Elio Martinelli Step Chandelier in White Lacquered Metal by Martinelli Luce 70s

A rare ceiling lamp or chandelier (model Step) with a semisphere lampshade in black lacquered aluminum, it was designed by Elio Martinelli and produced by the Italian company, Martinelli Luce during the 1970s. The concentric shapes repeated in a precise sequence, from which the Step lamp is structured, reveal an attitude of the designer in search of geometric essentiality. It is a lamp characterized by simple and functional lines in which all the elements are inserted into each other reducing to a disk a few centimeters high, with closing system and telescopic opening. Its particular metal lamellar structure recalls some of the most famous lamps by Alvar Aalto and the hexagonal lamp designed in 1959 by Bruno Munare for Danese. Literature: Emiliana Martinelli, Elio Martinelli e Martinelli...

Ceiling or Hanging lamp from the 'Membrane' series, designed by Toni Zuccheri and created between 1966 and 1968 by the famous Italian company Venini. The lamp presents a round sha...

Chandelier with three lampshades in opaline glass and a structure in enameled and nickel-plated metal. Manufactured by Stilnovo in 1970s Italy. Stilnovo was an important lighting c...

Mid-Century Modern ceiling lamp with five lampshades in chromed metal and lucite plexiglass. Designed by Gaetano Missaglia and manufactured in Italy during the 1970s. Acrylic, also known as the brand names lucite or Plexiglas, was developed in the 1930s. Its scientific name is Poly(methyl methacrylate), or PMMA, and it is a type of thermoplastic, which is a plastic Material that is moldable at extremely hot temperatures and solid once cool. The company that created acrylic licensed it in two ways; first as Plexiglas to be a glass replacement, and afterwards as lucite for commercial uses in 1937. Commercially, lucite was used in jewelry, handbags, and cosmetics packaging. Plexiglas, in comparison, was often used for larger projects, such as aircraft windows, lenses for lighthouses, and aquariums. Before it was used widespread for furniture, acrylic was being utilized for military purposes, as wartime was quickly approaching. During World War 2 (1939-1945), the country’s resources were mostly directed to military uses, and acrylic was no different. Acrylic, as Plexiglas, was used to help the military, including as airplane windshields and submarine periscopes. Despite that, some people began using acrylic to make furniture. In 1939, Helena Rubinstein, a wildly successful cosmetics mogul and art collector, commissioned to Ladislas Medgyesan an entire suite of acrylic furnishings for her NYC apartment, including an illuminated acrylic bed in her bedroom and acrylic chairs for business meetings. When the war ended in 1945, acrylic was ready to be worked with in design on a larger scale. The company licensed lucite widely, making it much more available across every industry. It steadily gained momentum in the world of design, with artists and designers being inspired by its moldability and translucense. In 1959, French designer Erwine Laverne told a New York Times reporter, “The most important element in rooms is people, not furniture,” speaking to the growing popularity and importance of the clear furniture. But acrylic furniture hit its peak popularity in the 1960s and ‘70s, as more acrylic furniture designers and artists entered the scene. Glass artists began to take more of an interest in acrylics, especially taking advantage of acrylic’s flexibility, light weight, cost, and capacity to refract and filter light. Designers like John Mascheroni and Charles Hollis Jones, known as the Godfather of lucite, created iconic pieces that still look beautiful in today’s modern home. Designers and artists alike loved the durability and look of acrylic. As Charles Hollis Jones put in an interview with Ravelin Magazine, “I worked a lot with lucite when I first started. When I worked with the company that wanted me to go to Europe, they had me work with glass, ceramic, enamel. I went over there and the glass was always in the wrong color and it always broke. When the earthquakes came, I got visual proof of that. I like to work with acrylic because it does two wonderful things that glass doesn’t. It’s shatter-proof, first of all. I can also change the microstructure and make it one-tenth the strength of steel. And the most important thing it does: it carries light. Glass reflects light. lucite holds it and carries it. If you play with it, you can make a lens to look at something in space. It’s that good. It’s purer than crystal.” In fact, acrylic was often used in chandeliers as well, mixed with other materials to make incredible striking designs that would have been much more difficult to achieve with glass. Recently, acrylic furniture has once again risen in popularity. While many of the designs are timeless, more designers are coming forward with acrylic furniture for the modern home. In 2002, designer Philippe Starck introduced his Louis Ghost Chair, and the trend has only grown from there. You’ll now find entirely acrylic pieces of home furnishings and accessories, as well as acrylic-detailed furniture all across the market. With so many designs, options, and knock-offs all across the market, we at clear home design...

Space age pendant lamp, Model Calotta 1749 designed by Elio Martinelli for Martinelli Luce, in brushed stainless steel, still holding the original sticker.

Mid-Century Metal Spanish Chandelier by Leonardo Marelli for Estiluz. This Chandelier was designed and manufactured in Barcelona (Spain) during 1970s. Interior white Lacquered. The c...

Pia Guidetti Crippa chandelier for Lumi Milano 1970s Italian design white glass, aluminum Parts.

Fantastic mid-century Guzzini metal and white plexiglass chandelier. Harvey Guzzini designed this fantastic piece in Italy during the 1970s. This amazing item is fantastic thanks to its pure and smooth lines combined with clean materials. An astonishing pendant lamp that will enrich a midcentury living room or kitchen. The item is perfect for a spacage space too. Harvey Guzzini is often mistakenly thought to be the name of a lighting designer active in the 1960s and 1970s. But in fact, the label belongs to a lighting manufacturing company, which was founded by six Guzzini brothers—Raimondo, Giovanni, Virgilio, Giuseppe, Adolfo and Giannunzio—who were inspired by the 1950 film Harvey starring James Stewart. Compounding the historical record even further, it seems that the Guzzini company rebranded many times in the 20th century, going by, at various points, Harvey Creazioni, Harvey Guzzini, Guzzini, iGuzzini, and Illuminazione Guzzini. Harvey Creazioni was originally founded in 1959 in Recanti (on the east-central coast of Italy) by Raimondo, focusing on the production of copper-plated decorative objects. Four years later, in June 1963, the six brothers joined together and established Harvey Creazioni di Guzzini, expanding production to include pendant lighting, sconces, and lamps, floor lamps. The brothers employed architect-designer Luigi Massoni—who was introduced to the Guzzini brothers by leading plastic importer Maurizio Adreani—as head of design, branding, public relations, and advertising. Famous Harvey Guzzini designs include Massoni and Luciano Buttura's Mushroom Table Lamp (1965), as well as the in-house designed Arc Floor Lamp (1968), Faro Table Lamp (1970), and Toledo Table Lamp (1973). Studio 6G, an interning design team, developed the collectable Clan Table Lamp (1968); and designers Ermanno Lampa and Sergio Brazzoli were responsible for the Nastro Series (1970), Orione Pendant (1970), Sirio Table Lamp (1970), Alba Floor Lamp (1973), Albanella Table Lamp...