Brass Finish Table Lamp — Handmade Nautical Light

A brass-finished table lamp, handmade in metal — the kind of lamp that suits a room already full of ships and instruments.

Details

• Handmade metal construction with brass finish
• Weighted base
• Suits a desk, study, library, hallway or bedside

Why brass, on a boat

Brass is the traditional marine metal for a practical reason: it does not rust. Iron and steel corrode in salt air within months, but brass — copper and zinc — develops a protective oxide layer and then largely stops. It also resists the seawater attack that would eat a plain copper fitting.

The polished brass of ships' fittings was maintenance, not decoration. Crews polished it because the oxide layer that protects the metal is also the film that dulls it, and an officer who could see his reflection knew the work had been done.