Fighter Jet Table Lighter

Great sculptural table lighter cast in the form of a swept-wing jet fighter. The fuselage tapers to a needle nose and bubble cockpit canopy, while a friction-wheel lighter mechanism is mounted atop the body like a raised turret — its knurled flint wheel and hinged snuffer cap doubling as the plane's dorsal fin. Delta wings are incised with fine linework suggesting flap seams and landing gear doors, a single nose wheel grounds the piece, and a swept tail fin with horizontal stabilizers completes the silhouette. Equal parts kinetic sculpture and functional object, this is the kind of novelty barware piece that defined mid-century desk and cocktail accessories — a nod to the jet age optimism of the period, when aviation motifs turned up everywhere from lighters to letter openers. It sits confidently on its own as a display object, wheels-down as though caught mid-taxi, and lights on request. Several other table lighters available in separate listings.  Located at our Los Angeles Gallery.