Why are wall lights nearly always sold in pairs?

They were made and fitted in pairs, one either side of a chimneypiece, a mirror or a doorway, and they have stayed together. Two-thirds of titles on Sellingantiques say pair. Only about one title in twenty-five says single. Larger matched sets of three, four, six, seven and eight also come up.

What does rewired mean in a listing?

It is the dealer's note that the fitting has been re-cabled for modern use. A minority of titles carry it, and a smaller handful add that the piece has been PAT tested. The titles say no more than that. Nothing in them describes what the work involved.

How old are most of these fittings?

The dating given by dealers runs from 1800 to 1950, but it is heavily weighted to the interwar decades. The 1930s and 1920s between them account for nearly four in five of the listings that carry a clean year. Several hundred more are dated only as 19th century, and Edwardian and Victorian labels add further imprecision. A few titles reach back to the 18th century, one set given as circa 1770, but those are one-offs.

Are Art Deco wall lights common in this category?

They are a real but minority presence, under a tenth of titles, and concentrated in the 1930s. Chrome, bakelite and moulded glass are the usual materials. Titles name clamshell, skyscraper and tubular forms, along with cinema and odeon fittings.

What are Florentine wall lights?

Carved giltwood brackets, Italian in origin, with Florentine named in a couple of hundred titles across the wider giltwood group. Polychrome painting appears on some instead of plain gilding. They are well under a tenth of the category. They do cluster toward the upper end of the range.

Do any unusual patterns turn up?

Yes, though only once or twice each. Mermaid and griffin sconces, ram-headed arms, wheatsheaf and rope-and-tassel patterns, lyre forms and spread-eagle giltwood all appear. Railway carriage and coach lamps repurposed as wall lights come up as well.

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Antique Wall Lights

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Wall-mounted light fittings, brackets, sconces, appliques and half-lanterns, made to throw light off a wall surface, and sold overwhelmingly in pairs.