Ownership

Care & materials

Glazed porcelain is tougher than it looks and applied flowerwork is not. Most of looking after a Turqelis lamp is knowing which parts to leave alone.

What the lamps are made of

Figurine bodies
Glazed porcelain, slip-cast and kiln-fired, with the finer elements — flowers, pierced lace, hands, instruments — modelled separately and applied by hand before firing.
Painted decoration
Hand-painted, then fired. Colour sits under or within the glaze, so it will not rub off with normal handling.
Gilded detailing
A thin gilded line applied by hand to edges and scrollwork after glazing, where a piece carries it. This is the most vulnerable surface on the lamp.
Blue-and-white bases
Glazed ceramic, hand-painted in cobalt under a clear glaze. Slight pooling of blue at the edge of a petal is a mark of hand-painting, not a flaw.
Fittings
Metal socket and cap, E26 screw fitting, 60 W maximum. 120 V US plug and inline cord switch; cord approximately 1.8 m.
Shades
Ivory pleated silk with a woven gilt trim on the figurine lamps; ivory linen drum shades on the ceramic lamps. Both are fabric over a rigid frame with a metal fitting, and neither is washable.
Base felt
Felt disc on the underside to protect furniture. Replaceable if it wears.

Everyday care

Dusting

A soft dry brush — a clean make-up brush or a fine paintbrush — gets into applied flowers and pierced lace far better than a cloth, which snags and snaps petals. Work from the top down, unplugged.

Cleaning the glaze

A barely damp cloth on the smooth glazed areas only, then dry immediately. No detergent, no alcohol, no glass cleaner, and nothing abrasive.

The gilding

Leave it dry. Rubbing gilding, even gently with a cloth, dulls it and eventually takes it off. Dust it with the brush and nothing else.

Shades

A soft brush, lightly, on both the silk and the linen. Do not use a damp cloth: water marks both permanently, and silk pleats will not sit back down once wetted.

Bulbs

Warm-white LED, about 2700K, 450–800 lumens, 60 W equivalent or less. Let a bulb cool before changing it and hold the lamp by its base, never by the figure.

Moving it

Two hands under the base. Arms, bows, parasols and outstretched hands are the weakest points on a figurine and are exactly what people instinctively grab.

Things worth knowing

Where to put it

  • A stable surface with room for the shade's full width.
  • Out of direct sun — fabric shades fade, and unevenly.
  • Away from radiators, open windows and bathroom humidity.
  • Cord run where it will not be caught by a drawer or a foot.

What is normal, not damage

  • Tiny dark specks in the glaze from kiln firing.
  • Fine variation in the depth of blue between two lamps.
  • Applied flowers differing in number and placement between pieces.
  • Small unglazed patches on the underside where the piece rested in the kiln.
  • Crackle in an ivory glaze running differently on every lamp.

If something chips. Porcelain can be repaired, but not by us — we do not offer a restoration service and would rather say so than take your money for a poor job. A local ceramics restorer will do better work on a clean break than any adhesive sold for the purpose. If a lamp arrives damaged, that is a different matter: email info@turqelis.com within 7 days and we will replace or refund it.