1930s Noverdy’s Three-Sided French Art Deco Lighting Bowl

Description

This bowl is super-rare and guess why – it’s GORGEOUS!!

So who would want to sell theirs?

Most French lighting … more This bowl is super-rare and guess why – it’s GORGEOUS!!

So who would want to sell theirs?

Most French lighting bowls are round, some with better designs than others, but finding 3-sided bowls takes some serious work. Degué made one; it’s quite large and the design doesn’t totally float my boat, at least the way this one does.

What’s special about the decoration of this bowl is, of course, its unending geometric patterns. With its stepped pyramidal structure, it’s impossible not to think of the word “ziggurat,” which is used so often to describe the most sophisticated Art Deco designs.

The simplicity of the triangular design, seen from a distance, belies its complexity, as seen close-up.

This bowl is signed on the rim (Noverdy, France), and is in impeccable original condition. The bowl is made of clear, colorless glass, which was frosted when it was made and as a result appears (more or less) white. Those clever French, they often highlighted various design elements by leaving them clear (non-frosted), adding to the visual impact of the bowl. As I’ve used an incandescent lamp in the photos, there is possibly a slight warmth to the bowl which, depending on what kind of bulb you use, probably won’t be there at all in your home. On the other hand, if you put this fixture on a dimmer (presuming you’re using an incandescent bulb), and dim it way down at night, the bowl will be take on a very warm quality and appear like a distant planet hovering above your room or table. Crank it back up and play Scrabble!

Custom-configured with curved brushed-nickel plated, solid brass tubes and a canopy which I have reproduced in bronze from an original period French lighting canopy, also brush-nickel-plated. I’ve given the canopy my signature antique patina. The bowl’s fitted with one new standard-sized American socket, which can take any wattage you care to use.

Depending on how you measure it, it’s about 15 inches in diameter. Shown with this hanging apparatus, its overall length is about 17 inches. less