Arts & Crafts? Pair of Wood & Brass Candle Sconces

These surfaced out of a long-unopened box, part of a hasty move. I had, as usual, forgotten about them, but recalled how excited I was to have found & purchased them in the late 90's. 14" long, 5" wide; the brass is 7 1/8" x 3 3/8"; they weigh ~10 1/2 oz each.

Plainly visible in the last pic are the layout marks for the brad-holes in the reflectors, all 37 of 'em; an unusual display of the craftsman's efforts, which leads me to think Arts & Crafts period.

I haven't done an image search...but will, pdq. Thanks for lookin'!

 

Whit-keep digging thru your numerous forgotten Toy Chests,good stuff.Poss Vocational/Trade School piece ? Keep looking for marks-some have taken me years to suss.

 

Very Prairie.

 

a long-unopened box

tell me about it !!!!

 

At the risk of showing my abysmal ignorance...what does that mean, Bronwen?

 

Gettin' old...gotta do some serious diggin' so the kids an' my Lady won't have such a colossal headache when I exit.
Don't be afraid, komo...like everything else; once begun, the task becomes more manageable.
Go now: open a box. Yes, you can!

 

Nary a scratch to show who or when. I'll sell 'em sooner than dig very much deeper.
You may very well have it right, bosko...a project pair; never been used, as there's no hint of wax in either of the cups.

 

Did a little Googling so I don't misinform you too badly. "Prairie" seems to be what they call the style when it is by Frank Lloyd Wright, otherwise "mission" seems to be the term. Had not heard of "Craftsman" style, but bit I cribbed:

What is the difference between mission and Craftsman style?





Arts & Crafts Furniture is Craftsman Furniture built slightly lighter and with a little more flair. Mission Furniture is Craftsman Furniture built lighter and with the simplistic design concept taken to the point of being austere. Craftsman Furniture can include any of the above.

Your sconces strike me as fitting right in with this vibe.

 

Very well described, an' forthright. Thanks!

 

Nothing remotely similar, I'm sorry to report.

 

an unusual display of the craftsman's efforts, which leads me to think Arts & Crafts period.

I see things differently......

a real craftsman would have made a dot at the intersection...that would not show up to mar the look of the metal plate.....
I see hobby lobby....or such low end craft store...

 

I didn't mean that it was exemplary of high craft...just that such was uncommon to see on a finished item.

 

cuz it looks sloppy and amateurish...

 

I respectfully submit that NO art is perfect. The Japanese have a phrase Wabi-sabi...an' I'm sure the examples I've posted here aren't strictly worthy of the term, but there is in me a lot of room to acknowledge an' accept the amateurish as a point on a line to highly accomplished. Whoever made these sconces did, in my opinion, a fine job. Even though those scribed lines may offend as sloppy, they indicate to me intent at a reasonable precision.

I have a remnant of a wooden framed small lantern. On it are the scribed lines used by the maker to locate relief cuts for the door hinges...long before pencils were used for such. I treasure it as much for these marks as for the other aspects indicative of its antiquity, among them a slab-poured glass pane with serious imperfections on both faces. Somehow, for me, perfection ain't ultimately perfect. Nothing in nature is...why should utilitarian craft be so?

 

Hate to say it, but my first impression in high school shop class. The cup hook thingies at the top look post-WWII to me, and the style is something a high school wood/metal shop could manage.

 

Certainly has an arts and crafts vibe but could be as late as the 50s. There was a bit of an A&C revival then and, as evelyb30 said, school workshops were making such simple designs for decades.

Craftsman was a trademark name for Gustave Stickley's designs for architecture and furnishings. It has come to become synonymous with the American arts and crafts designs. Mission is a more generic term for very simple straight lined arts and crafts furniture. Prairie is a term related to an American architectural style. Frank Lloyd Wright was its foremost proponent. There are other prominent prairie school architects with, perhaps, Louis Sullivan being the seminal agent.

 

Very good, Brad...Thank you!