Maschinenleuchten

An old post on Brass Goggles, and a new one on Boing Boing, both point to these Maschinenleuchten (machine lights) by artist Frank Buchwald.

Each object is manually produced from up to 200 individual parts (Including hand-made globe, type 01 or glasscylinder type 10). Each light is therefore unique.

Steel and brass parts produced from raw steel and brass, and burnished by hand, creating a black surface structure with a brownish hue. The brass parts are given a fine finish and the steel parts are treated with the silky matt finish.

The voltage is 230V (110V with voltage converter). Electricity flows through visible wires made of black and yellow textile cables and sometimes encased in flexible brass tubes.
Effective special bulbs and light tubes with partially visible filaments or yellow surface evaporation allow the Machine Lights to glow mysteriously.

The low volume production takes place in Berlin and requires a manufacture time of 4 weeks and more depending of the model.

There's even a short photo-essay on how they are made.

I loved the one above with it's art deco lines. (It's reassuring to me to find art deco and steampunk coexisting so elegantly, since I love them both so.)

It's implied they are for sale, but, as my father says "If you have to ask you can't afford them."