Louis MAJORELLE & DAUM-NANCY "Orchidée" Table Lamp
This 'Orchidée' table lamp, a collaboration between Majorelle and Daum, depicts Nepenthes ascidia, a tropical pitcher plant native to British Ceylon. Rendered in patinated, hammered wrought iron and topped with an orange-pink marmorated glass shade, the lamp evokes the plant’s distinctive form. The species rose to prominence after Charles Darwin featured it in Insectivorous Plants, the first major study to recognize the ecological function of carnivorous flora. Its alluring yet predatory character aligned with Art Nouveau’s fascination with seductive, dangerous plants—natural counterparts to the femme fatale.
Item #: EL-22041
Artist: Louis Majorelle & Daum Nancy
Country: France
Circa: 1900's
Dimensions: 24" height, 9.5" width, 11" depth.
Materials: Hammered wrought-iron, Glass
Signed: Daum Nancy on Shade
Provenance: Collection Bernard Laurent, Villefranche-sur-Mer; - Then by inheritance to the present owner.
Exhibition History: A model with a slightly varying base was presented at the École de Nancy exhibition at the Pavillon de Marsan in 1903.
Literature: Catalogue de l'exposition de l'alliance provinciale des industries d'art - École de Nancy au Pavillon de Marsan du 1er mars au 1er avril 1903, Édition de la Lorraine artiste, Nancy, 1903, model with slightly varying frame reproduced in the section devoted to Louis Majorelle (n. p.).p.) - Alastair DUNCAN, The Paris Salons 1895-1914, Volume IV - Ceramics & Glass, Antique Collectors' Club, 1998, model with slightly different mounting referenced and reproduced p. 129. Expert : Amélie MARCILHAC
Item #: EL-22041
Artist: Louis Majorelle & Daum Nancy
Country: France
Circa: 1900's
Dimensions: 24" height, 9.5" width, 11" depth.
Materials: Hammered wrought-iron, Glass
Signed: Daum Nancy on Shade
Provenance: Collection Bernard Laurent, Villefranche-sur-Mer; - Then by inheritance to the present owner.
Exhibition History: A model with a slightly varying base was presented at the École de Nancy exhibition at the Pavillon de Marsan in 1903.
Literature: Catalogue de l'exposition de l'alliance provinciale des industries d'art - École de Nancy au Pavillon de Marsan du 1er mars au 1er avril 1903, Édition de la Lorraine artiste, Nancy, 1903, model with slightly varying frame reproduced in the section devoted to Louis Majorelle (n. p.).p.) - Alastair DUNCAN, The Paris Salons 1895-1914, Volume IV - Ceramics & Glass, Antique Collectors' Club, 1998, model with slightly different mounting referenced and reproduced p. 129. Expert : Amélie MARCILHAC
Majorelle’s teacher, Emile Galle first depicted the nepenthes in his lighting in the late 19th century. Galle was a evolutionary biologist who spoke on the evolutionary adaptations of orchids in the botany congress, held at the 1900 world’s fair. This botanical and artistic lineage culminates in the Népenthes lamp, where science and symbolism entwine. Drawing on Darwinian theory, Galle’s evolutionary interests, and the Art Nouveau ethos, the lamp embodies a vision of nature as both beautiful and menacing. It is not merely decorative but expressive—a luminous homage to a plant whose form and function captivated both scientists and artists at the turn of the century.
Majorelle’s teacher, Emile Galle first depicted the nepenthes in his lighting in the late 19th century. Galle was a evolutionary biologist who spoke on the evolutionary adaptations of orchids in the botany congress, held at the 1900 world’s fair. This botanical and artistic lineage culminates in the Népenthes lamp, where science and symbolism entwine. Drawing on Darwinian theory, Galle’s evolutionary interests, and the Art Nouveau ethos, the lamp embodies a vision of nature as both beautiful and menacing. It is not merely decorative but expressive—a luminous homage to a plant whose form and function captivated both scientists and artists at the turn of the century.
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