with mirrored backs, half-lanterns, porch and street lanterns, and plain wall brackets. Candlesticks, chambersticks and candelabra also sit under the same heading, and that fringe is larger in current stock. The Art Deco group brings shapes seen nowhere else in the category: clam and scallop shells, clouds, crescents, flames, trumpets, strip lights, skyscrapers and cinema globe shades.

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Antique Sconces

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A sconce is a light fixed to the wall, a backplate carrying scrolled arms with candle nozzles or bulb-holders, made so a room could be lit from its walls rather than its tables.