A glossy burgundy ball of glazed ceramic, a short brass collar, and a wide opal white dome sitting over the top of it. The proportions are the whole trick: the dome is nearly as wide as the lamp is tall, so it reads as one rounded shape rather than a base with a shade stuck on it.
Glazed ceramic behaves differently from the moulded plastic most small lamps are made of. It has weight, it stays where you put it, and the glaze carries the light along its curve so the colour shifts from deep wine in the shadow to something brighter where the light catches it. That is what makes a single lamp enough to give a neutral room a point of colour.
The dome is wide and opal, so the light comes out spread rather than pointed. It lays an even pool across a bedside table or a console instead of a hard circle under the bulb, which is the difference between a lamp you can sit beside for an hour and one you end up turning off.
Size: about 20 cm across the dome and 22 cm tall. Small, roughly the height of a bottle of wine, and the wide shade means it needs a bit more surface than its height suggests. Measure about 22 cm of clear width before you order.
Light and power: the light is built into the lamp, so there is no bulb to buy or replace. It runs off a USB cable with a switch on the lead, which means it will take power from a USB wall plug, a laptop or a power bank. It is not a battery lamp, so the cable stays connected while it is on.
Materials: a glazed ceramic base with a brass finished collar and an opal white dome shade.
Care: wipe the glazed ceramic with a soft cloth, damp if you need it, then dry it. The gloss shows dust and fingerprints and both come off easily. Keep the brass collar dry, since moisture left sitting on it will mark the finish. Do not use abrasive cloths or any cleaner containing solvent on the glaze.