$3,250
H 18.5 in W 17.5 in D 17.5 in
Poul Henningsen PH Kontrast Pendant Light for Louis Poulsen, 1958-62
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An iconic Danish Modern design, this original 'PH Kontrast' pendant light by legendary designer
Aluminum
$5,875 / item
H 17.33 in W 17.72 in D 17.72 in
Poul Henningsen Ceiling Lamps Model PH Kontrast Produced by Louis Poulsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Ceiling lamps model PH Kontrast designed by Poul Henningsen. Produced by Louis Poulsen in Denmark
Metal
Poul Henningsen Kontrast Pendant for Louis Poulsen
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Vienna, AT
Aluminum lacquered white/orange and chromed parts with black lacquered brass fittings. PH kontrast
Aluminum, Steel
PH Contrast By Poul Henningsen For Louis Poulsen From 1960s
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Lejre, DK
An Exquisite Piece of Design History: The PH "Kontrast" Pendant Lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis
Metal, Aluminum
"Ph Kontrast" Ceiling Lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Hägersten, SE
Ceiling lamp model PH Kontrast designed by Poul Henningsen in 1962. This example produced by Louis
Aluminum, Steel
Danish Modern PH Kontrast Pendant Light by Paul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Minneapolis, MN
Danish modern PH Kontrast pendant lamp designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark. The
Metal
Louis Poulsen PH Kontrast Pendant by Poul Henningsen, Denmark
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Utrecht, NL
The PH "Kontrast" pendant lamp was designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen (Denmark) between
Aluminum, Chrome
Poul Henningsen PH Kontrast Louis Poulsen Lamp Pendant Mid Century
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Berlin, BE
This iconic 1960s “Kontrast” pendant lamp was designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
Aluminum, Steel
Poul Henningsen PH Kontrast Louis Poulsen Lamp Pendant Mid Century
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Berlin, BE
This iconic 1960s “Kontrast” pendant lamp was designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
Aluminum, Steel
Poul Henningsen PH Kontrast Pendant Lamp by Louis Poulsen Denmark
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Krefeld, DE
Very nice PH contrast from Design in 1960 by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen Made in Denmark. The
Metal
Sold
H 19.69 in Dm 17.72 in L 19.69 in
"Ph Kontrast" Ceiling Lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Designed 1962
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Hitchin, England
The "Ph Kontrast" is formed of nine brushed aluminium white and orange lacquered concentric cone
Aluminum
Sold
H 17.72 in Dm 17.72 in
PH Kontrast Pendant Light by Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen A/S Denmark 1970s
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Silkeborg, Silkeborg
PH Kontrast pendant designed in 1962 by Poul Henningsen (1894-1967). Manufactured by Louis
Aluminum
Vintage 1960's Poul Henningsen "Kontrast" pendant, Louis Poulsen
Located in New York, NY
Vintage 1960's PH "Kontrast" designed by Poul Henningsen 1958, made by Louis Poulsen. Single bulb
PH Contrast Pendant by Poul Henningsen, 1960s
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Odense, DK
Iconic piece of design from Poul Henningsen. The PH "Kontrast" pendant lamp was designed by Poul
Metal
Pendant 'Konstrast' by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Doornspijk, NL
Poul Henningsen. The PH Kontrast is composed of chromed & white-lacquered metal rings. The pendulum
PH Kontrast lamp, designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen.
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Dronten, NL
Poul Henningsens masterpiece, the PH Kontrast. The lamp was originally designed for Louis Poulsen
Aluminum
1960s Louis Poulsen PH Kontrast Pendant Lamp by Poul Henningsen Denmark
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Sherborne, Dorset
This iconic 1960s “Kontrast” pendant lamp was designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
Aluminum, Steel
Sold
H 19.69 in Dm 17.72 in
PH Contrast Pendant by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, 1960s "Kontrast Lamp"
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Poulsen in the 1960's. This lamp called 'Kontrast' is a masterpiece from the oevre of the Danish light
Aluminum, Steel
Poul Henningsen PH Kontrast - Top Condition
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Perfect example of the PH Kontrast. Minimal signs of use - rare find It gives a beautiful
PH Kontrast Lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in New York, NY
Large pendant lamp with 10 shades, and orange and chrome interior.
Sold
H 15.75 in W 17.72 in D 17.72 in
Poul Henningsen, "PH Kontrast" Pendant, Louis Poulsen, Denmark, circa 1970
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in EL Waalre, NL
Poul Henningsen - "PH Kontrast" pendant - Louis Poulsen, Denmark, circa 1970 Artist Poul
Aluminum
Danish Modern Ph Kontrast Pendant by Poul Henningsen, Denmark, 1962
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Woudrichem, NL
Danish modern PH Kontrast pendant lamp designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark, 1958
Poul Henningsen Kontrast Pendant
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Early version of the PH Kontrast. It gives a beautiful glarefree ligt. The pendant has been
Poul Henningsen PH Snowball Kontrast Pendant Lamp by Louis Poulsen
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Lisboa, Lisboa
Pendant light, model Kontrast, designed in 1960 by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen. Made of
Aluminum, Steel
Vintage PH Kontrast Ceiling Lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Stockholm, SE
This model PH Kontrast pendant is composed of then shades. Each shade has four different surfaces
Metal, Iron
Mid-Century Round Cocoon Pendant Lamp, 1960s, Italy
By Achille Castiglioni
Located in Hagenbach, DE
This is a cocoon hanging lamp crafted in Italy during the 1960s, showcasing the elegance and innovation of mid-century Italian design. The lamp features a strikingly beautiful round ...
Resin
$910 / item
H 11.03 in W 5.91 in D 33.86 in
Pair of Articulated Sconce Mid-Century Modern Solid Brass Black and White
By Stilnovo, Arredoluce, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Tavarnelle val di Pesa, Florence
This exquisite sconce is a nod to the timeless pieces crafted by mid-century modern Italian studios Arteluce and Stilnovo in the 1950s, but with a unique and distinctive design that ...
Metal, Aluminum, Brass
Shroom Rattan Pencil Reed Table Lamp Mid Century Modern
Located in Oxford, GB
Illuminate your space with elegance and artistry with this mid century modern style pencil reed rattan table lamp. Handcrafted with a beautiful structural shroom shape and accented w...
Rattan
BRASS Pendant Concave Uplighter with 4 lights
By Gino Sarfatti, Lightolier, Gerald Thurston
Located in St- Leonard, Quebec
MCM style BRASS pendant Uplighter with 4 lights . Concave disc are hand spun with prime quality brass . Solid sturdy hardware and construction . Diameter 30 in Lower convex di...
Brass
$2,501 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 21.66 in
Mustard Mohair Velvet Round Ottoman with Oak Feet, Modern UK Design
Located in London, England
Dagmar Design - Round Ottoman Custom-made ottoman developed & produced at our workshops in London using the highest quality materials. These examples are upholstered in a mustar...
Oak, Mohair, Velvet
Geometric Mid Century Open Bookcase
Located in Westwood, NJ
Finished in Batavia Black with a Sandbar finish interior, this bookcase showcases rhythmic, crescent-shaped oval cut-outs that form an architectural silhouette—an homage to the sculp...
Wood
$3,642
H 27 in Dm 17.5 in
Large Vintage, Mid Century Modern Handcrafted Brass Round 8 Layers Pendant Light
Located in Lisse, NL
Rare design, three light pendants with layered brass shades. If you are looking for a striking and extraordinary light fixture to grace your midcentury living or work space then the...
Brass
$3,760 / item
H 26.5 in Dm 55.91 in
Orbitale Brass Chandelier 3 Rotating Balanced Arms, Stilnovo Style, Twin Shades
By Arteluce, Silvio Piattelli, Stilnovo
Located in Tavarnelle val di Pesa, Florence
This 3-armed chandelier with twin shades is a versatile and elegant fixture perfect above a kitchen island, over a counter, dining table, or in a living room. The chandelier's three ...
Metal, Aluminum, Brass
$16,686 / item
H 53.15 in W 125.99 in D 59.06 in
Oval Brass and Parchment Chandelier by Diego Mardegan for Glustin Luminaires
By Diego Mardegan
Located in Saint-Ouen, IDF
Beautiful chandelier by Diego Mardegan for Glustin Luminaires, this other version of the spider chandelier has longer arms on the sides giving the oval shape. The metal arms paint...
Metal, Brass
Poul Henningsen PH 5 Pendant for Louis Poulsen in Green
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Glendale, CA
Poul Henningsen 'PH 5' Pendant in Hues of Green for Louis Poulsen. Poul Henningsen introduced his iconic 'PH 5' pendant light in 1958. Today, the 'PH 5' remains the bestselling des...
Aluminum
LUte Sconce
By Lumfardo Luminaires
Located in Los Angeles, CA
The stunning LUte sconce by Lumfardo Luminaires is an up and down fixed cylindrical wall sconce in unlacquered patinated brass or unlacquered gold finish. An all brass fixture, with ...
Gold, Brass
Circa 1880 Italian Large Gilt wood LXV Style Confidente Sofa
Located in London, Park Royal
A rare antique find from Tuscany Italy. This 'Confidante' sofa, circa 1880, is in beautiful condition. The large frame is finely carved in the LXV style, with its original water gild...
Gold, Gold Leaf
$1,723 / item
H 15.75 in Dm 43.31 in
Contemporary Art Deco Mint green and Red powder coated Carousel 5 arms pendant
By Mambo Unlimited Ideas
Located in Lisbon, PT
Carousel suspension lamp has a delicate balance of form and function that produces a quiet, modern light ambiance for all to savour, with its Contemporary Art Deco lines. The struct...
Metal
$3,990 / item
H 15.75 in W 74.81 in D 29.14 in
Mustard Velvet Daybed with V-Shaped Beechwood Base, Model V
By Dusty Deco
Located in Los Angeles, CA
DD V daybed is an exclusive daybed made by hand in Bosnia and Herzegovina by skilled craftsmen with long experience in wood and upholstery. Both frame and the characteristic V-shaped...
Fabric, Beech, Velvet
$1,057 / item
H 11.03 in Dm 17.72 in
1970s PH 4 1/2-4 Metal Pendant Lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Knebel, DK
This pendant lamp, model 117077 (PH 4 1/2-4 Metal), was designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen. The model is no longer in production in this size. The pendant lamp is in a ve...
Metal
$881
H 5.91 in W 7.49 in D 7.88 in
Blue Flowerpot pendant lamp by Verner Panton for Louis Poulsen, Denmark 1968
By Louis Poulsen, Verner Panton
Located in Steenwijk, NL
The Flowerpot pendant lamp was designed by Verner Panton for Louis Poulsen in 1968. A beautiful design classic that is still in production. This lamp is an early version and has a bl...
Metal, Enamel
The name Poul Henningsen is synonymous with the best and most innovative modern Scandinavian lamps and other lighting. The Danish designer created a signature vocabulary of fixtures with tiered and layered shades in sculptural arrangements that are at once naturalistic and geometric.
Henningsen grew up in a town on the outskirts of Copenhagen and studied architecture at the Technical University of Denmark. He would become a noted art critic, journalist and screenwriter, but his first love was lighting design.
Henningsen’s childhood home was illuminated by oil lamps. When his family switched to electrified lighting, he was alarmed and repelled by the harsh glare cast by an incandescent bulb, and in his late teens he began conducting quasi-scientific experiments to measure which materials and methods best diffused or reflected light to give it a warm brightness. His work came to the attention of the lighting-fixtures firm Louis Poulsen, which sponsored the development of a prototype lamp. The design won a gold medal at the 1925 Paris Expositions Internationales des Arts Decóratifs et Industriels Modernes — from which the term Art Deco derives. The lamp, whose three-part shade is said to be inspired by the arrangement of a dinner plate atop a soup bowl atop a teacup, became the basis for Henningsen’s most successful design, the PH 4/3 desk lamp.
All told, Henningsen would design some 100 lighting fixtures in his career. Some of his most notable creations are hanging lamps, which include the Septima (1929), a pendant composed of seven graduated frosted-glass layers; the Spiral (1942), made of a single ribbon of enameled aluminum; and the Artichoke lamp (1958), whose 70 glass or metal fins in a staggered and graduated arrangement on a central steel frame resemble those of its namesake. The last is likely Henningsen’s masterwork and an icon of mid-20th-century design. Like all Henningsen lighting designs, it is striking, sculptural and — thanks to his insistence on the primacy of the quality of the light cast — superbly functional.
Find a collection of authentic Poul Henningsen table lamps, floor lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs.
Chandeliers — simple in form, inspired by candelabras and originally made of wood or iron — first made an appearance in early churches. For those wealthy enough to afford them for their homes in the medieval period, a chandelier's suspended lights likely exuded imminent danger, as lit candles served as the light source for fixtures of the era. Things have thankfully changed since then, and antique chandeliers and pendant lights are popular in many interiors today.
While gas lighting during the late 18th century represented an upgrade for chandeliers — and gas lamps would long inspire Danish architect and pioneering modernist lighting designer Poul Henningsen — it would eventually be replaced with the familiar electric lighting of today.
The key difference between a pendant light and a chandelier is that a pendant incorporates only a single bulb into its design. Don’t mistake this for simplicity, however. An Art Deco–styled homage to Sputnik from Murano glass artisans Giovanni Dalla Fina, with handcrafted decorative elements supported by a chrome frame, is just one stunning example of the elaborate engineering that can be incorporated into every component of a chandelier. (Note: there is more than one lighting fixture that shares its name with the iconic mid-century-era satellite — see Gino Sarfatti’s design too.)
Chandeliers have evolved over time, but their classic elegance has remained unchanged.
Not only will the right chandelier prove impressive in a given room, but it can also offer a certain sense of practicality. These fixtures can easily illuminate an entire space, while their elevated position prevents them from creating glare or straining one’s eyes.
Certain materials, like glass, can complement naturally lit settings without stealing the show. Brass, on the other hand, can introduce an alluring, warm glow. While LEDs have earned a bad reputation for their perceived harsh bluish lights and a loss of brightness over their life span, the right design choices can help harness their lighting potential and create the perfect mood. A careful approach to lighting can transform your room into a peaceful and cozy nook, ideal for napping, reading or working.
For midsize spaces, a wall light or sconce can pull the room together and get the lighting job done. Perforated steel rings underneath five bands of handspun aluminum support a rich diffusion of light within Alvar Aalto's Beehive pendant light, but if you’re looking to brighten a more modest room, perhaps a minimalist solution is what you’re after. The mid-century modern furniture designer Charlotte Perriand devised her CP-1 wall lamps in the 1960s, in which a repositioning of sheet-metal plates can redirect light as needed.
The versatility and variability of these lighting staples mean that, when it comes to finding something like the perfect chandelier, you’ll never be left hanging. From the natural world-inspired designs of the Art Nouveau era to the classic beauty of Paul Ferrante's fixtures, there is a style for every room.
With designs for pendant lights and chandeliers across eras, colors and materials, you’ll never run out of options to explore on 1stDibs — shop a collection today that includes antique Art Deco chandeliers, Stilnovo chandeliers, Baccarat chandeliers and more.