Bead-Blasted Strand Electric Patt 23 “Pig Nose” Spotlight Floor Lamp | 1960s Raw Aluminium Stage Light on Ertel-Werk Bundeswehr Tripod
Bead-Blasted Strand Electric Patt 23 “Pig Nose” Spotlight Floor Lamp | 1960s Raw Aluminium Stage Light on Ertel-Werk Bundeswehr Tripod
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A Strand Electric Patt 23 from the 1960s, stripped of its paint and bead blasted back to raw aluminium. Without the black enamel, the metal shows a soft, even matt grey with a clearly industrial character. It stands on a height-adjustable Ertel-Werk tripod from the German Bundeswehr.
At a glance
| Manufacturer | Strand Electric, London |
|---|---|
| Model | Patt 23, the standard model, nicknamed the “Pig Nose” |
| Origin | Made in England |
| Produced | 1960s |
| Finish | Paint removed and bead blasted to raw aluminium |
| Wiring | Rewired, E27 fitting, approx. 3 m (9.8 ft) cord with inline switch and EU plug |
| Bulb | Takes any standard E27 LED or incandescent bulb |
| Tripod | Vintage Ertel-Werk field tripod, issued to the German Bundeswehr, height adjustable |
| Spotlight dimensions | 33 x 26 x 30 cm (13.0" x 10.2" x 11.8") |
| Lowest height | 113 cm (44.5") |
| Highest height | 160 cm (63.0") |
| Availability | One of one, once sold this exact piece will not return |
| Import duty | Payable by the buyer in their own country (outside the EU) |
The story
Strand Electric began in 1914, when two London theatre electricians, Arthur Earnshaw and Phillip Sheridan, set up in the West End. Its Pattern 23, introduced in 1953 and built until 1983, became one of the most widely used small theatre spotlights in the world. Its compact profile, with a plano-convex lens in a protruding lens tube, gave a sharp, controllable beam from a small lamp, and it lit theatres, schools and television studios across Britain and far beyond. Crews gave it a nickname that stuck: the “Pig Nose”.
Most surviving Patt 23s are black, because that is how Strand painted them. This one has lost its paint altogether. The raw aluminium underneath, bead blasted to an even matt finish, shows the shape of the spotlight more clearly than paint ever did.
It stands on a Bundeswehr field tripod from Ertel-Werk of Munich, a firm that traces its history back to 1802 and a precision workshop for astronomical and surveying instruments. The tripod was made to carry optical equipment in open terrain, and it lifts the spotlight to a working height of between 113 cm and 160 cm.
The restoration
The paint was removed and the metal bead blasted to raw aluminium, giving the spotlight its industrial surface. We rewired it with an E27 fitting, about 3 metres of cord, an inline switch and an EU plug, so it takes any standard LED or incandescent bulb. This is a standard Patt 23, with no special lens or added parts.
In your interior
The matt aluminium suits a modern industrial or minimalist interior and sits equally well next to dark wood or concrete. At up to 160 cm it works as a reading light by an armchair, as a corner lamp, or in a shop, studio or restaurant, where the beam can pick out a wall, a plant or a picture.
Suited to collectors of British theatre and television lighting, interior designers looking for a statement floor lamp with an industrial finish, and anyone who prefers raw metal to paint.