Redwell Wood Farm / Potters Bar / Hertfordshire, EN6 3NA, UK | USD $, Yen, Euro and all major currencies accepted. Change Site Language | Help | Your Cart (0)
Canonbury Antiques Canonbury Antiques
 
UK UK: +44 (1707) 644877
USA USA: + 1 (877) 650-7261
USA: + 1 (877) 650-7261UK: +44 (1707) 644877
  • Categories
  • Styles & Period
  • Room
  • SALE
  • Sell Items
  • Find Me an Item
  • Film & TV Hire
  • Contact
  • Visit Showroom
  • About
 
Subscribe to our newsletterand get 10% OFF!
search

Shop by Type
  • Dining Tables
  • Dining Sets
  • Art Deco
  • Tables
  • Dining Chairs
  • Seating and Chairs
  • Objet d Art
  • Bookcases
  • Bronzes
  • Desks
  • Buddha Statues
  • Lamps and Lighting
  • Steamer Trunk Luggage Cases
  • French Boulle Furniture
  • Architectural Salvage
  • Curios
  • Silver Plate
  • Oil Paintings
  • Cabinets and Chests
  • Chairs
  • Architectural
  • Fountains and Garden
  • Mirrors
  • Chinese Porcelain
  • Porcelain
  • Dressers and Sideboards
  • Tea Caddies
  • Glassware
  • Mirrored Furniture
  • Clocks

Shop by Style
  • 17th Century Antiques
  • 18th Century Antiques
  • 1920s Furniture
  • 1930s Furniture
  • 19th Century Antiques
  • 20th Century Antiques
  • Adams Antiques and Furniture
  • Aesthetic Movement
  • Antique Gilding and Gilt
  • Antique Painted Furniture
  • Apprentice Pieces
  • Art Deco
  • Art Nouveau
  • Arts and Craft
  • Belle Epoque Antiques
  • Biedermeier
  • Black Lacquer
  • Boulle Furniture
  • British Antiques
  • Burmese Furniture
  • Campaign and Military Furniture
  • Champleve
  • Charles X Antiques
  • Chinese Antiques
  • Chinoiserie
  • Chippendale
  • Classical Garden
  • Classical Interiors
  • Cloisonne
  • Colonial / Campaign
  • Continental Antiques
  • Craquelure
  • Damascus Antiques
  • Danish Antiques and Mid Century Designs
  • Dutch Marquetry Antiques
  • Ebonized Antique Furniture
  • Edwardian Antiques
  • Edwards and Roberts Antiques
  • Elkington Silver Plate
  • English Antiques
  • Epstein Furniture
  • Farmhouse Dining Furniture
  • Farmhouse Furniture
  • Flemish Antiques
  • Francois Linke
  • French Antiques
  • French Empire
  • French Regence
  • George Bullock Antiques
  • George II
  • George III Antiques
  • Georgian Antiques
  • Gillows and Co Antiques
  • Gothic Antiques
  • Grand Tour Antiques
  • Henry Dasson Bronze Artist
  • Hepplewhite
  • Hobbs and Company Antiques
  • Hollywood Regency
  • Indian Antiques
  • Irish Antiques
  • Italian Antiques
  • Jacobean Antiques
  • Japanese Antiques
  • Lacquer and Ebonized Furniture
  • Lambs of Manchester
  • Louis XV Antiques
  • Louis XVI
  • Malachite Antiques
  • Maple and Co Antiques
  • Marquetry Inlay
  • Mid Century Modern Furniture
  • Napoleon III
  • Neo-Classical
  • Parquetry Inlay
  • Pietra Dura
  • Queen Anne
  • Regency Antiques
  • Roaring Twenties Interiors
  • Rocaille
  • Rococo
  • Sheffield Silver Plate
  • Sheraton
  • Sheraton Revival
  • Swedish Antiques
  • Syrian Moorish and Islamic Furniture
  • The Garden
  • Vernis Martin Lacquer
  • Victorian Antiques
  • William and Mary Antiques
  • William IV Antiques

Shop by Room
  • Castle Chic
  • Art Deco Apartment
  • Aviator Furniture
  • Classical Garden
  • English Country House Antiques
  • Farmhouse Kitchen
  • Gentlemans Club
  • Georgian Drawing Room
  • Grand Tour Garden
  • Medieval Banquet
  • Parisian Apartment
  • Regency Dining Room
  • Roman Villa
  • The Dining Room
  • The Garden
  • The Hallway
  • The Kitchen
  • The Library
  • The Living Room
  • The Lounge
  • The Study
  • Urban Loft
  • Victorian Dining Room
  • William IV Dining Room
WITH VIDEOS
Global Shipping
Global Shipping
Secured Site
Amex
Master Card
Visa
Discover

Returns Policy 7

The History of Art Deco Lights

GO BACK
all

Relevant categories:

Date
Apr
28
2021

To View Our Range Of Art Deco Lamps Please Click Here

Art Deco Light

 

(Above photo - Art Deco Light Lamp Light Statue 1920s )

Art deco lighting is characterized by geometrical patterns and symmetrical details, employing distinctive finishes for a unique, futuristic effect. Examples include tiers of elongated architectural forms of stepped finials and skyscraper shades. Traditionally art deco lights were used in municipal and commercial buildings. Today, you can use them to create focal points in homes regardless of the interior décor style.

Art Deco Lights in the Early 1900s

Art Deco Lamp

 

(Above photo - Art Deco Lamp )

The turn of the 20th century was marked by the popularity of the highly decorative ornate revival lighting. These lights sought to revive motifs like acanthus leaves and filigree from 17th century France. Within a few years, people were making the switch from gas-powered to electric lighting. It is not uncommon to find electric light designs with exposed bulbs. With that, people could show off their electric fixtures while optimizing light output. In the succeeding decades, there was a transformation in lighting design resulting in the whimsical, streamlined style called art deco lighting.

How Did The Shift Happen?

 

(Above photo - Art Deco Clock Lamp )

The beginning of the art deco movement is the Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts of 1925. At the fair, designers exhibited the first streamlined, geometric-oriented light fixtures. It was after the exhibition that the art deco movement proper started.

Critical Elements of Art Deco Style

Unlike their predecessors, lighting manufacturers of the 1920s were more able to use high-quality materials while implementing intricate details. Advancement in technology enabled the production of brighter light bulbs, necessitating shades for diffused natural light. All of these elements became integral to the development of art deco lights. Here are some of the features that defined this style of decoration:

  • Slipper-style shades with ornate cast etched glass details
  • Faceted forms featuring stepped fan details
  • Grass panels to obscure the light bulb
  • Large-scale fixtures
  • Cascading tiered silhouettes

Categories of Art Deco lights

High Art Deco: In this category are all the items exhibited during the Paris expo in 1925. They have the following common characteristics:

  • Utilized intricate manufacturing techniques and high-quality materials
  • Featured botanical and geometrical motifs with streamlined shapes
  • Over-sized designs for theaters, hotels, and other commercial buildings with grand foyers

Streamline Art Deco: In this category, we have art deco lights considered stereotypical. They have the following elements in common:

  • Standard scale lights for use in average homes
  • Modern aerodynamic silhouettes with clean lines and minimal detailing

Greco-Deco: A style combining art deco elements with motifs from the classical revival style. It borrowed heavily from the design elements from Classical Europe.

The Great Depression and the Popularity of Art Deco

During the 1930s, the art deco style spread from France and Europe to the United States. Designers who had attended the Paris convention carried the design style to America and beyond. At the turn of the new decade, more streamlined, simplistic designs morph into fixtures with glass components but little detail.

If you are looking for art deco lights to buy, we have some of the best in our store. Welcome!

 

Related Articles:

Art Deco Figurines - A Guide From Canonbury Antiques

Art Deco Statues - How to Identify from Canonbury Antiques

Period Art Deco Furniture - A Definitive History from Canonbury Antiques

 

Recently Viewed Items

Products Mentioned

 

More from our Knowledge Base

Adams Revival Furniture Key Features Origins and Historical Context Introduction JAN.24.2026

Adams Revival furniture refers to late-19th and early-20th-century furniture inspired by the designs of the Scottish architect and designer Robert Adam and his circle. This revival emerged during the Victorian and Edwardian periods, when collectors and designers rediscovered the elegance of early Neoclassical design and sought lighter, more refined interiors after decades of heavy Victorian ornament.

MORE
all

What Defines a Classical Interior? JAN.16.2026

A classical interior is defined by balance, proportion, and an enduring sense of order rooted in the design principles of antiquity. Rather than following trends, classical interiors draw on architectural rules and aesthetic ideals that have remained relevant for over two thousand years resulting in spaces that feel calm, dignified, and timeless.

MORE
all

Antique Extending Dining Tables: How Do They Work? JAN.15.2026

Antique extending dining tables are among the most ingenious and practical pieces of historic furniture. Designed to adapt to changing social needs small family meals one day, large formal dinners the next they combine craftsmanship, mechanical innovation, and elegant design. Understanding how antique extending dining tables work not only helps buyers appreciate their quality, but also plays a crucial role in assessing originality, condition, and value.

MORE
all

 

TOP OF THE PAGE
Top of the Page
  • SHOPPING
  • Shopping Cart
    Shopping Cart (0)
  • Buying Online
  • Get a Gift Voucher
  • Sold Items
  • CANONBURY INFO
  • Knowledge Base
  • About Us
  • Customer Testimonials
  • News
  • Newsletter
  • Sell your Antiques
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • CUSTOMER SERVICE
  • FAQs
  • Shopping
  • US Customer Service
  • Return Policy
  • SITE LANGUAGES
  • Our site can be translated into most languages using the Google Translate tool below:

  • SHIPPING
  • Shipping to United States
  • Shipping to Europe
  • Shipping to Rest of World
    FOLLOW US ON
  • You Tube
  • Facebook
  • Wordpress
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Flickr
  • SHIPPING
  • Shipping to United States
  • Shipping to Europe
  • Shipping to Rest of World
    FOLLOW US ON
  • You Tube
  • Facebook
  • Wordpress
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Flickr
+ 44 01707 644877
+ 44 01707 644717
  • CONTACT US

  • Confirm that you are human:
    3 + 5 =


  • SHOPPING
    Shopping
  • Shopping Cart
    Shopping Cart (0)
  • How to Buy
  • Get a Gift Voucher
  • Sold Items
  • CANONBURY INFO
    Shopping
  • Knowledge Base
  • About Us
  • Customer Testimonials
  • News
  • Newsletter
  • Sell your Antiques
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • CUSTOMER SERVICE
    Shopping
  • FAQs
  • Shopping
  • US Customer Service
  • Return Policy
  • SHIPPING
    Shopping
  • Shipping to United States
  • Shipping to Europe
  • Shipping to Rest of World
  • CONTACT US
    Shopping

  • Confirm that you are human:
    3 + 5 =


© - Canonbury Antiques - Redwell Wood Farm / Potters Bar / Herfordshine, EN6 3NA, UK

Website Developed by Nulence

© - Canonbury Antiques

Redwell Wood Farm / Potters Bar / Herfordshine, EN6 3NA, UK

Website Developed by Nulence