Poul Henningsen, Wall Lights, Copper, Denmark, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Louis Poulsen (Manufacturer),Poul Henningsen (Designer)
- Design:PH 3-2 1/2 Outdoor Wall SconcePH Shade Lamps
- Dimensions:Height: 10.5 in (26.67 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)Depth: 20 in (50.8 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Power Source:Plug-in
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Dramatic patina consistent with outdoor usage.
- Seller Location:High Point, NC
- Reference Number:
Poul Henningsen
The name Poul Henningsen is synonymous with the best and most innovative modern Scandinavian lamps and other lighting. The Danish designer created a signature vocabulary of fixtures with tiered and layered shades in sculptural arrangements that are at once naturalistic and geometric.
Henningsen grew up in a town on the outskirts of Copenhagen and studied architecture at the Technical University of Denmark. He would become a noted art critic, journalist and screenwriter, but his first love was lighting design.
Henningsen’s childhood home was illuminated by oil lamps. When his family switched to electrified lighting, he was alarmed and repelled by the harsh glare cast by an incandescent bulb, and in his late teens he began conducting quasi-scientific experiments to measure which materials and methods best diffused or reflected light to give it a warm brightness. His work came to the attention of the lighting-fixtures firm Louis Poulsen, which sponsored the development of a prototype lamp. The design won a gold medal at the 1925 Paris Expositions Internationales des Arts Decóratifs et Industriels Modernes — from which the term Art Deco derives. The lamp, whose three-part shade is said to be inspired by the arrangement of a dinner plate atop a soup bowl atop a teacup, became the basis for Henningsen’s most successful design, the PH 4/3 desk lamp.
All told, Henningsen would design some 100 lighting fixtures in his career. Some of his most notable creations are hanging lamps, which include the Septima (1929), a pendant composed of seven graduated frosted-glass layers; the Spiral (1942), made of a single ribbon of enameled aluminum; and the Artichoke lamp (1958), whose 70 glass or metal fins in a staggered and graduated arrangement on a central steel frame resemble those of its namesake. The last is likely Henningsen’s masterwork and an icon of mid-20th-century design. Like all Henningsen lighting designs, it is striking, sculptural and — thanks to his insistence on the primacy of the quality of the light cast — superbly functional.
Find a collection of authentic Poul Henningsen table lamps, floor lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs.
Louis Poulsen
Louis Poulsen is world-renowned as an innovator in modern Danish lighting, but this wasn’t the goal from the start. Founded in 1874 by Ludvig R. Poulsen as a wine importer, the business went through several incarnations before its first pendant lights came to fruition. Through its designs, the company helped establish the foundations of good lighting — function, comfort and ambience — that are now standard in modern furniture design.
In 1924, Danish architect Poul Henningsen partnered with Louis Poulsen & Co., then an electrical supply company, to create what’s now known as the Paris lamp. This design, which incorporated three layers of curved metal disks, created ambience with its indirect light instead of glare. Shown at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris — the exhibition that brought Art Deco design to worldwide attention — the Paris lamp was awarded a gold medal. This led to Poulsen and Henningsen working together on several lighting pieces, including the popular PH pendant light with its concentric shades for the Forum Building in Copenhagen. These high-profile projects helped make Louis Poulsen a go-to purveyor of innovative lighting design.
One of the company’s most well-known lamps is Henningsen’s PH Artichoke lamp (1958), with its 72 copper leaves artfully placed to conceal the light bulb, prevent glare and promote a warm, alluring glow in any room. Another is the steel and die-cast zinc AJ lamp (1960), which Arne Jacobsen designed with an adjustable angled shade for his commission for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. The company has also worked with notables such as Verner Panton and Alfred Homann as well as, more recently, Louise Campbell and Oki Sato.
In 2010, the company was awarded the American Institute of Architects’ Honors in Collaborative Achievement Award; it was the first lighting manufacturer to receive this honor. In 2018, the company was acquired by an investment subsidiary of Investindustrial VI L.P. Still headquartered in Denmark, the brand continues to produce its high-end lighting for both indoor and outdoor use, manufacturing both classic icons as well as new designs. “We design to shape light,” states Louis Poulsen. In doing so, they have also shaped culture.
Find a range of new and vintage Louis Poulsen floor lamps, table lamps and other lighting and furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: High Point, NC
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- ASEA, Wall Lights, Copper, Sweden, 1950sBy ASEALocated in High Point, NCA pair of copper wall lights, designed and produced by ASEA, Sweden, c. 1970s Overall Dimensions (inches): 9.25" H x 6.1" W x 5.8" D Bulb Specifications: E-26 Bulb Number of Sockets: 1Category
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsCopper
- Fog & Mørup, Wall Lights, Brass, Glass, Denmark, c. 1950sBy Fog & MørupLocated in High Point, NCA pair of brass and glass wall lights designed and produced by Fog & Mørup, Denmark, c. 1950s. Dimensions of the back plate (inches) : 3.4375 x 3.4375 x 0.75 (H x W x D).Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Fog & Mørup, Wall Lights, Brass, Fabric, Denmark, 1950sBy Fog & MørupLocated in High Point, NCA pair of brass and beige fabric wall lights, designed and produced by Fog & Mørup, Denmark, c. 1940s. Overall Dimensions (inches): 13.5” H x 9” W x 5.25” D Back Plate Dimensions (...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Italian Designer, Wall Lights, Copper, Glass, Italy, 1950sLocated in High Point, NCA pair of two-armed copper and glass wall lights, designed and produced in Italy, 1950s. Overall Dimensions (inches): 9.25" H x 5.8" W x 3.5" D Bulb Specifications: E-14 Bulb Number...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsCopper
- Swedish Designer, Wall Lights, Copper, Glass, Sweden, 1950sLocated in High Point, NCA pair of copper and opaline glass wall lights, designed and produced in Sweden, c. 1950s Overall Dimensions (inches): 12.75" H x 5.4" W x 4.3" D Bulb Specifications: E-14 Bulb Numb...Category
Vintage 1950s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsCopper
- Danish Designer, Wall Lights, Glass, Teak, Brass, Denmark, 1950sLocated in High Point, NCA pair of glass, brass and teak wall lights, designed and produced in Denmark, 1950s Overall Dimensions (inches): 12" H x 3" W x 5.5" D Bulb Specifications: E-14 Bulb Number of Sock...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Copper Wall Sconce by Poul HenningsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Sagaponack, NYA nicely patinated sconce in copper designed for outdoor/indoor use.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsCopper
- Poul Henningsen PH 4½/3 Wall Light, 1956By Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Los Angeles, CALegendary 1950s PH 4½/3 copper outdoor wall light by Poul Henningsen, fully restored with plenty of the great copper patina still present, wired for US standards, one E27 socket, max...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsCopper
- Crazy Patinated Poul Henningsen Copper Wall SconeBy Poul HenningsenLocated in Munich, DEI replaced the screws for new brass ones, but will add the old ones too.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsCopper
- Poul Henningsen Ph 3-2½ Wall LampBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Berkeley, CAThe fixture is designed based on the principle of a reflective three-shade system, which directs the majority of the light downwards. The shades have a matte white painted interior s...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights an...
MaterialsChrome
- Large Poul Henningsen 'PH Wall' Outdoor Sconce for Louis Poulsen in Raw CopperBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Glendale, CALarge Poul Henningsen 'PH Wall' outdoor sconce for Louis Poulsen in raw copper. The PH Wall is part of the revolutionary three shade system developed by Paul H...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Wall Lights and...
MaterialsCopper
- Set Wall Lights by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, DenmarkBy Louis PoulsenLocated in Antwerp, BEA set of white and pink PH hat wall lamp designed by Poul Henningsen in the late 1970s and manufactured by Louis Poulsen in Denmark. Both labeled with paper-stickers from Louis Poulsen.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsMetal