Sconce with Counter Balance

A hammered cone on a pulley cord, which is the sort of thing that makes engineers smile.

This sconce with counter balance is contemporary, in brass and copper. Counterweighted lamps were developed so a light could be raised or lowered without a fuss, a practical idea borrowed from workshops and industrial spaces. A slim brass arm rises from a wall plate fitted with two small pulleys, and a twisted cord runs down through them. Below, a conical copper shade is hammered all over in small facets, darkened to a deep bronze tone. A brass collar meets the socket at the top of the shade. It is 7.25 inches long, 22 deep and 30 high.

Up and down, and never a moment's argument.