"Cobra" Table Lamp by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce
View Similar Items
"Cobra" Table Lamp by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce
About the Item
- Creator:Arredoluce (Manufacturer),Angelo Lelii (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 24.5 in (62.23 cm)Width: 4.75 in (12.07 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: TL24091stDibs: LU794717335982
Cobra Table Lamp
Recalling sculptor Constantin Brancusi's audacious forms, the brass stem of the Cobra table lamp, created by Italian designer Angelo Lelii (1911–79), casts a long and slender shadow beneath a magnetized adjustable sphere, or “socket,” where the bulb is positioned. The curious socket fixture is tucked inside a cobra-like “hood” that gave the lamp its name. Lelii’s revolutionary 1962 design allowed for light to be directed according to preference, and a dimming switch controls the intensity of the light. It was among the first lamps to use low voltage, thanks to the transformer housed in its base. As one of the best-known examples of postwar Italian lighting, it encapsulated the design ethos and emphasis on innovation long associated with Arredoluce, the lighting company Lelii founded in 1943.
Raised in Monza — where he would also begin to work with lighting in the late 1930s — Lelii encountered considerable success as a designer after several of his lamps appeared in Domus, the design journal cofounded by Giò Ponti. Arredoluce was a prolific firm, and counted Ponti, Ettore Sottsass Jr. and other well-known figures as designers, with many contributions coming from Lelii himself. Famous for a free-flowing exchange between factory workers and designers, Arredoluce helped define Italy’s modernist lighting industry, alongside companies such as Arteluce and Oluce.
Lelii’s simple and spare Cobra fell out of production, as did the company’s other designs, after Arredoluce shuttered following the maker’s death. Today, the lamp remains a striking encapsulation of the minimalist, technically advanced design principles he cultivated there. Demand for Lelii’s provocative and sculptural work has only increased over the years.
Angelo Lelii
Angelo Lelii’s energetic and imaginative floor lamps, sconces and chandeliers often reflected his singular personality — whimsical but practical. He is responsible for some of the most delightfully eye-pleasing but functional works in the history of Italian mid-century modern lighting design.
Lelii was born Paolo Angelo Lelii in the seaport town of Ancona and moved to Milan when he was quite young. Not much is known about his early life — online resources frequently have his last name misspelled “Lelli” — except that he studied at the Superior Institute of Industrial Art in nearby Monza.
While there was no shortage of pioneering work being done in the field of mid-century modern lighting design, Lelii was a visionary whose dream was to create technologically advanced lighting that embodied the simple lines of modern design but would be defined by his own imaginative twists. In 1943, Lelii opened his first workshop in a tiny basement in Monza, under the name Arredoluce. A few years later, he designed the single-light, bent-arm Tris floor lamp. Later that year, he exhibited his Triennale floor lamp at the Milan Triennale VIII and garnered wide acclaim. This iconic, slender lamp features three adjustable arms with enameled aluminum shades.
Lelii’s sculptural fixtures in brass and cast iron appeared in the acclaimed design journal Domus, and he embarked on high-profile collaborations with Italian modernist legends such as Gio Ponti — a giant of architecture and design as well as a founder of Domus — Memphis Group member Ettore Sottsass Jr. and the brothers Castiglioni (formally known as Achille, Pier Giacomo and Livio).
Massive success followed for Arredoluce from the late 1950s and into the 1960s. For Lelii, there was his seminal Stella ceiling lamp, featuring opaque, acid-etched glass globe shades; his minimalist Cobra table lamp, which was one of the world’s first low voltage light fixtures; and his aptly named Eye floor lamp. Lelii continued to oversee design and production at his revolutionary lighting firm until his death in 1979.
Find vintage Angelo Lelii lighting on 1stDibs.
- XL Table Lamp by Angelo Lelii for Arredoluce MonzaBy Angelo Lelii, ArredoluceLocated in Los Angeles, CAXL Table Lamp by Angelo Lelii for Arredoluce Monza. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1960. Large statement table lamp with polished conical brass base. The shape of the lamp...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Single Eyeball Wall Lamp by Angelo Lelli for ArredoluceBy Arredoluce, Angelo LeliiLocated in Los Angeles, CAEyeball Wall lamp by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1960's. Brass. Rewired for U.S. standards. Globes adjust ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Rare Chandelier by Angelo Lelli for ArredoluceBy Arredoluce, Angelo LeliiLocated in Los Angeles, CARare Chandelier by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa 1950. Five-arm chandelier with colorful acrylic top half shades and opaline glass bottom dif...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Model 12712 Ceiling Lights by Angelo Lelli for ArredoluceBy Arredoluce, Angelo LeliiLocated in Los Angeles, CAModel 12712 Ceiling Lights by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce. Designed and manufactured in Italy, in 1958. Hexagonal mounted lights which are made of a sturdy steel hexagon frame, ename...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Flush Mount
MaterialsAluminum, Steel
- Pendant by Angelo Lelli for ArredoluceBy Angelo LeliiLocated in Los Angeles, CAGlass and brass pendant by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce. Literature: Bibliography Domus, n. 390, 1962.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Wall Sconce by Angelo Lelii for ArredoluceBy Angelo Lelii, ArredoluceLocated in Los Angeles, CAWall Sconce by Angelo Lelii for Arredoluce. Designed and manufactured in Italy, circa the 1950s. A picture light or wall sconce consisting of a multiple articulating chrome armature ...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsChrome, Steel
- Italian Mid-Century Modern "Cobra" Table Lamp by Angelo Lelli for ArredoluceBy Arredoluce, Angelo LeliiLocated in New York, NYRare and important Italian Mid-Century Modern "Cobra" table lamp by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce circa 1964. The lamp is composed of a chromed steel stem set in a black lacquered metal base and features a rotating light...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome, Metal
- Angelo Lelii for Arredoluce ‘Cobra’ Table LampBy Arredoluce, Angelo LeliiLocated in Waalwijk, NLAngelo Lelii for Arredoluce, ‘Cobra’ table lamp, model ‘12919’, chrome-plated brass, iron, coated aluminum, Italy, circa 1962 This outstanding table lamp model ‘12919’ known as ‘il...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsAluminum, Brass, Chrome, Iron
- Flexa Table Lamp by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce, ItalyBy Arredoluce, Angelo LeliiLocated in Los Angeles, CAFlexa table lamp designed by Angelo Lelii for Arredoluce, circa 1975. The bulb is encased in an enameled metal shade and flanked by two parallel chrome columns. This lamp feature...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsChrome, Steel
- Brass Eyeball Table Spotlight Lamp by Angelo Lelli for ArredoluceBy Angelo Lelii, ArredoluceLocated in San Diego, CASolid brass eyeball spotlight lamp by Angelo Lelli for Arredoluce. Magnetic mount allows the eyeball spotlight to be rotated. Substantial heavy build...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Angelo Lelli Table Lamp for ArredoluceBy Angelo LeliiLocated in San Francisco, CAAngelo Lelli design eye spot table lamp for Arredoluce, Italy. Heavy black lacquered steel cylinder form body with a vibrant orange painted interior and an adjustable chrome spotlight...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsSteel
- Angelo Lelli Table Lamp for ArredoluceBy Angelo LeliiLocated in Pawtucket, RINicely designed table lamp by Angelo Lelli and manufactured by Arredoluce Monza. Petite lamp with star pattern cut-outs on an adjustable retractable shade. Complete with original int...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
MaterialsBrass, Metal