Achille & P. Giacomo Castiglioni Floor Lamp Arco, 1960's
About the Item
- Creator:Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (Designer),Flos (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 94.49 in (240 cm)Width: 7.09 in (18 cm)Depth: 9.45 in (24 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1968
- Condition:
- Seller Location:bari, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4076327548642
Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Milanese industrial designer-architects Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (1918–2002; 1913-68) created some of the most iconic furniture designs in the world, particularly those that originated in the realm of mid-century modern lighting.
In the late 1930s, after graduating from the acclaimed Polytechnic University of Milan, Pier Giacomo opened a design studio with his brother Livio and likeminded architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni. Achille, also a graduate of Milan Polytechnic, joined the group after completing his studies in 1944. The era’s architects were encountering difficulty in their attempts to secure building commissions, so the group focused on designing practical everyday objects such as the Model 547, a tabletop radio for Phonola that was encased in Bakelite.
The Castiglioni brothers produced wildly popular and innovative designs throughout the 20th century. While Livio departed the practice in 1952 to pursue lighting design and sound technology on his own, Pier Giacomo and Achille would continue to collaborate on a wealth of projects in the ensuing years.
Vintage furniture collectors may be familiar with Livio and Italian designer Gianfranco Frattini’s serpent-like Boalum lamp, while Achille’s Taraxacum hanging lamp — created for FLOS with sprayed plastic polymers originally intended for military use — as well as the Arco, Snoopy and Toio lamps, which were the result of the collaboration between Pier Giacomo and Achille, are milestones in modernist lighting design.
Also for FLOS, Pier Giacomo and Achille created a series of metal frames that, wrapped in the polymer, became floor lamps (Gatto) or pendant lights (Viscontea and Taraxacum), all released in 1960. The Gatto floor lamp takes its name from the Italian word for “cat” and the inspiration for its aesthetic from lighting that George Nelson developed for legendary American furniture manufacturer Howard Miller during the 1940s. Around the same time, the designer Tobia Scarpa (son of the famed Italian architect Carlo Scarpa and one-half of the widely revered postmodern husband-and-wife design duo Afra and Tobia Scarpa) created a floor lamp called Fantasma (1961) using the polymers technique. FLOS continues to make the Castiglionis’ innovative pieces today.
In addition to their provocative lighting works, Pier Giacomo and Achille also created stereo systems, decorative objects, seating, tables and other items for the likes of Brionvega, Alessi, Zanotta, Kartell and more.
Find vintage Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni floor lamps, table lamps, pendants, seating and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Flos
Imaginative lighting is a longtime hallmark of modern Italian design. Following in the footsteps of innovative companies such as Artemide and Arteluce, the company FLOS brought a fresh aesthetic philosophy to the Italian lighting field in the 1960s, one that would produce several of the iconic floor lamp, table lamp and pendant light designs of the era.
FLOS — Latin for “flower” — was founded in the northern town of Merano in 1962 by Cesare Cassina (of the famed Cassina furniture-making family) and Dino Gavina, a highly cultured businessman who believed that artistic ideas espoused in postwar Italy could inform commercial design. The two enlisted brothers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni as their first designers.
Even before FLOS was formally incorporated, the Castiglionis gave the firm one of its enduring successes with the Taraxacum pendant and associated designs made by spraying an elastic polymer on a metal armature. (George Nelson had pioneered the technique in the United States in the early 1950s.) For other designs, the brothers found inspiration in everyday objects. Suggestive of streetlights, their Arco floor lamp, with its chrome boom and ball-shaped shade sweeping out from a marble block base, has become a staple of modernist decors. Designing for FLOS since 1966, Tobia Scarpa has also been inspired by the commonplace. His folded-metal Foglio sconces resemble a shirt cuff; his carved marble Biagio table lamp looks like a jai alai basket.
In 1973, FLOS purchased Arteluce, the company founded in 1939 by Gino Sarfatti, and it continues to produce his designs. In recent decades, FLOS has contracted work from several noted designers, including Marcel Wanders and Jasper Morrison. As instantly recognizable as they are, many FLOS designs remain accessible. While FLOS lighting is the essence of modernity, its sleek, subtle designs can be used to strike a sculptural note in even traditional spaces.
Browse a broad range of FLOS lighting fixtures at 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: bari, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Stilnovo Italian Midcentury Floor LampBy StilnovoLocated in bari, ITFloor lamp with six lighting bodies by Stilnovo in brass and opaline glass from the 1950s Bruno Gatta joined the company with his brother Paolo, who had just graduated, and in Septem...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Stilnovo Italian Midcentury Floor Lamp 50'sBy StilnovoLocated in bari, ITFloor lamp with six lighting bodies by Stilnovo in brass and opaline glass from the 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Murano Glass Floor Lamp from the 1950sLocated in bari, ITSuperb pair of 50's floor lamp with an imposing structure in the dimensions all in Murano glass cordoned with an iron structure. JUST ONLY THE RED FLOOR LAMP IS ON SALECategory
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMurano Glass
- Italian Midcentury Floor Lamp by Barovier & TosoBy Barovier&TosoLocated in bari, ITFloor lamp in worked glass and brass by Barovier & Toso form late 1940s.Category
Vintage 1940s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsBrass
- Joe Colombo italian midcentury floor lamp 70's.By Oluce, Joe ColomboLocated in bari, ITFloor lamp with direct light. Telescopic stem and base in white chromed metal designed by Joe Colombo for Oluce in the early 70s. Joe Colombo was born in Milan in 1930, a Milanese designer and architect, the son of an industrialist. After attending the Brera Academy of Fine Arts and the Milan Polytechnic, Joe Colombo worked in the fields of painting, architecture, graphic design and industrial management.In the early 1950s he joined the nuclear painting...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- Bruno Gecchelin Italian Midcentury Floor LampBy Guzzini, Bruno GecchelinLocated in bari, ITItalian midcentury floor lamp by Bruno Gecchelin design for Guzzini Italia, 1970s. Bruno Gecchelin was born in Milan in 1939. In 1962 he ...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal, Stainless Steel
- Floor Lamp, 1960s, Inspired by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni Iconic ArcoBy Flos, Achille & Pier Giacomo CastiglioniLocated in New York, NYThis vintage floor lamp from the 1960s has a tubular shape and curved structure like a fishing rod. The base is a marble disk, and the light source is smooth and diffused, ideal for ...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMarble, Steel, Chrome
- Vintage Pier Giacomo Achille Castiglioni Flos 'Arco' Marble Steel Floor LampBy Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, FlosLocated in Baltimore, MDStunning monumental Italian arc floor lamp designed by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni circa 1960's. Features a large, adjustable, floating, spherical dome-shaped aluminum shade, accented with a polished grid, creating a beautiful effect when lamp is on. The adjustable shade offers personalized lighting controlling the light. Atop a slim arched curved, adjustable central, stainless steel cantilever rod, supported by a beautiful thick, Carrera marble base accented with beveled, sculptural corners (designed not to hurt should you brush against them). The marble block can easily be moved using the holes in the block. Original wiring with convenient on off step switch. Manufacturer's label on inside of shade (FLOS Made in Italy). Manufacturer's label on lower back portion of the rod (FLOS inc...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMarble, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
- Vintage Pier Giacomo Achille Castiglioni - Flos 'Arco' Marble & Steel Floor LampBy Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos, Achille Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo CastiglioniLocated in Philadelphia, PAThe Carrera marble base has very slight, barely noticeable yellowing. Telescoping arm shows signs of light oxidation, but operates well. The polished and coated/sealed aluminum shade shows light scuffs and scratches. Wiring is original. Lamp works as it should. In very good shape for being ~70 years old. This lamp is not signed. I'm guessing the manufacturer's sticker label dried out and fell off. Typically, the labels were adhered to the ceramic bulb socket, which would heat up and dry out the glue. Also notice the small hole perforated diffuser, on which the polished aluminum shade rests and pivots, is unusual. Many lamps have the larger holes found on the more recently made examples. The small holes diffuser is found on the vintage Flos Arco...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Steel
- Achille Castiglioni & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Toio, Floor Lamp, Flos, 1960sBy Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos, Achille Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo CastiglioniLocated in Paris, FRAchille Castiglioni (1918-2002) & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni (1913-1968) Toio A lacquered metal floor lamp. The half spherical bulb vertically supported with an hexagon shaped, nickel-plated brass stem on white enamel steel base supporting a green lacquered transformer. Flos sticker under the base. Produced by Flos, Italy. 1962. Literature Domus n°400, March 1963, p.49 Abitare n°14, March 1963, p.42 Ottagono n°30, September 1973, p.153 Giuliana Gramigna, Repertorio 1950/1980, Arnaldo Mondadori Editore, Milano, 1985, p.188 Sergio Polano, Achille Castiglioni, Pall Mall, 2012, p.192-193. Futurissimo, L’utopie du design italien...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsMetal
- "Arco" Floor Lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo CastiglioniBy Achille Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, FlosLocated in Los Angeles, CAClassic floor lamp with stainless steel stem and Carrara marble base.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Aluminum, Stainless Steel
- Arco Flos Lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Italy '70sBy Achille Castiglioni, Flos, Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Pier Giacomo CastiglioniLocated in Sacile, PNArco Flos lamp by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Italy '70s An early example of Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni's 'Arco' floor lamp for Flos, circa 1973. Carrara Bardiglio marble and adjustable telescoping...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Aluminum, Steel
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
We Dare You Not to Smile at These Whimsical Italian Designs
Make anyplace your happy place with Italian furniture at its subversive best.
Rooms We Love: 11 Splendid Living Rooms
Common wisdom used to declare the kitchen the hub of the house. These days, the living room seems to have assumed the role of domestic focal point. Unlike the Victorian parlor, stiffly furnished and reserved for guests, today’s living room is a central place for reading, conversation and, well, living, with furnishings that lend themselves to both casual lounging and elegant entertaining.