Max Ingrand "1844" Sconce for Fontana Arte, 1960

Design
1960

Manufacture
1960-1969

Location
Lonigo, IT

Max Ingrand "1844" sconce for Fontana Arte, brass and glass, Italy, 1960

Designed in 1960, the "1844" sconce is built around contrast: strict structure against an intentionally irregular surface. A thick slab of frosted glass, shaped with a torn, uneven edge, becomes the body of the piece—opaque, textured, and deliberately imperfect. Its surface is worked with shallow, organic markings that catch and scatter the light rather than reflecting it cleanly.

Cutting across the glass is a bronzed-brass framework, sharply profiled and almost skeletal. It anchors the composition and organizes the light sources, which sit behind the glass and glow through it in layered intensity. When lit, the sconce doesn’t project light forward—it bleeds softly around the glass perimeter, creating a luminous aura that feels embedded in the wall rather than applied to it.

The result is half lighting fixture, half wall relief: graphic when off, atmospheric when on. A precise example of Max Ingrand’s ability to use glass as a spatial material, not a decorative one