This is the thirdpart of The history of design told by lamps.

Lighting is a basic category in the field of furniture, but also a concentrated expression of experimentation, creativity and talent. We’d love to share classic lamps and lanterns for you to understand the history of design:

This small table lamp designed by the founder of the lighting company of the same name, is one of the first lighting fixtures made with an exclusive resin moulding system. The name evokes the form. The light is reflected indirectly by an adjustable reflector with an internal aluminium screen. Despite the design rigour, Elmetto ensures maximum functionality thanks to the presence of a large switch in the central body, easily available in the dark; the spotlight can be moved at the touch of a finger.

Elmetto，Martinelli Luce，1976
Design Elio Martinelli

Designed in 1977 by Vico Magistretti, over the years, Atollo has become the archetype of the table lamp, winning the Compasso d’Oro in 1979 and completely revolutionising the way we imagine the classic bedside lamp. Its geometric shapes - cylinder, cone and hemisphere - have resulted in a product that is decorative and pivotal at the same time, detached from the historical period and the fashions of the moment, and one that has now fully become one of the icons of Italian design. Atollo is available in three different sizes and in different finishes: gold, bronze, white or black metal and opal glass.

Atollo，Oluce，1977
Design Vico Magistretti

What is now a bestseller of the company and one of the best-selling lamps in the world was born as a reinterpretation of the classic pantograph table lamp. Tolomeo has been able to combine innovative technologies and materials in an identifiable form with contemporary lines, adapting to the most diverse uses and environments, from the home to the office. The lamp is balanced and held in place in the desired position by steel cables that replace the spring mechanism, and joints that keep them in tension. This solution retains the purity of line, to which is added the lightness expressed by the long slender arms, and by the thin support base. A unique and timeless design that enabled it to win the Compasso d’Oro in 1989. Today the first Tolomeo table version has become a family of lamps, available in various wall, floor and suspension sizes and with the use of LED technology.

Tolomeo，Artemide，1987
Design Michele De Lucchi和Giancarlo Fassina

The chandelier is inspired by a 1930s Bakelite bracelet purchased during a trip, and the name itself is the technical term for one of the best known cuts for diamonds and precious stones. It is a contemporary version of traditional sumptuous chandeliers, where the crystal elements are replaced by a ring of polymethylmethacrylate spheres, transparent or golden yellow, which interact with the light emitted by the light source inside, transforming it into a sparkling composition. An opaque white glass shade offers direct upward and downward light projection and diffusion throughout the entire space.

Caboche，Foscarini，2005
Design Patricia Urquiola和Eliana Gerotto

The first great success of Luceplan, Costanza was born from a creative idea as simple as it was ingenious: to revisit and reinterpret the classic type of lampshade lamp, combining formal simplicity with highly innovative technological solutions, such as the self-supporting polycarbonate lampshade and the sensorial infinity dimmer allowing you to set four levels of light intensity. It is a lamp that is ahead of its time, combining tradition and technology that is transformed into a minimalist language. Conceived to be completely dismountable, it anticipated the future needs of lightness and minimum bulk: all its elements are enclosed in a flat package.

Costanza，Luceplan，1986

Bourgie is a mix of style and material detached from any temporal reference. If some forms clearly refer to the 50s or 70s, the choice of the Baroque as inspiration removes any interplay with current events. The lamp combines classicism, richness and tradition with technological innovation. The base, in Baroque style, is made up of three intersecting decorated surfaces, while the large shade has a pleated effect in order to create, once switched on, a game of a thousand reflections. Thanks to the shade’s special hooking system, three different heights can be obtained, which can be modified at will, depending on the desired use.

Bourgie，Kartell，2004

The wireless portable table lamp consists of a stem with a magnetic metal base and a metal head with touch ignition. It projects a soft and pleasant light downwards, that favours conversations, gazes, silences. It is no coincidence that famous starred chefs have chosen this light for their restaurants. TeTaTeT is part of the Wirelessismore collection which includes rechargeable battery solutions ideal for lighting restaurant tables, incorporating light as an ingredient of the restaurant experience. It is available in white, black and gold: all opaque colours that prevent the light from dazzling, so as to be pleasant for the observer.

TeTaTeT，2016
Design Davide Groppi

Related Article：Design Magazine: The history of design told by lamps Part2

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