Term for the Day: Torchère

While the most common usage of the word torchère refers to a standing lamp (floor lamp) with a bowl-like glass-shade which serves to direct light upward, torchère can also refer to a tall, thin stand for holding a candelabrum.


This French torchère, from about 1840, is ebonized wood and papier mache and is hand-painted in a chinoiserie style.