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Maija The Bee

Ilmari Tapiovaara Floor Lamp “Maija the bee” / Maija Mehiläinen by Hienoteräs
By Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Rare and early floor lamp “Maija the bee” / Maija Mehiläinen designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara
Category

Vintage 1950s Albanian Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Metal, Brass

Ilmari Tapiovaara Floor Lamp “Maija the bee” / Maija Mehiläinen by Hienoteräs
By Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Rare and early floor lamp “Maija the bee” / Maija Mehiläinen designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Metal, Brass

Modernist "Maija the Bee" Table Lamp, Ilmari Tapiovaara, Finland, 1950s
By Ilmari Tapiovaara, Asko
Located in Stockholm, SE
Striking “Maija Mehiläinen” (“Maija the Bee”) table lamp by Ilmari Tapiovaara. Stacked white
Category

Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps

Materials

Metal

Modernist "Maija the Bee" Floor Lamp, Ilmari Tapiovaara, Finland, 1950s
By Ilmari Tapiovaara, Asko
Located in Stockholm, SE
Striking “Maija Mehiläinen” (“Maija the Bee”) floor lamp by Ilmari Tapiovaara. Stacked white
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Metal

Ilmari Tapiovaara "Maija the Bee" Floor Lamp by Hienoteras in Finland
By Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Rare and early floor lamp “Maija the bee” / Maija Mehiläinen designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Brass, Steel

Ilmari Tapiovaara Floor Lamp Model "Maija the Bee" by Hienoteräs in Finland
By Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Rare and early floor lamp “Maija the bee” / Maija Mehiläinen designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Brass

Ilmari Tapiovaara Floor Lamp Model "Maija the Bee" by Hienoteräs in Finland
By Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Rare and early floor lamp “Maija the bee” / Maija Mehiläinen designed by Ilmari Tapiovaara
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Brass

Ilmari Tapiovaara Table Desk Lamp "Maija the Bee" by Hienoteräs in Finland 1950s
By Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Stockholm, SE
Very rare mid century table / desk lamp “Maija the Bee” by Ilmari Tapiovaara produced by Asko
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps

Materials

Metal, Brass

Ilmari Tapiovaara 'Maija the Bee' Floor Lamp with Brass Feet
By Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Ilmari Tapiovaara for Hienoteräs, 'Maija the Bee' floor lamp, coated metal and brass, Finland, 1955
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Metal, Brass

Ilmari Tapiovaara, Floor Lamp "Maya the Bee", Hienoteräs for Asko 1950s
By Hienoterä, Ilmari Tapiovaara, Asko
Located in Helsinki, FI
A beautiful version of the "Maya the Bee " (Maija Mehiläinen) floor lamp by Ilmari Tapiovaara, one
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Aluminum, Brass

Ilmari Tapiovaara Maya The Bee Floor Lamp by Hienoteräs for Asko
By Hienoterä, Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Helsinki, FI
A Beautiful and large version of the Maya The Bee (Maija Mehiläinen) floor lamp by Ilmari
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Metal, Aluminum, Steel

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Recent Sales

Ilmari Tapiovaara, Pair of "Maija the Bee" Floor Lamps, Hienotertas, Finland
By Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Ilmari Tapiovaara for Hienoteras, Finland, 1955. A pair of "Maija the Bee" floor lamps , white
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

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"Maija Mehiläinen' Floor Lamp by Ilmari Tapiovaara
By Ilmari Tapiovaara, Santa & Cole
Located in Utrecht, NL
designer drew his inspiration from Waldermar Bonsels’ children’s book 'Maya the Bee' (Maija Mehiläinen in
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Steel

Ilmari Tapiovaara Maija Mehiläinen Table Lamp, Finland, 1955
By Asko, Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Utrecht, NL
Designed in 1955 the Maija Mehiläinen (Maya the bee) table lamp is a deliciously simple and elegant
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Table Lamps

Materials

Brass, Aluminum

"Maija Mehiläinen" Standing Lamp by Ilmari Tapiovaara, Finland 1950s
By Ilmari Tapiovaara, Hienoterä
Located in Utrecht, NL
Designed in 1955, this Maija Mehiläinen (Maya the Bee) floor lamp is a simple, yet elegant piece
Category

Vintage 1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps

Materials

Aluminum, Steel

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Maija The Bee For Sale on 1stDibs

At 1stDibs, there are many versions of the ideal maija the bee for your home. Frequently made of metal, brass and natural fiber, every maija the bee was constructed with great care. You’ve searched high and low for the perfect maija the bee — we have versions that date back to the 20th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 20th Century are available. A maija the bee, designed in the Scandinavian Modern or mid-century modern style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. Ilmari Tapiovaara and Hienoterä each produced at least one beautiful maija the bee that is worth considering.

How Much is a Maija The Bee?

The average selling price for a maija the bee at 1stDibs is $21,566, while they’re typically $16,000 on the low end and $31,487 for the highest priced.

Ilmari Tapiovaara for sale on 1stDibs

During the mid-20th century, Finnish furniture designer Ilmari Tapiovaara worked with pine, teak and his country’s native birch to create sleek and sculptural chairs, dining room tables and bookcases in the Scandinavian modern style. Tapiovaara’s areas of expertise expanded beyond furniture to include interior architecture, wooden sculptures, film posters and cutlery.

After completing his studies at the Central School of Applied Arts in Helsinki, Tapiovaara embarked on a design career that would envelop his entire life. As a young man, Tapiovaara idolized revered architect and furniture designer Alvar Aalto — whom, with his wife, Aino Aalto, cofounded Artek, the company that would eventually manufacture the majority of Tapiovaara’s creations. The budding designer had one of Aalto’s chairs in his apartment while he was a student. After graduating, he worked as an assistant in an office at Le Corbusier, then as a designer and artistic director at Asko

By 1951, Tapiovaara and his wife, Annikki, had established their own studio. A few years previous, the pair had designed the now-legendary Domus chair while creating interiors and furnishings for a new student housing complex in Helsinki. Made of molded plywood and easily stackable, the ergonomic Domus chair, with its slender form, featured a modest silhouette — its lightweight structure allowed for easy exporting, and iconic mid-century modern furniture manufacturer Knoll added a low-backed version to its offerings in the early 1950s. (It was marketed as the Finn chair in the United States.)

Tapiovaara went on to design pieces for Pihlgren ja Ritola and Santa and Cole. His experience earned him teaching positions at the Institute of Applied Arts, the Helsinki University of Technology and the Illinois Institute of Technology. While in Chicago for the latter, he worked in the office of Mies van der Rohe.

Tapiovaara centered his passion for design on social responsibility. He wanted his creations to be accessible to everyone, which was the concept behind his democratic approach. In Finland’s postwar era, the goal was exemplary, affordable designs. With this in mind, he created products such as stackable chairs and “knock-down” pieces packed flat, so they shipped efficiently and cost less. 

An influential champion of his profession, he spent two decades as a United Nations ambassador, working to improve design’s contribution to society. His lasting, collectible furniture is a testament to the designer’s goal to create humane, radiant and intimate spaces. The United Nations project included traveling to Paraguay to create much-needed furniture. A similar project followed in Mauritius.

Tapiovaara’s success as an industrial and mass producer of everyday furniture was widely recognized and awarded. He received six gold medals for his chairs alone at the Milan Triennials. He also accepted a Good Design award, the Finnish State Design Award, a prize from the Finnish Culture Foundation and the Furniture Prize of the SIO Interior Architects’ Association of Finland.

Find vintage Ilmari Tapiovaara seating, tables and lighting on 1stDibs.

A Close Look at Scandinavian Modern Furniture

Scandinavian modernism is perhaps the warmest and most organic iteration of modernist design. The work of the designers associated with vintage Scandinavian modern furniture was founded on centuries-old beliefs in both quality craftsmanship and the ideal that beauty should enhance even the humblest accessories of daily life.

ORIGINS OF SCANDINAVIAN MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN 

CHARACTERISTICS OF SCANDINAVIAN MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Bold, clean lines and simple, sturdy symmetries
  • Use of natural materials — native woods such as pine, ash and beech
  • Open, airy spaces
  • Promotion of functionality
  • Emphasis on craftsmanship; rooted in cabinetry profession and traditional construction techniques
  • Minimal ornamentation (little to no embellishment)
  • A neutral or light color palette owing to prominence of light woods

SCANDINAVIAN MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ICONIC SCANDINAVIAN MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS

VINTAGE SCANDINAVIAN MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

The gentle, organic contours that are typical of Scandinavian design appear in the furnishings and decor created by Danish, Finnish and Swedish designers not as a stylistic gesture, but rather as a practical, ergonomic — and, as importantly, elegant — response to the human form.

Each nation produced exceptional talents in all areas of the applied arts, yet each had its forté. Sweden was home to Greta Magnusson Grossman and Bruno Mathsson — creators of the classic Grasshopper lighting series and Berlin daybed, respectively — but the country excelled most notably at ceramics. In the 1920s at the great Gustavsberg porcelain manufactory, Wilhelm Kåge introduced pieces in the Scandinavian style based on influences from folklore to Cubism; his skills were passed on to his versatile and inspired pupils Berndt Friberg and Stig Lindberg.

Likewise, Finland produced a truly ingenious Scandinavian modern furniture designer in the architect Alvar Aalto, a master at melding function and artistic form in works like the Paimio chair, created in collaboration with his first wife, Aino. Yet Finnish glassware was pre-eminent, crafted in expressive, sculptural designs by Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva.

The Danes excelled at chairs. Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen were exemplars of the country’s facility with wood, particularly teak

Wegner created such iconic pieces as the Round chair and the Wishbone chair; Jacobsen — while the revolutionary architect and furniture innovator produced the best-selling plywood Ant chair — designed two classic upholstered pieces of the 1950s: the Swan chair and Egg chair. The list of great Danes could go on and on, including Finn Juhl, a stylistic maverick and maker of the bold Chieftain chair; Poul Kjaerholm, with his lean metal-and-rattan aesthetic; and Verner Panton, who introduced a vibrant Pop note into international design.

Today, decades after their heyday, the prolific, ever-evolving Scandinavian modernists continue to amaze and delight, and interior designers all over the world use their pieces to bring warmth to any given space.

On 1stDibs, you will note both instantly recognizable vintage Scandinavian modern chairs, sofas, rugs and tables — those that have earned iconic status over time — and many new discoveries. 

Finding the Right floor-lamps for You

The modern floor lamp is an evolution of torchères — tall floor candelabras that originated in France as a revolutionary development in lighting homes toward the end of the 17th century. Owing to the advent of electricity and the introduction of new materials as a part of lighting design, floor lamps have taken on new forms and configurations over the years. 

In the early 1920s, Art Deco lighting artisans worked with dark woods and modern metals, introducing unique designs that still inspire the look of modern floor lamps developed by contemporary firms such as Luxxu

Popular mid-century floor lamps include everything from the enchanting fixtures by the Italian lighting artisans at Stilnovo to the distinctly functional Grasshopper floor lamp created by Scandinavian design pioneer Greta Magnusson-Grossman to the Paracarro floor lamp by the Venetian master glass workers at Mazzega. Among the more celebrated names in mid-century lighting design are Milanese innovators Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, who, along with their eldest brother, Livio, worked for their own firm as architects and designers. While Livio departed the practice in 1952, Achille and Pier Giacomo would go on to design the Arco floor lamp, the Toio floor lamp and more for legendary lighting brands such as FLOS

Today’s upscale interiors frequently integrate the otherworldly custom lighting solutions created by a wealth of contemporary firms and designers such as Spain’s Masquespacio, whose Wink floor lamps integrate gold as well as fabric fringes. 

Visual artists and industrial designers have a penchant for floor lamps, possibly because they’re so often a clever marriage of design and the functions of lighting. A good floor lamp can change the mood of any room while adding a touch of elegance to your entire space. Find yours now on 1stDibs.