Purple PH5 Pendant by Poul Henningsen and Louis Poulsen, 20th Century
About the Item
- Creator:Fritz Hansen (Manufacturer),Poul Henningsen (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 11.23 in (28.5 cm)Diameter: 19.69 in (50 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:Metal,Lacquered
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:20th Century
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Everything we sell to customers will be inspected thoroughly at our professional workshop by our educated carpenters, who assures the products quality.
- Seller Location:Lejre, DK
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1209218680702
Poul Henningsen
The name Poul Henningsen is synonymous with the best and most innovative modern Scandinavian lamps and other lighting. The Danish designer created a signature vocabulary of fixtures with tiered and layered shades in sculptural arrangements that are at once naturalistic and geometric.
Henningsen grew up in a town on the outskirts of Copenhagen and studied architecture at the Technical University of Denmark. He would become a noted art critic, journalist and screenwriter, but his first love was lighting design.
Henningsen’s childhood home was illuminated by oil lamps. When his family switched to electrified lighting, he was alarmed and repelled by the harsh glare cast by an incandescent bulb, and in his late teens he began conducting quasi-scientific experiments to measure which materials and methods best diffused or reflected light to give it a warm brightness. His work came to the attention of the lighting-fixtures firm Louis Poulsen, which sponsored the development of a prototype lamp. The design won a gold medal at the 1925 Paris Expositions Internationales des Arts Decóratifs et Industriels Modernes — from which the term Art Deco derives. The lamp, whose three-part shade is said to be inspired by the arrangement of a dinner plate atop a soup bowl atop a teacup, became the basis for Henningsen’s most successful design, the PH 4/3 desk lamp.
All told, Henningsen would design some 100 lighting fixtures in his career. Some of his most notable creations are hanging lamps, which include the Septima (1929), a pendant composed of seven graduated frosted-glass layers; the Spiral (1942), made of a single ribbon of enameled aluminum; and the Artichoke lamp (1958), whose 70 glass or metal fins in a staggered and graduated arrangement on a central steel frame resemble those of its namesake. The last is likely Henningsen’s masterwork and an icon of mid-20th-century design. Like all Henningsen lighting designs, it is striking, sculptural and — thanks to his insistence on the primacy of the quality of the light cast — superbly functional.
Find a collection of authentic Poul Henningsen table lamps, floor lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs.
Fritz Hansen
When the Copenhagen-based furniture maker Fritz Hansen opened for business more than 140 years ago, the company — which today styles itself The Republic of Fritz Hansen — adhered to the traditional, time-honored Danish values of craftsmanship in woodworking and joinery. Yet thanks to the postwar innovations of Arne Jacobsen and others, Fritz Hansen would become the country’s leader in Scandinavian modern design using new, forward-looking materials and methods.
Fritz Hansen started his company in 1872, specializing in the manufacture of small furniture parts. In 1915, the firm became the first in Denmark to make chairs using steam-bent wood (a technique most familiar from birch used in the ubiquitous café chairs by Austrian maker Thonet). At the time, Fritz Hansen was best known for seating that featured curved legs and curlicue splats and referenced 18th-century Chippendale designs.
In the next few decades, the company promoted simple, plain chairs with slatted backs and cane or rush seats designed by such proto-modernist masters as Kaare Klint and Søren Hansen. Still, the most aesthetically striking piece Fritz Hansen produced in the first half of the 20th century was arguably the China chair of 1944 by Hans Wegner — and that piece, with its yoke-shaped bentwood back- and armrest, was based on seating manufactured in China during the Ming dynasty. (Wegner was moved by portraits he’d seen of Danish merchants in the Chinese chairs.)
Everything changed in 1952 with Arne Jacobsen’s Ant chair. The collaboration between the architect and Fritz Hansen officially originated in 1934 — that year, Jacobsen created his inaugural piece for the manufacturer, the solid beechwood Bellevue chair for a restaurant commission. The Ant chair, however, was the breakthrough.
With assistance from his then-apprentice Verner Panton, Jacobsen designed the Ant chair for the cafeteria of a Danish healthcare company called Novo Nordisk. The chair was composed of a seat and backrest formed from a single piece of molded plywood attached, in its original iteration, to three tubular metal legs. Its silhouette suggests the shape of the insect’s body, and the lightweight, stackable chair and its biomorphic form became an international hit.
Jacobsen followed with more plywood successes, such as the Grand Prix chair of 1957. The following year he designed the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen and its furnishings, including the Egg chair and the Swan chair. Those two upholstered pieces, with their lush, organic frames made of fiberglass-reinforced polyurethane, have become the two chairs most emblematic of mid-20th-century cool. Moreover, the Egg and Swan led Fritz Hansen to fully embrace new man-made materials, like foam, plastic and steel wire used to realize the avant-garde creations of later generations of designers with whom the firm collaborated, such as Piet Hein, Jørn Utzon (the architect of the Sydney Opera House) and Verner Panton. If the Fritz Hansen of 1872 would not now recognize his company, today’s connoisseurs certainly do.
Find a collection of vintage Fritz Hansen tables, lounge chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lejre, Denmark
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- PH 3/2 Pendant by Poul Henningsen and Louis PoulsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKPH 3/2 pendant designed by Poul Henningsen and manufactured by Louis Poulsen. The lamp is of white opaline glass and black chromed.Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsOpaline Glass
- PH Contrast by Poul Henningsen and Louis Poulsen, 1960sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKAn Exquisite Piece of Design History: The PH "Kontrast" Pendant Lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, Denmark (1958-1962). Poul Henningsen's masterpiece, the "PH Kontrast" pend...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal, Aluminum
- Ceiling Lamp Model PH5 In Baby Blue By Poul Henningsen Made By Louis PoulsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKThe PH5 ceiling lamp, designed by Poul Henningsen and manufactured by Louis Poulsen, is an iconic piece of lighting design known for its innovative form and exceptional functionalit...Category
2010s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- PH 3/2 Akademi Designed by Poul Henningsen and Manufactured by Louis PoulsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKPoul Henningsen's collaboration with Louis Poulsen began as early as 1925-1926, when PH, in partnership with Louis Poulsen, designed the first lamps for an exhibition in Paris. This collaboration lasted until his death in 1967. Throughout his life, PH aimed to create glare-free light, directing the light where it was needed and producing soft shadows using the incandescent bulb as the light source. The PH 3/2 Academy Pendant is part of the 3-shade family, which now comprises 30 lamps, including 3 for outdoor use. PH didn't just design a lamp but an entire system, resulting in approximately a thousand different variations produced over the years. The extensive selection included table lamps, floor lamps, and wall lamps. Additionally, there were various chandeliers that became highly popular as high-hanging lighting fixtures...Category
Early 2000s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsChrome
- Ceiling Lamp Model PH5 By Poul Henningsen From 1950sBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKThis ceiling lamp, model PH5, was designed by Poul Henningsen in 1950. Known for its innovative design and superior light distribution, the PH5 lamp has beco...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsAluminum
- Artichoke in Brushed Steel by Poul Henningsen and Louis PoulsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Lejre, DKExquisite Artichoke Pendant Lamp: Ø60, a stunning creation by renowned designer Poul Henningsen, masterfully crafted by Louis Poulsen in the late 2000s. This iconic lamp, known as t...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsSteel
- Louis Poulsen PH5 Mini Pendant Lamp by Poul HenningsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in New York, NYPoul Henningsen was born in Copenhagen by the famous Danish actress Agnes Henningsen. He never graduated as an architect, but studied at The Technical School at Frederiksberg, Denmar...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
MaterialsMetal
- Poul Henningsen PH5 Pendant in Copper for Louis PoulsenBy Poul HenningsenLocated in Tilburg, NLPoul Henningsen PH5 pendant for Louis Poulsen. Denmark. Designed in 1958. New, current production. Poul Henningsen developed the PH 5 in 1958 in response to constant changes made ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and...
MaterialsCopper, Metal
- Poul Henningsen PH5 Pendant in Brass for Louis PoulsenBy Poul HenningsenLocated in Tilburg, NLPoul Henningsen PH5 Pendant for Louis Poulsen. Denmark. Designed in 1958. New, current production. Poul Henningsen developed the PH 5 in 1958 in response to constant changes made ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and...
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Poul Henningsen PH5 Mini Brass Pendant for Louis PoulsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Glendale, CAPoul Henningsen PH5 mini brass pendant for Louis Poulsen. Poul Henningsen introduced his iconic PH 5 pendant light in 1958. To celebrate, Louis Poulsen is pu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and...
MaterialsAluminum, Copper
- Poul Henningsen Red Ph5 Mini Pendants for Louis PoulsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Glendale, CAPoul Henningson red PH5 mini pendants for Louis Poulsen. Poul Henningsen originally introduced the full-sized PH 5 pendant light in 1958 as a Classic...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and...
MaterialsAluminum
- Poul Henningsen Rose PH5 Mini Pendants for Louis PoulsenBy Poul Henningsen, Louis PoulsenLocated in Glendale, CAPoul Henningsen rose PH5 mini pendants for Louis Poulsen. Poul Henningsen originally introduced the full-sized PH 5 pendant light in 1958 as a Classi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Danish Scandinavian Modern Chandeliers and...
MaterialsAluminum