A rare 4 shade cluster ceiling light by an unknown designer but very much in the style of W.A.S Benson.  The handcrafted copper and brass central mount hangs pendant three exceptional James Powell & Sons  vaseline-glass lampshades, originally designed for W.A.S Benson, with a fourth central shade attached to the fitting. The piece is apparently unsigned. England c.1900

Click here for video of the light

Ht.(as displayed)102cm/40in,Ht.(min)80/31.5, W.(fitment)30/12

N.B requires E.14 bulbs

Whitefriars Glass Company, London

James Powell & Sons

• In 1834 James Powell,  then a 60-year-old London wine merchant and entrepreneur, purchased the Whitefriars Glass Company, a small glass-works off Fleet Street in London.
• Powell, and his sons Arthur and Nathanael, were newcomers to glass making, but soon acquired the necessary expertise and specialised in making church stain glass windows.
• During the latter part of the c.19th, the firm formed a close association with leading architects and designers. Whitefriars produced the glass that Phillip Webb used in his designs for William Morris
• By 1900 production lines of  vaseline and opalescent glass-ware, including lampshades, were proving to be extremely successful with clients such as William Arthur Smith Benson using their glass in the design of their lights.
• The firm’s name was changed to Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd in 1919