A tall lantern of cream milk glass, gently fluted down its sides and stepped in at the shoulders, sitting on a cast antique brass foot with an acanthus leaf pattern worked across it. A brass cap with a small ball finial closes the top. It is the sort of lamp that looks like it came out of a house rather than a box.
Milk glass is the reason it works. The glass is opaque rather than clear, so lit from inside the whole body of it turns warm and even with no bright spot anywhere, and unlit it stays a soft cream that reads as an object in its own right on a dark console. The flutes catch a little extra light down each edge.
Size: 38 cm tall and 16 cm across the base, weighing about 2 kg. The glass section alone is around 21.5 cm tall and 14 cm across. That is a tall, narrow lamp with real weight in the foot, so it takes up very little surface for the height it gives you.
Power and bulb: mains powered with a cord. A bulb is not included, and the fitting takes up to 40W, so pick one up with the order. A warm white bulb suits the milk glass best, since the glass softens whatever you put behind it.
Materials: a milk glass shade on a metal base with an antique brass finish.
Care: dust the glass with a soft dry cloth, or wipe it with a barely damp one and dry it straight after. Keep the brass dry and wipe it with a dry cloth only, since moisture left sitting on an antique finish will mark it. Let the bulb cool before you clean around it.