20th Century Italian Arco Floor Lamp by Archille Castiglioni, circa 1960
View Similar Items
20th Century Italian Arco Floor Lamp by Archille Castiglioni, circa 1960
About the Item
- Creator:Flos (Retailer),Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (Designer),Arco (Maker),Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (Designer),Achille Castiglioni (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 98.43 in (250 cm)Width: 70.87 in (180 cm)Length: 98.43 in (250 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. In good condition - wear consistent with age.
- Seller Location:Royal Tunbridge Wells, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: B68521stDibs: LU1348222790612
Arco Lamp
It was a humble street light that inspired Achille Castiglioni (1918–2002) and his brother Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (1913–68) to design their Arco lamp. The two men, along with their eldest brother, Livio, were the sons of prominent Milanese sculptor Giannino Castiglioni, and all became trained architects. Achille graduated from the acclaimed Polytechnic University of Milan in 1944 and joined Pier Giacomo and Livio in the design studio they'd opened with Luigi Caccia Dominioni. With large architectural assignments hard to come by, the Castiglionis focused on small-scale projects. At the core of their design philosophy was problem-solving, creating objects that fulfilled consumer needs. Their motto was: “Start from scratch, stick to common sense, know your goals and means.”
With functionality a primary concern, the Castiglionis produced pieces inspired by the “readymades” of artist Marcel Duchamp. The Arco lamp was born out of a desire to create a fixture that illuminated like pendant lighting but didn’t require drilling into the ceiling and that could be moved as its owner’s interior evolved.
The initial Arco lamp, designed in 1962, had a marble base (weighing 110 pounds), a chrome ball shade and a long curved steel arm that enabled light to be projected from nearly eight feet up, as if from a chandelier hung overhead. In another ingenious touch, the Castiglionis drilled a hole in the marble base through which a broomstick could be guided to serve as a handle so that two people could move it.
The same practicality is evident in the other famed lighting pieces — including the Snoopy and Taccia table lamps — that Achille and Pier Giacomo designed for FLOS. The brothers began their relationship with the Italian lighting company in 1960, and it continues to make their signature pieces today.
Flos
Imaginative lighting is a longtime hallmark of modern Italian design. Following in the footsteps of innovative companies such as Artemide and Arteluce, the company FLOS brought a fresh aesthetic philosophy to the Italian lighting field in the 1960s, one that would produce several of the iconic floor lamp, table lamp and pendant light designs of the era.
FLOS — Latin for “flower” — was founded in the northern town of Merano in 1962 by Cesare Cassina (of the famed Cassina furniture-making family) and Dino Gavina, a highly cultured businessman who believed that artistic ideas espoused in postwar Italy could inform commercial design. The two enlisted brothers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni as their first designers.
Even before FLOS was formally incorporated, the Castiglionis gave the firm one of its enduring successes with the Taraxacum pendant and associated designs made by spraying an elastic polymer on a metal armature. (George Nelson had pioneered the technique in the United States in the early 1950s.) For other designs, the brothers found inspiration in everyday objects. Suggestive of streetlights, their Arco floor lamp, with its chrome boom and ball-shaped shade sweeping out from a marble block base, has become a staple of modernist decors. Designing for FLOS since 1966, Tobia Scarpa has also been inspired by the commonplace. His folded-metal Foglio sconces resemble a shirt cuff; his carved marble Biagio table lamp looks like a jai alai basket.
In 1973, FLOS purchased Arteluce, the company founded in 1939 by Gino Sarfatti, and it continues to produce his designs. In recent decades, FLOS has contracted work from several noted designers, including Marcel Wanders and Jasper Morrison. As instantly recognizable as they are, many FLOS designs remain accessible. While FLOS lighting is the essence of modernity, its sleek, subtle designs can be used to strike a sculptural note in even traditional spaces.
Browse a broad range of FLOS lighting fixtures at 1stDibs.
- 20th Century Italian Floor Lamp On Marble Base By Stilnovo, c.1960By StilnovoLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA beautiful floor lamp produced by Stilnovo, Milan, Italy. This lamp was produced in the 1960's and does not show its age at all both in terms of looks and condition. The geometric b...Category
20th Century Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsMarble, Brass
- 20th Century Italian Three Leaf Floor Lamp By Tommaso Barbi circa 1970By Tommaso BarbiLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA wonderful 3 leaf floor lamp by Tommaso Barbi with attachments for 3 lights, the brass structure supporting pressed brass leaves. The length of each leaf can be adjusted slightly th...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Steel
- 20th Century Italian Bamboo Arc Floor Lamp by Vivai del Sud, circa 1970By Vivai del SudLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentAn unusual mid 20th century Italian made bamboo arc light designed by Vivai Del Sud. Created in the iconic 1970's. Combining the opulence of Italian Baroq...Category
20th Century Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- 20th Century Palm Tree Floor Lamp by Maison Jansen, France, circa 1970By Maison JansenLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA Christian Techouyeres palm tree lamp for Maison Jansen, made in France, circa 1970. handmade in brass with three light points, this wonderful v...Category
20th Century French Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- 20th Century Belgium Floor Lamp by Daniel Haeseleer, c.1970Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentThis piece has to be the most stunning item available on the market and is most probably a one-off. To our knowledge, no other item of this size or magnitude has turned up for sale. ...Category
20th Century Belgian Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- 20th Century Italian Table / Floor Lamp By Carlo Nason For Mazzega c.1970By Mazzega, Carlo NasonLocated in Royal Tunbridge Wells, KentA wonderful vintage Italian table lamp made by Carlo Nason for Mazzega. Produced in Murano, Venice in the 1970s, this chrome and glass lamp exemplifies Carlo Nason’s workmanship. The...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsChrome
- Achille Castiglioni Flos Arco Floor Lamp, Italy, Mid-20th c.By Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Achille Castiglioni, FlosLocated in Los Angeles, CASince its debut in 1962 the modern arc floor lamp has been considered a design classic. The famed Castiglioni brothers spared no detail when they created it, from the beveled corners...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Floor Lamps
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Arco Flos Lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Italy '70sBy Flos, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Achille Castiglioni, Achille & Pier Giacomo CastiglioniLocated in Sacile, PNArco Flos lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Italy '70s An early example of Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni's 'Arco' floor lamp for Flos, circa 1973. Carrara Bardiglio marble and adjustable telescoping...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Aluminum, Steel
- Vintage Pier Giacomo Achille Castiglioni - Flos 'Arco' Marble & Steel Floor LampBy Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos, Achille Castiglioni, Achille & Pier Giacomo CastiglioniLocated in Philadelphia, PAThe Carrera marble base has very slight, barely noticeable yellowing. Telescoping arm shows signs of light oxidation, but operates well. The polished and coated/sealed aluminum shade shows light scuffs and scratches. Wiring is original. Lamp works as it should. In very good shape for being ~70 years old. This lamp is not signed. I'm guessing the manufacturer's sticker label dried out and fell off. Typically, the labels were adhered to the ceramic bulb socket, which would heat up and dry out the glue. Also notice the small hole perforated diffuser, on which the polished aluminum shade rests and pivots, is unusual. Many lamps have the larger holes found on the more recently made examples. The small holes diffuser is found on the vintage Flos Arco...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Steel
- Achille Castiglioni & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Toio, Floor Lamp, Flos, 1960sBy Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos, Achille Castiglioni, Achille & Pier Giacomo CastiglioniLocated in Paris, FRAchille Castiglioni (1918-2002) & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (1913-1968) Toio A lacquered metal floor lamp. The half spherical bulb vertically supported with an hexagon shaped, nickel-plated brass stem on white enamel steel base supporting a green lacquered transformer. Flos sticker under the base. Produced by Flos, Italy. 1962. Literature Domus n°400, March 1963, p.49 Abitare n°14, March 1963, p.42 Ottagono n°30, September 1973, p.153 Giuliana Gramigna, Repertorio 1950/1980, Arnaldo Mondadori Editore, Milano, 1985, p.188 Sergio Polano, Achille Castiglioni, Pall Mall, 2012, p.192-193. Futurissimo, L’utopie du design italien...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- "Arco" Floor Lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo CastiglioniBy Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Achille Castiglioni, FlosLocated in Los Angeles, CAClassic floor lamp with stainless steel stem and Carrara marble base.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
- Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos 'Toio' Floor Lamp, Italy 1960By Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Achille Castiglioni, FlosLocated in Naples, ITFloor lamp model Toio designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos in the 1960s. Black lacquered metal base, hexagonal chrome drawn as a stem equipped with fishing rod l...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Steel
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
We Dare You Not to Smile at These Whimsical Italian Designs
Make anyplace your happy place with Italian furniture at its subversive best.
Rooms We Love: 11 Splendid Living Rooms
Common wisdom used to declare the kitchen the hub of the house. These days, the living room seems to have assumed the role of domestic focal point. Unlike the Victorian parlor, stiffly furnished and reserved for guests, today’s living room is a central place for reading, conversation and, well, living, with furnishings that lend themselves to both casual lounging and elegant entertaining.