Pair of ‘Stirrups’ bronze wall-lights.
Bronze, fabric with ‘shagreen’ pattern.
France.
1960s.
68 x 40,5 cm (26,8 x 15,9 in).
This pair of stirrup-shaped, ‘Étriers’ wall lights — with the base of the stirrup mounted to the wall and the leather strap forming the shaft — sometimes also referred to as caryatid lights, is fitted with custom-made fabric lampshades crafted by the Abats-jour Agostini workshop, following the original models.
Félix Agostini, born in 1910 in Paris into a family of Corsican artisans, was a French designer and sculptor known for lighting pieces blending classical elegance with an avant-gardiste creativity. From a young age, he displayed a keen interest in craftsmanship and aesthetics — a talent that propelled him to become one of the leading figures of Postwar French design.
Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Agostini began his career as a sculptor before dedicating himself to lighting design. His early creations, influenced by Art Deco and the modernist style, reveal a preference for organic forms and noble materials such as bronze and brass. During the 1950s and 1960s, he entered a prolific creative period, producing visually striking wall-lights and table lamps. These pieces, with their pure lines and vivid motifs, are not unlike those of Agostini’s illustrious rival Diego Giacometti.
