Tablelamp with Loetz-shade Gustav Gurschner ca. 1901

Among the objects Gustav Gurschner designed for study rooms were various table lamps. Shortly after his debut at the First Exhibition of the Vienna Secession in 1898, companies such as Johann Loetz Witwe and E. Bakalowits & Söhne in Vienna began commissioning Gurschner to create artistically designed lighting objects, which were paired with matching shades from their glass manufactories.

In 1897, Gurschner spent time in Paris, where he was deeply influenced by French Art Nouveau. His designs are characterized by the combination of functional everyday objects with figurative elements, often in the form of female figures.
This table lamp features a female figure carrying an amphora, upon which the lamp fitting and shade are mounted. Her body flows seamlessly into the lamp’s base, which is decorated with openwork laurel-leaf motifs.
The lamp shade with an unidentified decor was produced by Johann Loetz Witwe: on an ivory-colored ground with silver oxide flakes, vertically elongated green and silver leaves run along the surface, while the top of the shade is highlighted with a feather-like decoration.
The finely chased ornamental details, the dynamic, sculptural forms, and the organic lines testify to Gurschner’s exceptional skill as a bronze artist, while the Loetz shade provides a warm, atmospheric light.