Pendant Lamp by Alvar Aalto
View Similar Items
Pendant Lamp by Alvar Aalto
About the Item
- Creator:Valaistustyö (Manufacturer),Alvar Aalto (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Diameter: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Sagaponack, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 11760.0011stDibs: LU89033003282
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.
- Armchair by Alvar AaltoBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Sagaponack, NYA laminated birch armchair with a black linen webbed seat and cane wrapped arms.Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBirch
$2,600 / item - Birch Wingback Lounge Chair by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Sagaponack, NYA rare and sculptural wingback lounge chair having a cantilevered laminated birch frame and retaining its original handstitched textured linen upholstery.Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch, Upholstery
- 1940s Finnish Dining Chair by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Sagaponack, NYA dining chair in laminated birch with newly upholstered black leather seat and back.Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Birch
$5,400 / item - 1960s Bentwood Drawing Rack by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn uncommon birch bentwood drawing rack with four pairs of hooks.Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsBirch
- 1960s Four-Drawer Cabinet by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Sagaponack, NYA birch cabinet resting on a recessed plinth base with four (4) drawers that lock and have integrated pulls. Designed in the 1940s and produced for decades, this cabinet was likely p...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Cabinets
MaterialsBirch
$3,800 / item - 1930s Finnish "World's Fair" Table by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Sagaponack, NYA rare, museum quality, table with a solid teak top on laminated maple legs. Retaining a partial label from the 1939 World's Fair.Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Center Tables
MaterialsTeak, Maple
- Early Alvar Aalto A332 "Beehive" Pendant by ValaistustyöBy Alvar Aalto, ValaistustyöLocated in Helsinki, FIThis is one of Alvar Aalto´s most iconic lighting designs. It was first designed in 1953. The design is incredibly simple and takes from nature as it mimics the hanging beehives on a...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Pendant Model A335B by Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö, 1950sBy Alvar Aalto, ValaistustyöLocated in Helsinki, FIPendant by Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö in the 1950s. Metal, good vintage condition, marked on the bottom. Beehive style pendant, early Alvar Aalto design.Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Model A110 Pendant, Alvar Aalto, Valaistustyö Ab, 1950sBy Valaistustyö, Alvar AaltoLocated in Helsinki, FIModel A110 pendant light, designed by Alvar Aalto, manufactured by Valaistustyö Ab, 1950s. Painted metal with brass details. Good vintage condition, minor patina and wear consistent ...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Pendant by Alvar Aalto for ValaistostyoBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Long Island City, NYA pendant designed by Alvar Aalto to Valaistostyo Ky, Finland. Model A-203, Circa 1950th. Lacquered metal with brass elements. Stamped by manufacturer. Existing wires, rewiring avai...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Alvar Aalto, "Beehive" Ceiling Lamp, Aluminum, Brass, Finland, 1953By Valaistustyö, Alvar AaltoLocated in High Point, NCA white-painted aluminum and brass "Beehive" ceiling lamp designed by Alvar Aalto and produced by Valaistustyö Ky, Finland, 1953. Interior rod impressed "VALAISTUSTYÖ A331".Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Organic Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsAluminum, Brass
- Flush Mount Light Model A622b by Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö, 1950sBy Alvar Aalto, ValaistustyöLocated in Helsinki, FIPendant model A622B by Alvar Aalto for Valaisintyö in the 1950s. Designed in 1953 for Helsinki Social Pension Institution. Metal, good vintage condition. Iconi...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
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.