Posted 11 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5042 items)
i bought this very heavy brass object many years ago at a yard sale in my old neighborhood in san francisco [bernal heights]. it's about 6" long and 1" wide. i would LOVE to find out what it is after all these years!
that's a good guess rob. there are just the two parts and a perfect fit. one reservation i have it that the craftsmanship on them is very, very high quality. they aren't mold-made, but hand forged and machine-tooled. they are very heavy also.
ok. they do seem a bit heavy-duty for lamp finials though, don't you think?
ok. good answer. thank you.
Hi, gentlemen. Hope your Sunday is splendid. I think that RobinHawaii's hypothesis and arguement is great. I saw your listing right after you posted ho2cultcha, and two hypotheses immediately came to mind - lamp finial or curtain rod terminal, but then I looked closer, and said, nope it's neither. I had never considered a swag lamp! FYI, the flame finial looks a lot like the a Pottery Barn lamp I wanted but didn't buy about eight years ago. Can't find a photo now. It was a floor lamp with a 'Morroccan' silk flame shade suspended from an arm bar projecting horizontally from the floor stem. Terrible sentence, but beautiful lamp. I think that there might also have been a swag lamp with this series. Too expensive for my budget, or I might have purchased one. I can't remember the name of the line, but I think that the shades were in Dupioni silk, and they had a 'Moroccan' flavor. FYI, About this time, a friend replaced her curtains. There were all manner of metal finials somewhat similar to this flame motif at that time.
hmmm! i'd love to see some pics, because i'm still a little skeptical. both halves of this thing are quite heavy and solid. if they happened to fall on you from a couple feet up, they could really do some damage! [perdon the dreadful thought]
another reason i am skeptical is if they are both meant to be finials, why is one a female and the other a male? wouldn't they both be the same?
possibly i'm skeptical because i've just never seen finials like these. all the ones i've seen are light-weight / modern materials or small pieces made from older materials.
those pottery barn lamps sound intriguing!
I think the light fixture idea is correct, the 1/8 " NPT is very common in lighting.
I'm thinking exterior brass sconce light fixtures.
Look on google images.
my 2 cents
David
it's 3/8", not 1/8". i spent an hour looking for something similar on ebay and didn't find a single one. or am i looking in the wrong place?
i have a box full of old finials and interesting drawer pulls too, and i just don't see anything similar about them. ?? it could be i've just never seen one like it before, but if i do see one, i'll be easily convinced...
1/8th National Pipe Thread does not have a measurement of .125"
The actual outside dimension of 1/8th pipe is actually .405", so your measurement of .375" is correct for the tapered end of the threaded nipple.
thank you rob in hawaii and walk softly. i'm more convinced now. it makes sense that they are part of the same lamp - one on top and the other underneath - female/male. i'd love to see the lamp that they belonged to.
I think that you have the makings & the talent to build your own!
thank you for the confidence and inspiration walksoftly! i may try to do that one of these days. i'll keep you posted if i'm satisfied w/ the results.