Calla Plaster Floor Lamp · Black

A tapering column of hand-finished black plaster rises to a wide bowl tipped forward at the top, an opal globe resting in its hollow. Unlit, it reads as a dark sculpture. Lit, the bowl becomes a reflector, catching the globe on its rough inner face and returning a warm glow from inside the dark form.

The plaster

The plaster is laid on by hand and worked while still wet, which leaves the open, hammered texture that runs down the column and across the bowl. No two pieces carry the same surface: the variation is the mark of the hand, not a fault. The black is deep and completely matte. Because it absorbs light rather than reflecting it, the texture shows most in raking light from a window or a nearby lamp, and it holds its own against dark timber, smoked oak, bouclé and stone.

Sizes and placement

Small, 60 cm (23.6") high with a 30 cm (11.8") bowl. A low accent lamp: on the floor at the arm of a sofa or armchair, at either end of a console, or as a pair flanking a fireplace. It also stands on a sideboard or a low plinth.

Medium, 120 cm (47.2") high with a 40 cm (15.7") bowl. The everyday living-room height, beside a sofa, in a bedroom corner or at the end of a hallway.

Large, 200 cm (78.7") high with a 60 cm (23.6") bowl. A statement piece for an entrance hall, a high-ceilinged living room, a hotel lobby or the far end of a long room, placed where you would otherwise stand a large plant or a sculpture. Against a pale wall the black large reads as a strong graphic silhouette. Allow a ceiling of at least 2.6 m (8.5 ft) so the bowl has air above it.

The bowl faces outward rather than straight up, so turn it toward the seating or the doorway the lamp is meant to greet.

The light

This is an ambient and accent lamp, not a reading lamp. Most of the light falls into the bowl and comes back off the textured plaster. A black bowl returns less light than a white one, so the effect is a glowing hollow rather than a broad wash: plan it as mood and accent lighting, and pair it with a task lamp wherever you need to read.

Lamping

One E26/E27 socket. The bulb is not supplied. Because the globe sits in full view, it is part of the composition: choose a frosted or opal globe lamp, G95 on the small and G125 on the medium and large, at 2700K. A clear filament bulb will glare inside the bowl. Around 40W-equivalent suits the small; the medium and large take up to 60W-equivalent.

Setting it up

The lamp is freestanding and plugs into a wall socket, wired for your country before it ships. Stand it on a level floor. The large size is tall and carries its weight at the top, so unpack and position it with two people, lift it by the column rather than the bowl, and never drag it across the floor, which can chip the base.

Care

Plaster is porous, so this is an indoor lamp for dry rooms: keep it out of bathrooms and away from steam. Dust with a soft dry brush or a dry microfibre cloth; on matte black, dust shows quickly, so a light weekly pass keeps it even. No water, sprays, polish or solvents, which will mark the surface. Switch off and let the globe cool before cleaning the bowl.

Made to order

Each lamp is made after you order it. It is also made in chalk white plaster. Other plaster tones, and project heights or bowl sizes, are made on request, and trade and project quantities are quoted individually.