Red Tole Bouillotte-Style Table Lamp, Corning No. 820120 Torchiere

A red-painted aluminum table lamp in the bouillotte tradition, built on a turned and ringed column with a hammered central body and a pierced lower vent ring. Gilt banding accents each profile change, and the trumpet-form lower section carries gilt scrollwork. The removable tole shade is finished in matching red with a pierced gallery rim, gilt edge banding, and hand-painted gilt anthemion-and-scroll motifs to the front, crowned by a cast laurel-wreath finial. A frosted milk-glass torchiere diffuser seats inside for upward light.

The lamp is wired for a three-way switch and includes its dual control knobs flanking the upper fitting — a styling nod to the adjustable burners of the oil lamps this form imitates. The shade lifts away as a unit, and the milk-glass Corning torchiere reflector throws light up into the shade rather than out, giving the diffused glow these mid-century interpretations were designed to produce. The torchiere fitting is maker-marked Corning No. 820120 — Corning Glass Works, best known for its technical and consumer glass innovations, supplied milk-glass lighting components widely to the American lamp industry from the 1940s through the 1970s, and the presence of a marked Corning diffuser confirms quality American manufacture of the optical element.

CONDITION

Very Good and fully functional. Tested and working on the three-way switch. Gentle signs of use throughout with minor scuffs to the shade rim and light paint loss along a gilt band near the body, exposing bare metal in spots. No remarkable damage.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 30" H × 15" Diameter
• Material: Aluminum
• Switch: Three-way
• Shade: Removable tole with milk-glass torchiere diffuser
• Torchiere Diffuser: Corning No. 820120
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included