Original Midcentury Bell Pendant by Alvar Aalto, 1950s
About the Item
- Creator:Alvar Aalto (Designer),Louis Poulsen (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 7.88 in (20 cm)Diameter: 6.7 in (17 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Rewired. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Lejre, DK
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1020820518822
Alvar Aalto
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism and Nordic design to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, stools, tables and lighting to table- and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.
Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.
Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed with his wife, Aino Aalto, in 1930 as part of the overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium.
Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the Paimio chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had an enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.
Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with Aino, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.
Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.
Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Louis Poulsen
Louis Poulsen is world-renowned as an innovator in modern Danish lighting, but this wasn’t the goal from the start. Founded in 1874 by Ludvig R. Poulsen as a wine importer, the business went through several incarnations before its first pendant lights came to fruition. Through its designs, the company helped establish the foundations of good lighting — function, comfort and ambience — that are now standard in modern furniture design.
In 1924, Danish architect Poul Henningsen partnered with Louis Poulsen & Co., then an electrical supply company, to create what’s now known as the Paris lamp. This design, which incorporated three layers of curved metal disks, created ambience with its indirect light instead of glare. Shown at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris — the exhibition that brought Art Deco design to worldwide attention — the Paris lamp was awarded a gold medal. This led to Poulsen and Henningsen working together on several lighting pieces, including the popular PH pendant light with its concentric shades for the Forum Building in Copenhagen. These high-profile projects helped make Louis Poulsen a go-to purveyor of innovative lighting design.
One of the company’s most well-known lamps is Henningsen’s PH Artichoke lamp (1958), with its 72 copper leaves artfully placed to conceal the light bulb, prevent glare and promote a warm, alluring glow in any room. Another is the steel and die-cast zinc AJ lamp (1960), which Arne Jacobsen designed with an adjustable angled shade for his commission for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. The company has also worked with notables such as Verner Panton and Alfred Homann as well as, more recently, Louise Campbell and Oki Sato.
In 2010, the company was awarded the American Institute of Architects’ Honors in Collaborative Achievement Award; it was the first lighting manufacturer to receive this honor. In 2018, the company was acquired by an investment subsidiary of Investindustrial VI L.P. Still headquartered in Denmark, the brand continues to produce its high-end lighting for both indoor and outdoor use, manufacturing both classic icons as well as new designs. “We design to shape light,” states Louis Poulsen. In doing so, they have also shaped culture.
Find a range of new and vintage Louis Poulsen floor lamps, table lamps and other lighting and furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lejre, Denmark
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Midcentury "PH5" Pendant by Poul Henningsen, Danish Design, 1950sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKPendant in painted metal, designed in 1958 by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Midcentury "PH5" Pendant by Poul Henningsen, Danish Design, 1950sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKPendant in painted metal, designed in 1958 by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Midcentury "PH5" Pendant by Poul Henningsen, Danish Design, 1950sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKPendant in painted metal, designed in 1958 by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Midcentury "PH5" Pendant by Poul Henningsen, Danish Design, 1950sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKPendant in painted metal, designed in 1958 by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Midcentury "PH5" Pendant by Poul Henningsen, Danish Design, 1950sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKPendant in painted metal, designed in 1958 by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Midcentury "PH5" Pendant by Poul Henningsen, Danish Design, 1950sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKPendant in painted metal, designed in 1958 by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Pendant Model A335B by Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö, 1950sBy Alvar Aalto, ValaistustyöLocated in Helsinki, FIPendant by Alvar Aalto for Valaistustyö in the 1950s. Metal, good vintage condition, marked on the bottom. Beehive style pendant, early Alvar Aalto design.Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Model A110 Pendant, Alvar Aalto, Valaistustyö Ab, 1950sBy Valaistustyö, Alvar AaltoLocated in Helsinki, FIModel A110 pendant light, designed by Alvar Aalto, manufactured by Valaistustyö Ab, 1950s. Painted metal with brass details. Good vintage condition, minor patina and wear consistent ...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Brass 'Kultakello' Model A 330 'Golden Bell' Pendant by Alvar AaltoBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Utrecht, NLModel A330 is the more complex variation of the popular and more simple model A330S / 'The Golden Bell” that was originally designed in 1936 by Alvar Aalto and his wife Aaino for the...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsBrass
- Vintage Golden Bell Pendant Lamp by Alvar Aalto for Louis PoulsenBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Vorst, BEThe 'Golden Bell' pendant lamp was designed in 1936 for the interior of the Savoy restaurant in Helsinki by Alvar and his wife Aino Aalto. It was characteristic of Aalto to treat eac...Category
Late 20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Sheet Metal, Brass
- Pendant by Alvar Aalto for ValaistostyoBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Long Island City, NYA pendant designed by Alvar Aalto to Valaistostyo Ky, Finland. Model A-203, Circa 1950th. Lacquered metal with brass elements. Stamped by manufacturer. Existing wires, rewiring avai...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Ceiling Lamp Designed by Alvar Aalto for Idman, Finland, 1950sBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Stockholm, SECeiling lamp designed by Alvar Aalto for Idman, Finland. 1950s Lacquered metal. H: 21 cm / 8 1/8" W: 115 cm / 3' 9 1/8" D: 33 cm / 8 1/8" Provenance: From Stora Enso's head office...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Very Modern Love Story of Mid-Century Design Duo Alvar and Aino Aalto
A power couple before the term existed, the influential pair made work that still resonates today.
What Makes Scandinavian Modernism and Nordic Design So Irresistible?
Andrew Duncanson, founder of the Stockholm- and London-based gallery Modernity, weighs in on the masters of mid-century furniture and decorative arts.