Siena Ceramic Jug Table Lamp

A 36cm shade is modest for the height. Easier to place than most.

The shade is the widest point, so measure against 36cm rather than the base. A surface of 40cm deep takes it comfortably, which is a good deal more forgiving than a wide coolie shade would be.

56cm suits a generous bedside as well as a console. It sits in the useful middle: tall enough to anchor a sideboard, not so tall that it dominates a nightstand.

Check the height above the surface. On a 75cm console the top of the shade lands at around 131cm from the floor, so measure against a wall-mounted mirror or a low shelf.

On a bedside, aim for the bottom of the shade at roughly shoulder height when you are sitting up in bed.

A jug rather than a shape, and dark brown rather than another cream.

The form is borrowed from a traditional earthenware vessel: a rounded belly drawing in at the shoulder, with two handles where a jug would carry them. That reference is what gives the base character rather than simply holding the shade up, and it is why the lamp reads as an object with a history.

The glossy dark brown glaze is the other half. A deep, warm brown with the depth a gloss finish gives, pooling darker in the curve of the belly and catching light across the shoulder. It reads as a glazed kitchen vessel rather than a modern lamp base.

And the colour is genuinely useful. Almost every ceramic lamp is cream, white, grey or sage, which means a room can easily end up with nothing dark in it at all. One dark brown base gives a neutral scheme the anchor it needs, without committing to a dark piece of furniture.

The subtle handcrafted texture across the surface keeps it from reading as machine-perfect, and the natural linen shade warms the light and lifts the whole piece against a dark base.

• A jug silhouette with side handles, borrowed from traditional earthenware
• Glossy dark brown glaze with depth in the curve and light on the shoulder
• The dark note a neutral room needs, where most lamps are pale
• Handcrafted surface texture rather than a machine-perfect finish
• Natural linen shade lifting the piece and warming the light
• 56cm, which works on a console and on a generous bedside
• A 36cm shade, modest for the height and easy to place
• Buy two for symmetry on a long sideboard or either side of a bed

This is the reverse of the usual advice. A dark base needs something light behind and beneath it, a pale wall, a stone surface or a light timber console, so the silhouette reads. Against dark timber it disappears.

2400K to 2700K. On a warm brown glaze a cool bulb turns the linen grey and flattens the gloss, which is the one thing that undoes the lamp.

A room built on oatmeal, linen and pale timber usually needs one deep tone. Let the lamp do that job rather than adding a second dark object on the same surface.

A dark glazed vessel across the room or a timber object nearby stops the lamp looking like the only dark thing in the house.

Two at either end of a long console or sideboard frames the surface and gives low warm light from two points rather than one.

A soft dry cloth on the glaze, or barely damp on a mark, dried straight after. Nothing abrasive, which will dull a gloss finish permanently in patches.

A dark gloss shows dust. More than a matt or pale finish does, which is the honest trade for the depth of the colour. A quick wipe every couple of weeks keeps it looking as it did.

Never use water or cleaning spray on the linen shade. Water marks a fabric shade permanently. A soft dry brush, a lint roller or a hairdryer on the cool setting.

Lift it by the body, not the handles. They are a decorative reference to a jug rather than structural carrying handles.

Switch off and let the bulb cool before changing it or cleaning near the shade.

What to expect. The glaze varies slightly in depth across the surface and between pieces, which is the character of a handcrafted finish rather than a fault.

Your lamp ships packed to protect the ceramic and the shade in transit. Current timescales and charges are set out on our delivery page.

Send us the depth and height of the surface you have in mind and we will tell you honestly whether it suits. Reach us via our contact page or live chat.

If it is not right once it is in the room, our returns process is straightforward, and everything is covered by our guarantees and warranties.

0% interest-free finance is available at checkout, and our price match promise stands if you find the same piece for less elsewhere. Lighting a hotel or a holiday let? Ask about trade accounts.