German designer Ingo Maurer (1932–2019) was known as a “poet of light” for how he artfully created table lamps and floor lamps that married form and function, from bulbs that soared on goose-feather wings to chandeliers that suspended bursts of shattered tableware like a slow-motion explosion.
One of Maurer's first lamps, a 1966 design that was merely called Bulb, nested a lightbulb inside a larger glass lightbulb shape, drawing on his connection to German art traditions of reductive forms as well as Pop art and the playful aesthetics of 1960s pop culture. The success of Bulb — its fans included American design icon Charles Eames — led to the founding of his own company to produce this provocative fixture as well as other fantastic lighting designs. Later, for Maurer’s bestselling Uchiwa lamps of the 1970s, the designer found inspiration in Japanese fans made of bamboo and lacquered rice paper.
Born on the island of Reichenau in Lake Constance in southern Germany, Maurer apprenticed at a newspaper before moving to the United States in 1960. In New York and California, Maurer initially worked as a graphic designer for IBM and elsewhere before returning to Germany with his then-wife, designer Dorothee Becker, in 1963. The experience that Maurer gained in typography and bold forms was regularly expressed in the lamps crafted by his company, which was called Design M before the name was changed to Ingo Maurer GmbH. The lighting manufacturer is still based in Munich.
Some of Maurer’s pieces were minimal, such as a ceramic table lamp in 1996 he called Broken Egg, which radiated light from a fissure in an oblong shape, while others were monumental, such as the designer’s last completed installation — a colossal chandelier composed of over 3,000 silver-plated leaves — in Munich’s Residenztheater. Maurer was always at the forefront of lighting innovations, exploring holograms, LEDs and OLEDs in his projects. Through his company, the venturesome Maurer also promoted inventive new designers, including Moritz Waldemeyer, whose My New Flame (2012) imagined a futuristic candle with LEDs.
Ingo Maurer GmbH continues to produce the late designer’s distinctive table lamps, chandeliers and other fixtures, including the imaginative Bulb that started it all.
Find vintage Ingo Maurer Uchiwa lamps and other lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
Established & Sons White Floating Table with Four Black Chairs by Ingo Maurer
By Established & Sons, Ingo Maurer
Located in London, GB
This innovative piece is the first production table from the widely celebrated designer, Ingo Maurer. On first inspection, it appears to be an archetypal wooden kitchen table and chairs...
Wood
White Roman Travertine Dining Table by Le Lampade
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
White Roman travertine bistro table by Le Lampade. Round travertine top supported by a travertine column shaped base. These tables can be custom made.
Travertine
White Roman Travertine Coffee Table by Le Lampade
By Angelo Mangiarotti
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
White Roman travertine table by Le Lampade. Measure 18.25'' height x 41''' diameter Round travertine top supported by a travertine column shaped base. These tables can be custom made.
Travertine
White Marble Round Dining Table with Hexagon Base
By Angelo Mangiarotti
Located in Amsterdam, NH
This Minimalist table is made from white marble, featuring a hexagon shaped foot and a circular travertine tabletop that balances perfectly and sec...
Marble
White Roman Travertine Dining Table by Le Lampade
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
White Roman travertine bistro table by Le Lampade. Round travertine top supported by a travertine column shaped base. These tables can be custom made.
Travertine
Antique Spanish Oval Round Dining Table with Four Legs
Located in Miami, FL
An antique Spanish Carved Walnut Four Legs dining table. Circa 1900. Having a round top over a beaded skirt, rising on a four legs on the raised base to reinforce the table.
Pine
Dining Table in White Lacquer by Tinatin Kilaberidze
By Tinatin Kilaberidze
Located in New York, NY
A stunning dining table by Tinatin Kilaberidze who finds inspiration in geometric forms. The designer chose a white lacquer for this pentagonal shaped dining or centre table that can...
Wood
$2,080Sale Price|20% Off
H 30.7 in W 67 in D 35.43 in
French Provincial Style Dining Room Table with Black Ebonized legs
Located in Miami, FL
French Provincial style dining room table with black ebonized legs Handmade with solid wood.
Walnut
White Roman Travertine Bistro Table by Le Lampade
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
White Roman travertine bistro table by Le Lampade. Measure: 43''. Round travertine top supported by a travertine column shaped base. These tab...
Travertine
Chic Scandinavian Teak Table with Durable Black Laminate Top
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Chic Scandinavian teak table with durable black laminate top. Very well constructed and sturdy.
Wood
$257,174
H 29 in Dm 52 in
Centre Table Attributed to Holland and Sons Related to a Table in Clarence House
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A centre table attributed to Holland and Sons related to a table in Clarence House, this exceptional table has a circular top decorated with six radiating amboyna veneers with a border of concentric marquetry rings. The decoration comprising kingwood bands within boxwood stringing, a continuous boxwood laurel wreath with ivory berries on a satinwood ground and further amboyna borders. The frieze has amboyna crossbanding and applied ormolu sunburst medallions. The support is composed of purpleheart columns inlaid with kingwood, terminating in low splayed feet, which encircle a classical urn on a plinth. The superb ormolu mounts include acanthus leaves, classical masks and patera. English, circa 1860. A table with a similar base and particularly fine ormolu mounts was exhibited by Holland and Sons in the International Exhibition in 1862 and illustrated as plate 40 in J. B. Waring’s book (see pages 100-103 for further references to this exhibition). A further closely related piece was in the collection of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and is shown in the Morning Room in Clarence House in the Daily Mail’s article ‘Inside the private world of Prince Charles’, November 2018. Originally founded by Stephen Taprell and William Holland...
Boxwood, Kingwood, Satinwood, Amboyna
Classic Black and White Dining Table
Located in Westwood, NJ
Classic black and white dining table inspired by the Biedermeier era, with clean lines, classic vibes and versatility which make it suitab...
Wood
Else Dining Table with White Lacquer Top and Metal Base
Located in Westport, CT
Round dining table with a handmade metal base. White lacquered wooden round top.
Metal
L.E.D. Bench by Ingo Maurer
By Ingo Maurer
Located in New York, NY
A limited edition of 1000 hand signed by Ingo Maurer. Laminated safety glass, 288 white LEDs inside, emitting light on both sides. 230/125 volts, 48 volts DC. Invisible live parts....