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.
PH Mirror, 500 mm, Yellow Painted Satin Matt, on/off Pull Cord, Ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall-mounted mirr...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, Aluminium Brushed, Diameter 700 mm, On/Off Pull Cord, PH Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, aluminium brushed, diameter 360mm, on/off pull cord, ph initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
Poul Henningsen PH Mirror by Louis Poulsen Denmark 1960
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Delft, NL
Poul Henningsen PH Mirror by Louis Poulsen Denmark 1960 Dimensions: 50 cm diameter , 13 cm height Condition: good
Metal
Rare Poul Henningsen PH Mirror First Edition, Denmark, Late 1930s
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Egå, DK
An exceptional and rare first-edition PH mirror, designed by Poul Henningsen and produced in Denmark in the late 1930s. This early example reflects Poul Henningsen’s functionalist ...
Metal
PH Mirror, Brass Brushed, 360mm on/off Pull Cord, PH Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirr...
Brass
PH Mirror, Copper Brushed, 360 mm, On/Off Pull Cord, PH Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirr...
Copper
PH Mirror, Red Painted Satin Matt, diameter 700mm, on/off Pull Cord, Ph Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall-mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, 360 mm Yellow Painted Satin Matt, on/off Pull Cord, Ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirr...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, green painted satin matt, diameter 700mm, on/off pull cord, ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, Brass Brushed, diameter 700mm, on/off Pull Cord, Ph Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall-mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Brass
PH Mirror, Black Painted Satin Matt, Diameter 700mm, on/off Pull Cord, Ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
"PH" Mirror in matt white satin aluminium, Medium diameter, on/off pull cord.
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirr...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, Copper Brushed, Diameter 700 mm, On/Off Pull Cord, PH Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirr...
Copper
PH Mirror, Copper Brushed, diameter 500mm, On/Off Pull Cord, PH Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirr...
Copper
PH Mirror, Black Painted Satin Matt, diameter 360mm, on/off Pull Cord, ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, Red Painted Satin Matt, diameter 360mm, On/Off Pull Cord, PH Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, green painted satin matt, diameter 360mm, on/off pull cord, ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, brass brushed, diameter 500mm, on/off pull cord, ph initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Brass
PH Mirror, white painted satin matt, diameter 360mm, on/off pull cord, ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, black painted satin matt, diameter 500mm, on/off pull cord, ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, yellow painted satin matt, diameter 700mm, on/off pull cord, ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, Green Painted Satin Matt, diameter 500mm, On/Off Pull Cord, PH
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, Aluminium Brushed, diameter 500mm, On/Off Pull Cord, PH Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
"Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall-mounted mir...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, red painted satin matt, diameter 500mm, on/off pull cord, ph initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
PH Mirror, White Painted Satin Matt, diameter 700mm, on/off Pull Cord, Ph
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirror design fits harmonious...
Aluminum
Carved Mirror
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This late English mirror features a meticulously carved oak frame, highlighted by its thick, square shape and beveled glass. The ornate yet understated detailing and rich natural pat...
Wood
Orbis Round Mirror with Contemporary Yellow Frame, Regular
By Alguacil & Perkoff Ltd.
Located in London, London
Minimalist round mirror with a modern aluminium powder coated yellow frame. Designed and handcrafted in London, UK. This mirror is fully customisable. Fitted with an integrated Fren...
Aluminum
$1,824
H 47.64 in W 31.89 in D 3.55 in
Lovely Large Triple Bevelled Edge Wall Hanging Mirror Designed to Pull Light
Located in West Sussex, Pulborough
We are delighted to offer for sale this lovely contemporary triple bevelled edge wall hanging mirror A good looking, well made and decorative piece, it is a triple corner bevelled...
Mirror
$581 / item
H 0.71 in Dm 19.69 in
Orbis Round Modern Mirror with Brushed Stainless Steel Frame, Regular
By Alguacil & Perkoff Ltd.
Located in London, London
Minimalist round mirror with an elegant brushed stainless steel frame (also available in a polished finish). The detailing and finish, including visible screws, emphasise the crafty ...
Stainless Steel
$11,038 / item
H 1.97 in Dm 31.7 in
Contemporary 'Undulate' Wall Mirror Satin Blue Crystal Handmade by Ghirò Studio
By Ghirò Studio
Located in Pieve Emanuele, Milano
2021 Collection of wall mirrors by Ghirò Studio (Milan) The ‘Undulate’ wavy mirror is an artistic object of pure art and design. The crystal has been hand-worked and expertly curved by the artist. The support structure is made of wood and brass. The metal is 24 Kt gold plated. Its circular shape and its harmonious curves give lightness and elegance. The finish is an intense satin blue...
Brass
$1,138 / item
H 19.69 in Dm 19.69 in
PH Mirror, Aluminium Brushed, diameter 500mm, On/Off Pull Cord, PH Initials
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
"Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall-mounted mir...
Aluminum
$1,022 / item
H 19.69 in Dm 19.69 in
"PH" Mirror in matt white satin aluminium, Medium diameter, on/off pull cord.
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created in the late 1930s, the PH mirror features backlit illumination that provides a reflection that is free from shadows and glare. PH’s wall mounted mirr...
Aluminum
$1,608 / item
H 0.71 in Dm 31.5 in
Orbis Gold Tinted Round Modern Mirror with Brushed Brass Frame, Large
By Alguacil & Perkoff Ltd.
Located in London, London
Contemporary gold tinted Orbis™ round mirror with a minimalist solid brushed brass frame. The detailing and finish, including visible brass screws, emphasise the craft and quality fe...
Brass
$4,938 / item
H 46.07 in W 25.99 in D 1.97 in
Murano Pink Glass and Brass Console Mirror / Wall Mirror, 2020
Located in Roma, Lazio
Stunning mirror in blazing pink color Murano glass, Venice. A mirror that alone will furnish your home environment. The mirror has a rear structure in wood, on which four Murano gla...
Brass
$1,103
H 43.31 in W 21.66 in D 0.79 in
1990s Hand Painted Moroccan Style Wooden Mirror with Arabic Decorations
Located in Marbella, ES
1990s Hand painted Moroccan style wooden mirror with Arabic decorations.
Mirror, Wood
Italian Fontana Arte Style Golden Yellow Mirror
By Pietro Chiesa, Cristal Arte, Fontana Arte, VECA, Max Ingrand
Located in Houston, TX
Italian Fontana Arte style golden yellow mirror. This stunning Italian midcentury Pietro Chiesa inspired mirror is made of an unusually shap...
Glass, Mirror
1960s Danish Teak Rectangular Mirror by J. Holmer-Hansen
Located in Praha, CZ
- Good original condition with minor signs of use
Mirror, Teak
Poul Henningsen Mirror Wall Lamp, Early Model, Denmark, circa 1960s
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Egå, DK
Poul Henningsen Mirror Wall Lamp, Denmark, circa 1960s A mirror wall lamp designed by Poul Henningsen, Denmark, dating from the circa 1960s. This rare early model features a circul...
Metal
Poul Henningsen PH Mirrors by Louis Poulsen Denmark 1960
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
This exceptional pair of PH Boudoir mirrors, designed by Poul Henningsen and manufactured by Louis Poulsen in Denmark, 1939, exemplifies Henningsen’s innovative approach to design. O...
Aluminum
Poul Henningsen PH Mirror by Louis Poulsen Denmark
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
Very nice pair of PH Boudoir mirrors designed by Poul Henningsen and manufactured by Louis Poulsen, Denmark 1939. Poul Henningsen created the mirror of ...
Aluminum
PH Illuminated Wall Mirror by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Little Burstead, Essex
A very nice origibnal illuminated wall mirror by Danish master lighting designer, Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, a great addition to any mid-century home, perfect for checking th...
Metal
Illuminated Mirrors by Poul Henningsen
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Brooklyn, NY
A great pair with original mirrored glass floating in white, concave, metal frames. Recessed lights behind the glass illuminate and frame your reflection in a warm glow. Original cor...
Metal