Poul Henningsen PH 2/1 “Kippe lamp” 1930s Patented

POUL HENNINGSEN (Denmark, 1894 - 1967).
Piano lamp 2/1, 1930s.
Brass with copper top shade and frosted center and bottom shade. Non original LP back shade.
The switch is not the original one for this lamp, it comes from another antique lamp.
Measurements: 40 x 49 cm.

The PH 2/1 is based on the revolutionary Three-Shade System that Henningsen developed between 1925-1926, with the aim of achieving a harmonious, soft and completely glare-free illumination. The design of the shades is based on a logarithmic spiral (or lituus curve), which ensures that the light is evenly distributed and reflected in the curves of the shades to direct most of it downward, avoiding direct vision of the light source.

Danish designer, architect and critic, Poul Henningsen was one of the key figures in the cultural life of Denmark in the interwar period. He studied architecture between 1911 and 1917, but never graduated, as he decided to become an inventor and painter. Nevertheless, he worked as an architect and became one of the most prominent advocates of functionalism. In his career as a designer, his most famous creation was the "PH Artichoke" lamp, a simple lamp that used hallmarks of light to avoid glare and create an aesthetic effect of great beauty. Its success enabled Henningsen to finance his later work. He is currently representing at the Danish Museum of Art and Design, the MoMA in New York and the Victoria & Albert in London, among many others.