"Shell" lamp from Maison Rougier, Canada, 1970s.

Canadian work, 1970s. H 104 X D 43 cm. Pearlescent methacrylate and brass. Very good condition. Two pearlescent methacrylate shells wrap around each other around a brass rod, leaving a gap between them through which light escapes. The material is neither opaque nor transparent: it retains light and renders it through thickness, giving the lamp when off almost the same presence as when on. Roger Rougier, based in Montreal, founded one of the few workshops in the 1970s to treat acrylic as a sculptural material rather than as an economical substitute for glass. His light fixtures are named after what they evoke — the seashell, the tulip: they seek a form before seeking illumination. At 104 cm, it sits at the threshold of a floor lamp: it stands on the ground as well as on a console. Original brass base.