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Poul Henningsen Furniture

Danish, 1894-1967

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.

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Creator: Poul Henningsen
Dealer: KLASSIK
PH 5/4 - Pendant in patinated copper by Poul Henningsen, 1930's
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 5/4 - Pendant in patinated copper with nickel-plated socket. Stamped 'PAT. APPL'. Designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen.
Category

20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Copper

PH 5/3 pendant by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 5/3 pendant in brass and red painted metal. 1949. Poul Henningsen / Louis Poulsen
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Metal, Brass

PH 3, 5/2 - Table lamp in burnished brass by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 3,5/2 - Table lamp in burnished brass and white opal glass shades. Pat. Appl. Poul Henningsen / Louis Poulsen
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Brass

Ph 4/3 Table Lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 4/3 - table lamp w. matt glass shades and nickel-plated steel. Poul Henningsen / Louis Poulsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Steel

Ph 4/3 Table Lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 4/3 - table lamp in browned brass w. white opal glass shades. Marked 'Patented'. Poul Henningsen / Louis Poulsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Brass

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1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Poul Henningsen Furniture

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Poul Henningsen PH 4/3 Pendant for Louis Poulsen
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21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Chrome

Previously Available Items
PH 5 Table Lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 5 - Table lamp in patinated brass and white shades. Poul Henningsen / Louis Poulsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Brass

Table lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 3,5/2 - Table lamp in browned brass with yellow cobber top and matt glass shades. Stamped "Pat. Appl." Poul Henningsen / Louis Poulsen
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Brass, Copper

Table Lamp PH 3/2 by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 3/2 - Table lampe in nickel-plated metal and matt glass shades. Poul Henningsen / Louis Poulsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Metal

Pendant by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 4/4 - Pendant with bayonet socket and shades of red and gold bronzed copper. Marked 'Patended'. Produced approx. 1930. Maker Louis Poulsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Copper

Pendant by Poul Henningsen
Pendant by Poul Henningsen
H 15.75 in Dm 17.72 in
"Snowdrop" Table Lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 2/2 - The 'Snowdrop' table lamp in burnished brass, bakelite and opal glass shades. Maker Poul Henningsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Brass

PH 3/2 "Seven" Floor Lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Poul Henningsen PH 3/2 - 'Seven' floor lamp in burnished brass and frosted glass shades. Maker Loius Poulsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Brass

PH 4/3 Table Lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 4/3, table lamp browned brass and patinated cobber shades. Marked 'PH-4 Patented', 1930s. Maker Louis Poulsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Brass

Very Rare Original "artichoke lamp" by Poul Henningsen
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
One of the original five Artichoke-lamps hung in 1958 as part of the interior of "Langelinie Pavillonen" - marked with "LP" in both the socket and the top of the lamp. The shades are...
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Copper

Floor Lamp by Poul Henningsen
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 4 1/2 - 4 3/4 floor lamp with brass frame, painted copper shade and middle and lower shade in one-layer opal glass. 1940s. Maker Louis Poulsen.
Category

Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Brass

Floor Lamp by Poul Henningsen
Floor Lamp by Poul Henningsen
H 61.42 in Dm 17.72 in L 61.42 in
PH 3/2 Chandelier
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 3/2 - Anchor chandelier in brass with five shades in single-layer opal glass. PAT. APPL.
Category

1920s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Poul Henningsen Furniture

PH 3/2 Chandelier
PH 3/2 Chandelier
H 33.86 in W 33.08 in D 33.08 in
PH 3/2 Floor Lamp
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
PH 3/2 floor lamp, "Number 7". Top shade in yellow lacquered metal and two yellow glass shades. Frame in anodized metal. Produced in 1930s by Louis Poulsen.
Category

1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Poul Henningsen Furniture

Materials

Metal

PH 3/2 Floor Lamp
PH 3/2 Floor Lamp
H 59.06 in W 13 in D 13 in
Poul Henningsen Hanging Lamp Model 4/4 - 5/4
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Poul Henningsen "four shades lamp" model 4/4 - 5/4. Pendant in brass and amber coloured glass. Maker Louis Poulsen 1930.
Category

1930s European Scandinavian Modern Vintage Poul Henningsen Furniture

Poul Henningsen furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Poul Henningsen furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Poul Henningsen furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 244 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 483 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Poul Henningsen were created in the Scandinavian Modern style in europe during the 21st century and contemporary. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Louis Poulsen, Vilhelm Lauritzen, and Fog & Mørup. Prices for Poul Henningsen furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $287 and can go as high as $332,864, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $2,283.
Questions About Poul Henningsen Furniture
  • 1stDibs ExpertFebruary 13, 2024
    Poul Henningsen is famous for designing 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. Some of his most iconic pieces include the Spiral, made of a single ribbon of enameled aluminum, and the Artichoke lamp, whose 70 glass or metal fins in a staggered and graduated arrangement on a central steel frame resemble those of its namesake. Find a collection of Poul Henningsen lighting on 1stDibs.

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