Jean Perzel 1930s Sconces Light

The graceful and stylish modern furniture designed by Jean Perzel earned him prestigious clients all over the world, including the Rothschilds and Henry Ford. His sleek Art Deco lighting fixtures are masterpieces of design, and his work has graced the homes of the kings of Morocco and Siam, and the French presidents Charles De Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. Vintage Perzel tables, floor lamps and other furnishings elegantly accentuate and complement — but never overpower — the architecture of their environment.

Perzel was born in Germany. His father and grandfather were glassmakers, and Jean learned to love the craft just as they did. He apprenticed with stained glass artist Franz Xaver Zettler in Munich and left his native country at a young age to travel around Europe. While traveling, he took jobs in various workshops and made his way to Paris around 1910. There he worked for a master glassmaker and was sent to their Algiers factory, where he supervised the production of the company’s more important commissions.

After serving in the Foreign Legion during the first World War, Perzel became a French citizen. He returned to glass painting in 1919 and became a stained glass artist in the workshop of revered Art Nouveau furniture designer Jacques Gruber.

Perzel eventually became fascinated with the burgeoning lighting industry’s then-new technology. He explored how illumination worked in big spaces such as the era’s stately cathedrals and bustling transit hubs and began to concentrate on designing elegant electric fixtures that offered diffused light in a uniform way.

Perzel opened his atelier in Paris in 1923 and produced decorative wall lights and sconces, chandeliers, floor and table lamps, and ceiling lights. He worked with frosted or sandblasted glass and colored enamels to design functional, geometrically rich fixtures that transformed an interior. Perzel’s work was included in the the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts — the exhibition credited with having widely publicized the Art Deco style — and he drew the attention of American industrialist Henry Ford, who commissioned him to design lamps, clocks and other objects that incorporated Ford auto parts. Perzel’s commission would help commemorate the production of 25 million Ford vehicles in Michigan. This cemented Perzel’s reputation as a prestigious lighting designer and manufacturer, and he was tasked with the production of headlights for Ford cars. The Ford-Perzel relationship endured for decades.

Perzel is renowned for designing the lighting for the Luxembourg Cathedral, the League of Nations in Geneva and the Canadian embassy in the Hague. He also collaborated with some of history’s most celebrated architects and designers, including Jules Leleu, Le Corbusier and Michel Roux-Spitz.

On 1stDibs, find vintage Atelier Jean Perzel lighting and other furniture.

From the kitchen to the bedroom and everywhere in between, there is one major part of home decor that you definitely want to master: lighting. Carefully selected vintage sconces and wall lights can do wonders in establishing mood and highlighting your distinctive personality.

We’re a long way from the candelabra-inspired chandeliers of the medieval era. Lighting is no longer merely practical, and lighting designers have been creating and reinventing lighting solutions for eons. Because of the advancements crafted by these venturesome makers, we now have the opportunity to bring unique, customizable lighting solutions into our homes.

It’s never been easier to create dramatic bedrooms, cozy kitchen areas and cheerful bars than it is today. Think of an elegant wall sconce as functional and as a work of art, adding both light and style to your hallways, whimsical kids’ rooms and elsewhere.

When choosing a lighting solution, first determine what your needs are: Will you opt for a moody or a bright feel? The room that will serve as your home office will need adequate lighting — think “the brighter, the better” for this particular setting.

For the bedroom, bedside wall lamps with warm-temperature bulbs instead of bedside table lamps could be the way to go to induce a sense of calm or intimacy. Try to match the style of the wall light or sconce that you’re installing to the overall design scheme of your room. It’s never “just a light.” You should approach the lighting of a room with a mindset that is one part practical and one part aesthetics-driven.

Let 1stDibs help you set the mood with the right antique and vintage wall lights and sconces for your home. Our collection includes every kind of fixture, from sculptural works by Austrian craftsman J.T. Kalmar to chic industrial-style wall sconces, from adjustable painted aluminum wall lamps designed by Artemide to a wide variety of minimalist mid-century modern masterpieces.