...the late Victorians had a different attitude towards light bulbs than we do today. To them an exposed light bulb looked stylish and modern, to us it's a symbol of decrepitude and poorness. We hide light bulbs behind shades and diffusers. The Victorians liked to show them off.
The blogger, Deadprogrammer, goes on to point out the Edison bulb (pictured to the right) and a simple unadorned fixture, both from Rejuvenation, that would be appropriate for showing it off. (I can personally vouch for Rejuvenation -- I have ordered lighting fixtures from them and been extremely pleased with both the quality and stylishness of their products.)