Pair of Serge Mouille 'Antony' Wall Lamps in Black
About the Item
- Creator:Editions Serge Mouille (Maker),Serge Mouille (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 16.15 in (41.03 cm)Width: 11.8 in (29.98 cm)Depth: 13.7 in (34.8 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Contemporary
- Production Type:New & Custom(Re-Edition)
- Estimated Production Time:23-24 weeks
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Glendale, CA
- Reference Number:
Serge Mouille
Instantly recognizable by their long slender armatures and domed, ovoid shades, the best-known floor lamps and other lighting fixtures of Serge Mouille have become emblems of the organic design of the mid-20th century. Along with Jean Prouvé, Mathieu Matégot and others, Mouille brought a fresh, modern aesthetic to metalwork, one of the most tradition-bound mediums in the decorative arts.
Mouille (pronounced: MWEE) was born to a working Parisian family. At age 15, he took up studies in the metalworking atelier of that École des Arts Appliqués, under the tutelage of the goldsmith and sculptor Gabriel Lacroix. After graduating, in 1941, Mouille worked in Lacroix’s studio and began teaching at his alma mater four years later.
In the early 1950s, bothered by the preponderance of new Italian lamps and chandeliers on the market and consumed with the belief that fixtures by Gino Sarfatti and others were unnecessarily complex, Mouille opened a lighting-design workshop. He quickly won commissions from several French schools and libraries. In 1956, the influential Paris gallerist Steph Simon — who also promoted Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand and Isamu Noguchi — began to show Mouille designs, introducing his work to private collectors. Mouille would continue making handcrafted lighting fixtures at a slow but steady pace until 1964, when he stopped working to begin a long course of treatment for tuberculosis. When it was completed, Mouille returned to teaching at the École des Arts Appliqués for the remainder of his career.
With the biomorphic shades and long armatures of his fixtures, Mouille created one of the most engaging and idiosyncratic lighting aesthetics of his time. Though often described as “insect-like,” his pieces have more in common with the fluid, buoyant forms in the paintings of Jean Arp. (Mouille designed several cylindrical or columnar lamps; though highly collectible, those are interesting outliers in his body of work.)
As with Prouvé’s folded metal forms and Matégot’s perforated steel, Mouille brought a novel lightness and energy to metal furnishings. Since Mouille’s designs found renewed popularity in the early 2000s, licensed re-editions of his pieces are being produced. The disparity in price between vintage and current-day Mouille pieces is great. Older works — identification tip: the interior white reflective enameling has a yellowish cast — cost $20,000 to $40,000, and newer pieces go for 10 to 20 percent less than that. As you will see on these pages, Serge Mouille created icons of 20th century design — at once sleek, suave and friendly — that belong in any modern decor.
Find vintage Serge Mouille table lamps, chandeliers and other lighting on 1stDibs.
Editions Serge Mouille
On the advice of his drawing teacher, Serge Mouille applied to the School of Applied Arts in Paris without knowing what they taught. In 1936, he became the youngest student ever to attend the school, continuing on to become a teacher for the institution while establishing his own reputation as one of the great mid-century lighting makers of the 20th century.
Like the works of the Castiglioni brothers, Karl Springer and Emil Stejnar, Mouille’s minimalist, multi-armed light fixtures are now considered iconic. Angular and kinetic, each fixture was hand-made with a healthy respect for the artisan spirit — an appreciation he learned during his apprenticeship under French sculptor Gabriel René Lacroix. After Mouille died in 1988, his widow, Gin, teamed up with Mouille’s friend Claude Delpiroux and resumed production of Serge’s work under a new family company: Éditions Serge Mouille.
Éditions Serge Mouille kept the designs, materials and hand-made manufacturing process identical to those of the original models. Considered essential to the designs, only expert craftspeople, like Mouille’s former student Fred Barnley, are trusted to make the fixtures.
Each lamp is accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity. Gin approved all lamps leaving the workshop until her death in 2009, then Delpiroux signed off on the work before his passing in 2016. Claude Delpiroux’s son, Didier Delpiroux, took over in 2016 and continues to oversee the estimated 1,500 pieces produced by Éditions Serge Mouille and shipped around the world annually.
Mouille’s designs were extremely popular in the 1950s and were shown at Steph Simon Gallery in Paris. A member of both the Society of Decorative Artists and of the French National Art Society, Mouille won the Charles Plumet Prize and received an honorary diploma at the Brussels Expo in 1958. Mouille designed for schools in Antony, Strasbourg and Marseilles, as well as for the Bizerte Cathedral in Tunisia. Today, American comedian Ellen Degeneres is among the many high-profile celebrities and collectors to include Mouille’s lighting in their homes.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Éditions Serge Mouille wall lights and sconces, table lamps and floor lamps.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Glendale, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Pair of Serge Mouille 'Conche' Wall Lamps in BlackBy Serge Mouille, Editions Serge MouilleLocated in Glendale, CAPair of Serge Mouille 'Conche' wall lamps in black. Originally designed in 1952, these iconic wall sconces are still made by Edition Serge Mouil...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsSteel, Aluminum, Brass
- Serge Mouille 'Flame' Wall Lamp in BlackBy Serge Mouille, Editions Serge MouilleLocated in Glendale, CASerge Mouille 'Flame' wall lamp in black. Originally designed in 1962, this iconic lamp is still made by Edition Serge Mouille in France using many of the same small-scale manufactur...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsAluminum, Steel, Brass
- Serge Mouille "Saturn" Wall Lamp in BlackBy Serge Mouille, Editions Serge MouilleLocated in Glendale, CASerge Mouille "Saturn" wall lamp in black. Originally designed in 1957, this iconic lamp is still made by Edition Serge Mouille in France using many of the same small-scale manufactu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsAluminum, Steel, Brass
- Serge Mouille 'Oeil' Wall Lamp in BlackBy Serge Mouille, Editions Serge MouilleLocated in Glendale, CASerge Mouille 'Oeil' wall lamp in black. Originally designed in 1956, this iconic wall sconce is still made by Edition Serge Mouille in France u...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsAluminum, Brass, Steel
- Serge Mouille 'Antony' Table Lamp in BlackBy Serge Mouille, Editions Serge MouilleLocated in Glendale, CASerge Mouille 'Antony' table lamp in black. Originally designed in 1955, this iconic lamp is still made by Edition Serge Mouille in France using...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum, Brass, Steel
- Serge Mouille "Cocotte" Table or Wall Lamp in BlackBy Editions Serge Mouille, Serge MouilleLocated in Glendale, CASerge Mouille "Cocotte" table or wall lamp in black. Originally designed in 1957, this iconic lamp is still made by Edition Serge Mouille in France using many of the same small-scale...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel, Aluminum, Brass
- Serge Mouille - Pair of Black Antony SconcesBy Serge MouilleLocated in Stratford, CTThis sconce incorporates the "moule" or mussel shell shade, simple and natural in design. The shade is connected by a brass swivel and supported on a bent, rotating arm attached to t...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsAluminum, Steel
- Serge Mouille - Antony Sconce in BlackBy Serge MouilleLocated in Stratford, CTThis sconce incorporates the "moule" or mussel shell shade, simple and natural in design. The shade is connected by a brass swivel and supported on a bent, rotating arm attached to t...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsAluminum, Steel
- Serge Mouille - Black Antony SconceBy Serge MouilleLocated in Stratford, CTThis sconce incorporates the "moule" or mussel shell shade, simple and natural in design. The shade is connected by a brass swivel and supported on a bent, rotating arm attached to t...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsAluminum, Steel
- Serge Mouille - Black Antony SconceBy Serge MouilleLocated in Stratford, CTThis sconce incorporates the "moule" or mussel shell shade, simple and natural in design. The shade is connected by a brass swivel and supported on a bent, rotating arm attached to t...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsAluminum, Steel
- Serge Mouille - Black Antony SconceBy Serge MouilleLocated in Stratford, CTThis sconce incorporates the "moule" or mussel shell shade, simple and natural in design. The shade is connected by a brass swivel and supported on a bent, rotating arm attached to t...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and ...
MaterialsAluminum, Steel
- Serge Mouille 'Saturn' Wall LampBy Editions Serge Mouille, Serge MouilleLocated in Utrecht, NLWall lamp 'Saturne' in white version. Listed as 220-240 Voltage but can be used with right bulb in US, Canada hardwired or with plug as plug in. Originally designed in 1957, this iconic lamp is still made by Edition Serge Mouille in France using many of the same small-scale manufacturing techniques and with scrupulous attention to detail, materials and craftsmanship. Each piece is stamped, numbered and made to order. The lamps are produced using original moulds, proportions, materials and techniques. This offered lamp ships from...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass, Steel