Alvar Aalto A330 Golden Bell, Pendant Light, 1960
View Similar Items
Alvar Aalto A330 Golden Bell, Pendant Light, 1960
About the Item
- Creator:Alvar Aalto (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 9 in (22.86 cm)Diameter: 7 in (17.78 cm)Length: 9 in (22.86 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Brass,Polished
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Rewired: wired for US standards. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU848725264682
Golden Bell Pendant Light
Originally crafted from a single piece of brass, the Golden Bell pendant light was named for the “golden” reflections it casts as well as its recognizable shape. Finnish architect and furniture maker Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) and his wife, Aino (1894–1949) — also an architect and pioneering designer — created the streamlined ceiling light in 1937 as part of a full interior design commission for Helsinki’s luxurious Savoy restaurant. The fixture was exhibited to wide acclaim later that year in the Finnish Pavilion of the Paris World Expo.
Alvar Aalto trained as an architect and developed a successful practice early in his career, securing commissions in his native country and abroad, and earning an international reputation. The celebrated 1933 Paimio Sanatorium in Finland, codesigned with Aino, and 1948 Baker House at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are among his more renowned works. While some components of the sanatorium project reflected a Bauhaus influence — primarily in the chairs that the Aaltos designed with tubular steel — Alvar maintained an interest in natural materials, usually prioritizing working with wood over metal.
In 1935, Alvar and his wife were among the founders of furniture manufacturer Artek (“art and technology”), which produced furnishings for his architectural commissions such as the Savoy. Artek manufactured Alvar’s ubiquitous Stool 60 as well as the couple’s Paimio armchair, the construction of both owing to a revolutionary bentwood technique Alvar pioneered, along with a litany of other utilitarian designs that often tested the limits of wood while retaining warmth and sculptural quality. Similarly, the unadorned and charming Golden Bell pendant light is closer to sculpture than it is to a light fixture.
One of the important early works of Scandinavian modern design, the Golden Bell epitomizes the movement’s merging of meticulous craftsmanship and attention to materials to produce freer, more organic forms. The simple handspun pendant, which features perforated detail around the rim that prevents glare, has remained in production at Artek since its inception. Today, the single-piece structure is available in steel in addition to brass. A Golden Bell “Savoy” edition, introduced in 2017, is manufactured without a coating so that it begins to gain a patina immediately after production. The oxidation process lends it the humble timelessness that has long been attributed to the original Golden Bell pendant lights, which still hang in the Savoy restaurant today.
Alvar Aalto
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and in his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, tables and lighting to table- and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.
Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.
Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed in 1930 as part of his overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium. Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under at the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.
Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with his wife, Aino Aalto, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.
Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.
Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Alvar Aalto A335B Pendant, Valaisinpaja Oy, 1952By Valaisinpaja Oy, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAWonderful pendant light, model A335 B by Alvar Aalto, in brass and white enameled metal, with original metal canopy and white bottom rim, early example by...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass, Metal
- Aino Aalto 'AMA 500' Pendant Light, 1941By Aino Aalto, ValaistustyöLocated in Los Angeles, CAWonderful pendant light, model AMA 500 by Aino Aalto, in white enameled metal with lattice brass accents, early example by original manufacture Valaistustyö Ky...Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Alvar Aalto Paimio Chair 41By Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAStunning Paimio armchair 41 by Alvar Alto for Artek, Finland, in natural birch wood with black bentwood seat with venting slots. The laminated birch frame is bent into a closed curve...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBirch
- Early Alvar Aalto 'Model 2' Arm Chair, 1930By Alvar Aalto, O.Y.HuonekaluLocated in Los Angeles, CAOriginal early Alvar Aalto 'Model 2' armchair for O.Y. Huonekalu- ja Rakennustyötehdas A.B., in molded plywood and solid birch. Unrestored condition with partly significant wear. Lat...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Alvar Aalto Model 901 Tea Trolley, 1950sBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAwonderful Model 901 tea trolley designed 1930 by Alvar Aalto for Artek, white linoleum top with bentwood birch frame and white lacquered wood wheels with rubber rings. Good original ...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Card Tables and Tea Tables
MaterialsBirch, Rubber
- Alvar Aalto A337 Flush Mount, Valaisinpaja Oy, 1950By Valaisinpaja Oy, Alvar AaltoLocated in Los Angeles, CAWonderful 'Flying Saucer' Model A337, ceiling flush mount lamp by Alvar Aalto, early example by original manufacture Valaisinpaja Oy, Finland, circa 1953, labelled with manufacture's...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Alvar Aalto, set of 4 circa 1950's "Golden bell" A330 pendants, Valaistustyö KyBy Alvar González-Palacios, ValaistustyöLocated in Turku, Varsinais-SuomiIntroducing the Alvar Aalto "Golden Bell" A330 pendants - a set of four stunning vintage design lighting pieces to elevate your interior to new heights. Iconically designed by Alvar ...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Brass 'Kultakello' Model A 330 'Golden Bell' Pendant by Alvar AaltoBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Utrecht, NLModel A330 is the more complex variation of the popular and more simple model A330S / 'The Golden Bell” that was originally designed in 1936 by Alvar Aalto and his wife Aaino for the...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Vintage Golden Bell Pendant Lamp by Alvar Aalto for Louis PoulsenBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Vorst, BEThe 'Golden Bell' pendant lamp was designed in 1936 for the interior of the Savoy restaurant in Helsinki by Alvar and his wife Aino Aalto. It was characteristic of Aalto to treat eac...Category
Late 20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Sheet Metal, Brass
- New Aino & Alvar Aalto for Artek Golden Bell Pendant Light in Black, Model A330sBy Artek, Aino AaltoLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis is an Artek Pendant Light, Model A330S, originally designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto in 1937. These examples are new in box, dating to 2020. The listed price includes one pendant...Category
2010s Finnish Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Steel
- Original Midcentury Bell Pendant by Alvar Aalto, 1950sBy Alvar Aalto, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKGolden bell pendant in patinated brass designed by Alvar Aalto for Louis Poulsen in 1939. Made in Denmark. Great condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Alvar Aalto Golden Bell Pendant Lamp, circa 1950By Alvar AaltoLocated in Barcelona, BarcelonaPendant lamp designed by Alvar Aalto, circa 1935 for the Savoy restaurant in Helsinki. In original condition, with minor wear consistent with age and use, preserving a beautiful p...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern More Lighting
MaterialsBrass
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Very Modern Love Story of Mid-Century Design Duo Alvar and Aino Aalto
A power couple before the term existed, the influential pair made work that still resonates today.
What Makes Scandinavian Modernism and Nordic Design So Irresistible?
Andrew Duncanson, founder of the Stockholm- and London-based gallery Modernity, weighs in on the masters of mid-century furniture and decorative arts.