Cancan, Dh11,000, Roche Bobois, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 04 399 0393, www.rochebobois.com.
Cancan, Dh11,000, Roche Bobois, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 04 399 0393, www.rochebobois.com.
Cancan, Dh11,000, Roche Bobois, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 04 399 0393, www.rochebobois.com.
Cancan, Dh11,000, Roche Bobois, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 04 399 0393, www.rochebobois.com.

Six of the Best: Designer floor lamps


Selina Denman
  • English
  • Arabic

"Accent lighting is an essential aspect of any interior as it combines function with aesthetic value, creating a mood while enhancing the visual dynamic of the space," says the Dubai interior designer Alfred Johnson. "If a space is minimalistic and contemporary, an appropriate light with a bit of colour will bring a healthy ambience and strong artistic accents. If an interior is busy, then highlighting one section will moderate the remainder of the room."

1 Light Boxing

The Spanish designer Jordi Mila specialises in innovative products that are quirky, detailed and highly crafted. Light Boxing mixes the playfulness of a tumbler toy with a lampshade that mimics flower petals. Its weighted base and neck are made of carbon fibre - push as hard as you like but it will always bounce back. Price on request, Caspaiou, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, Dubai, 04 447 3973, www.caspaiou.com

2 Flowers 45

The Flowers 45 lamp by F+M Fos is extravagant but stunning. The mesh flowers are made from gold leaf and the fixture is fully customisable, with anything from one to 45 flowers. Dh74,450, F+M Fos at B5 The Art of Living, Shop G10, Sidra Tower (Fraser Suites), Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 04 447 3973, www.b5living.com

3 Cancan

Why have one lampshade when you can have eight? The circular dimensions of the Cancan, part of Roche Bobois's Les Contemporaines collection, offer an interesting contrast to the verticality of most floor lamps and we love its sense of whimsy. Dh11,000, Roche Bobois, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 04 399 0393, www.rochebobois.com

4 Coral Reef Light

Graceful and serene, the Coral Reef Light is the recipient of a Best of the Best Red Dot design award for 2011. Made by Taiwan's Q is Design, it consists of three elements that can be swivelled around and dimmed and brightened simply by movement. Dh8,815, Sound and Design Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 04 343 1441, www.sdesignme.com

5 Luxiole

Another stunning creation from the French company Design Heure, the wall/floor lamp combines a lampshade in calico fabric with feet in laminated beechwood and a base in cast aluminium. This is complemented by a colourful woven cord that winds its way up the lamp, elegantly concealing the electrical cable. Dh5,425, www.designheure.com

6 Studio

Lambert's creation is modelled on the large studio lamps used in the film and photo studios of the 1930s, when aluminium was a popular metal for lamp construction because it was light yet indestructible. These qualities are resurrected in the metal of the large, shallow lampshades and offset by the darker cast aluminium stand. Available in one- and two-lamp models. From Dh7,400, Lambert at B5 The Art of Living, Dubai

What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?

The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950