Midcentury Design Ceiling Lamp Hanging Light from Tapio Wirkkala

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Midcentury Design Ceiling Lamp Hanging Light from Tapio Wirkkala

About the Item

Scandinavian chandelier designed by Tapio Wirkkala and produced by the Finnish manufacturer Idman during the 1950s. The light features a wood ceiling mount, a black lacquered metal frame, and three smoked glass pendant lights. The lamp is signed Idman. The height can be adjusted. The designer and sculptor Tapio Wirkkala was born in 1915 in Hanko in Finland. In the 1920s he moved with his family to Helsinki, where he studied sculpture at the Central School of Arts and Crafts from 1933-1936. During his career, Wirkkala also designed glass for Venini and porcelain for Rosenthal, His earlier works are mainly characterized by the utilitarian beauty of Finnish functionalism, but from the beginning of the 1950s, he was inspired by natural forms. Wirkkala's work has been widely exhibited and is part of prestigious collections around the world, including the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, the National Museum of Stockholm, the Royal Museum in Edinburgh and the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. Wirkkala died in 1985 in Helsinki. The hanging light would make an eye-catching addition to any interior such as living room, family room, screening room or even in the office. It also perfectly fits in an hospitality or corporate location like a boutique hotel lobby, cocktail bar, members club or in a luxury boutique. Measurements: 82cm (H) x 83cm (W) x 70cm (Width of the Wood) Glasses: Diameter 17cm, height glasses 13cm The length of the chain can be changed if required. The lamp is in a good condition. It was tested and is working with a European Plug (250 V). The lamp was cleaned and polished and shows minor traces of age.

Creator:
Tapio Wirkkala (Designer),Idman (Manufacturer)
Dimensions:
Height: 32.29 in (82 cm)Width: 32.68 in (83 cm)Depth: 5.12 in (13 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Glass
Place of Origin:
Finland
Period:
1950-1959
Date of Manufacture:
1960
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. The lamp has been serviced and thoroughly cleaned, respecting its originality in all parts.
Seller Location:
Vienna, AT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1665210306993

Shop All Tapio Wirkkala

Tapio Wirkkala

Along with architect Alvar Aalto, the designer Tapio Wirkkala was Finland’s leading contributor to the Scandinavian interpretation of modernism in the mid-20th century. Prolific and innovative, Wirkkala excelled in a wide range of fields, including glass, furniture, porcelain, jewelry and tableware. The hallmark of his talent was an ability to impart a craft aesthetic based on natural forms — leaves, ice, bubbles, birds — to industrially produced designs.

A native of Helsinki, Wirkkala studied at the national School of Applied Arts and took up a career in graphic design. After serving in the Finnish army during World War II, he joined the glassmaking firm Iittala, an association that would continue to the end of his life. Wirkkala learned every aspect of glassmaking in keeping with his belief that an artist-designer should be involved in all stages of production. His best-known works for Iittala are vases and drinking vessels that resemble either carved ice or icicles. In 1956, Wirkkala began a long relationship with the porcelain maker Rosenthal, for whom he designed elegant table pieces, such as the Finlandia coffee service and the biomorphic Pollo vases.

House Beautiful magazine declared Wirkkala’s Leaf platter the “most beautiful object” of 1951. (The acclaim led to his brief employment stint with industrial designer Raymond Loewy in New York.) That platter was one of the first designs Wirkkala made using laminated sheets of plywood sanded to a smooth surface that resembles an abstract leaf. It would go on to become a motif in many Wirkkala furniture pieces — most notably in inlaid coffee tables for Asko — and in a sense these are the works most emblematic of his personal aesthetic.

Wirkkala was a traditionalist in many ways, but he had a modernist’s practical approach, incorporating his leaf-like spirals into simple, functional objects. That is the core attraction of Wirkkala’s designs: They stand out with a striking, sculptural energy yet blend in as part of a warm and comfortable decor.

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