This is a stunning antique that has a modern purpose - lighting!! This is an oil lamp from the Art Nouveau Era, dating it to about 1890-1910. It was made for the English store, Harrod's by Messengers. Look at the beautiful work on the brass base. The oil reservoir still lifts right up! The lamp is a fully functional electric lamp that works. Looks from the plug that it might have been converted in the 20's to 40s. You turn the light on and off with the push button that is on the base and shown. The globe has a stunning swan motif on two sides and a pale blue background. It is most likely not the original globe however it works well with the base. There is a tall slender hurricane over which the globe fits. The electric socket can take a standard size light bulb (note - I put one bulb in and the hurricane wouldn't go over it, but another standard bulb did with no problem!). It is monumental in design, size and beauty. Some additional measurements are as follows. The base of the lamp is 8" and the center bowl part is about 7". The glass chimney is 12" tall. The swan globe is about 9 1/2 across. The hole at the base of the globe that fits onto the lamp is 4".