'Ashoka' Large Table Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano, 1981, Italy
View Similar Items
'Ashoka' Large Table Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano, 1981, Italy
About the Item
- Creator:Ettore Sottsass (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 38 in (96.52 cm)Width: 31 in (78.74 cm)Depth: 2.5 in (6.35 cm)
- Style:Post-Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Steel,Enameled
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1980-1989
- Date of Manufacture:1981
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU268539568093
Ettore Sottsass
An architect, industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, Ettore Sottsass led a revolution in the aesthetics and technology of modern design in the late 20th century.
Sottsass was the oldest member of the Memphis Group — a design collective, formed in Milan in 1980, whose irreverent, spirited members included Alessandro Mendini, Michele de Lucchi, Michael Graves and Shiro Kuramata. All had grown disillusioned by the staid, black-and-brown “corporatized” modernism that had become endemic in the 1970s. Memphis (the name stemmed from the title of a Bob Dylan song) countered with bold, brash, colorful, yet quirkily minimal designs for furniture, glassware, ceramics and metalwork. They mocked high-status by building furniture with inexpensive materials such as plastic laminates, decorated to resemble exotic finishes such as animal skins. Their work was both functional and — as intended — shocking. Even as it preceded the Memphis Group's formal launch, Sottsass's iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell and radical pops of pink neon — embodies many of the collective's postmodern ideals.
Sottsass's most-recognized designs appeared in the first Memphis collection, issued in 1981 — notably the multihued, angular Carlton room divider and Casablanca bookcase. As pieces on 1stDibs demonstrate, however, Sottsass is at his most imaginative and expressive in smaller, secondary furnishings such as lamps and chandeliers, and in table pieces and glassware that have playful and sculptural qualities.
It was as an artist that Ettore Sottsass was celebrated in his life, in exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in 2006, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art a year later. Even then Sottsass’s work prompted critical debate. And for a man whose greatest pleasure was in astonishing, delighting and ruffling feathers, perhaps there was no greater accolade. That the work remains so revolutionary and bold — that it breaks with convention so sharply it will never be considered mainstream — is a testament to his genius.
- Ashoka Large Table Lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis MilanoBy Ettore Sottsass, Memphis GroupLocated in Kansas City, MOAshoka lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis, Milano, 1981. Excellent condition.Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Ettore Sottsass ASHOKA Table Lamp for MEMPHIS srlBy Ettore SottsassLocated in Brooklyn, NYThe Ashoka table lamp is an early Ettore Sottsass lighting masterwork for the introductory 1981 MEMPHIS collection as iconoclastic a light/sculpture as yo...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
$3,300 / item - Ashoka Metal Table Lamp 'EU' 220 Volts, by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis MilanoBy Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the EU wired, Ashoka table lamp in lacquered metal, designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981 for Memphis Milano. Ettore Sottsass was b...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Ashoka Metal Table Lamp USA 110 Volts, by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano C.By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis Milano, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the US wired, Ashoka Table Lamp in lacquered metal, designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981 for Memphis Milano. Ettore Sottsass was born in Innsbruck in 1917. In 1939 he graduated in architecture at the Politecnico di Torino. One of the most influential and important figures of the last century. As an Architect and Designer, he has participated in all radical movements whether created from the 1970s and 1980s. In 1981 he founded the Memphis group, a group that has radically changed the scenario of Italian and world design. Honored with numerous international awards, was winner of the Golden Compass in 1959. He designed the first laptop "Valentina" by Olivetti. He died in 2007 at the age of 90 years. Memphis Milano is the great cultural phenomenon of the 1980s that revolutionized creative and commercial logics in design. Born from the idea of Ettore Sottsass and a group of young designers and architects, in Milan, coupled in the years by famous designers from the international scene, Memphis turned upside down all of the existing parameters on living. Ettore Sottsass as the backbone of the group, design gained a new concept and expression through new shapes, materials and patterns, expanding the creative limits of the industry. Memphis became a symbol of New Design. Its influence is still clear in various sectors of production and beyond. Additional Info: - Dimensions: W 29, D 5, H 35.5 inches - Lighting Info: 1 X 50 W, 12 V - 5 X 40W. (E14) - Materials: Lacquered metal. - Additional Lighting Info: Please note that this item is wired in 110 V for the standard US light socket. - Price includes additional US rewiring cost for accessibility with US outlets. - If you are interested in the EU version of this light, please refer to the dealers storefront for the (EU) wired light fixture...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Contemporary Ettore Sottsass Polychrome Memphis “Tahiti” Table Lamp, Italy, 1981By Ettore Sottsass, Memphis GroupLocated in Copenhagen K, DKEttore Sottsass Italy, Contemporary. Tahiti lamp, designed in 1981. Polychrome enameled metal “duck” with pivoting head mounted on a black and white bact...Category
2010s Italian Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsEnamel
- Tahiti Table Lamp (US VERSION 110v), by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis MilanoBy Memphis Milano, Ettore Sottsass, Memphis GroupLocated in La Morra, CuneoHere you are shown the US wired 'Tahiti' Table lamp, designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981. The light fixture is of a polychrome enameled metal "duck" with a pivoting-like head mounted on a black and white bacterio-patterned laminate base. EU VERSION 220v AVAILABLE IN ANOTHER LISTING. Ettore Sottsass was born in Innsbruck in 1917. In 1939 he graduated in architecture at the Politecnico di Torino. One of the most influential and important figures of the last century. As an Architect and Designer, he has participated in all radical movements whether created from the 1970s and 1980s. In 1981 he founded the Memphis group, a group that has radically changed the scenario of Italian and world design. Honored with numerous international awards, was winner of the Golden Compass in 1959. He designed the first laptop "Valentina" by Olivetti. He died in 2007 at the age of 90 years. Memphis Milano is the great cultural phenomenon of the 1980s that revolutionized creative and commercial logics in design. Born from the idea of Ettore Sottsass and a group of young designers and architects, in Milan, coupled in the years by famous designers from the international scene, Memphis turned upside down all of the existing parameters on living. Ettore Sottsass as the backbone of the group, design gained a new concept and expression through new shapes, materials and patterns, expanding the creative limits of the industry. Memphis became a symbol of New Design. Its influence is still clear in various sectors of production and beyond. Additional info: - Dimensions: H 23.5 inches - Materials: Metal - Lighting info: 50 W, 12 V -Additional Lighting Info: Please note that this item is wired in 110 V for the standard US light socket. - Price includes additional US rewiring cost for accessibility to US outlets. - If you are interested in the EU version of this light, please refer to the dealers storefront for the (EU) wired light fixture...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsMetal
