Vintage ‘Gothic Wall II’ Sculptural Brass Wall Lamp, Set of 2

Pointed, glinting and a little theatrical, this pair of Scandinavian Modern wall sconces is the ‘Gothic II’, designed in 1970 by Bent Karlby and made by Lyfa in Denmark during the 1970s. Each lamp is formed from two curved leaves of brass, their tips drawn out into sharp points above and below, so the pair reads less like lighting and more like small sculptures fixed to the wall.

The name tells the idea. Karlby took the pointed arch of Gothic architecture and translated it into thin, bent sheet metal, the kind of upright, graphic form Danish lighting explored around 1970, when the soft organic shapes of the previous decades gave way to bolder geometry. Light is the real material here. The leaves hide the bulb from view and send the glow up and down the wall, while narrow slots cut into the metal let fine lines of gold shine through, like candlelight seen through a cathedral window.

By day the brass has a brushed, buttery sheen, mellowed by fifty years of life and carrying the small marks of honest age. In the evening the sconces change character completely, dark wings rimmed with gold against a soft halo of light. Hang them either side of a bed, a sideboard or a fireplace, or along a dim hallway, where their sharp silhouettes and warm wash of light make the wall feel like part of the architecture.