The egg is a primal shape and a perfect form. This perfection was the inspiration for Alexander Lamont’s Cupola Lamps which are offered as Floor, Table and Ceiling Lighting elements.
In creating the Cupola Lamps Alex explores and plays with the essence of the egg shape imbuing with potency both the form, which is covered with hand-inlaid White Eggshell, and the negative space which is encircled with an oval shaped ring of textured black bronze.
Eggshell lacquer inlay is a process by which small pieces of chicken or duck eggshell are carefully cracked using pins to form an intricate mosaic-like pattern across the surface and then finished with layers of natural lacquer. The pattern used on the Cupola Lamps is the most fine and intricate example of White Eggshell inlay.
It is probable that eggshell was first developed to provide areas of white in lacquer work as it is almost impossible to make natural white lacquer. It has been used on Japanese sword handles and armour and numerous decorative pieces from tea caddies to hair pins to the acoutrements of the kimono.
Eggshell is made entirely from calcium carbonate. This is the main component of many materials found in nature: rocks, seashells and pearls. Our eggshell is mainly made from chicken eggs (sometimes ducks) that we buy from a cakeshop nearby.
In our workshop we apply eggshell lacquer mostly using the inside of the eggshell. The concave side of the eggshell provides a small ‘cup’ that then fills with lacquer or gold creating a pattern. Once the eggshell pattern has been laid down, numerous layers of natural lacquer are applied to build up the surface until it is smooth and can be polished.
The interior of each “cupola” is hand-finished and polished to create a dramatic, nebulous light effect. The Floor and Table lamps are supported on tapering cast bronze stands with a textured finish that is beautifully highlighted when the lamp is lit.
The Ceiling Lamps are supported by hand-modelled and cast bronze chains that perfectly complement the organic shape of the Cupola Ceiling Lights.
“I love the irregular chains that you find in ancient jewellery: gold or silver hand hammered chains that are perfect on their own as statement pieces. With an organic and sculptural lighting element like this we needed such a chain to finish the piece”, Alex says.
The Cupola Lamps which have been shortlisted for the International Design & Architecture Awards 2020, are part of Alexander Lamont’s Spring 2020 collection, Sirena. The furniture, lighting and artwork pieces in this offering invoke ideas of power and symbolism as expressed through the life of objects.
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