Pair of G.E.C. Wembley Exhibition Globe Lamps

British Empire Exhibition, Wembley Park, 1924
Maker: General Electric Co., Ltd., Magnet House, Kingsway, London W.C.2

A matched pair of ornamental electric globe lamps, designed and manufactured by G.E.C. as commemorative lighting fixtures for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924. Each lamp comprises a spherical opaline glass shade mounted on a cast and moulded base, echoing the monumental lighting spheres that illuminated the Wembley Park grounds during the Exhibition. Offered commercially as Ref. F.5464 (2ft) and Ref. F.5464A (3 ft), these examples retain their original proportions and fittings, with patinated metalwork and period wiring elements intact.

Promoted in The Architectural Review as “The Talk of Wembley,” these lamps were celebrated for their decorative appeal and symbolic resonance, embodying the optimism and imperial grandeur of the interwar period. Their survival as a pair is exceptionally rare, enhancing both curatorial and market significance.