1980s Lamella Moon Table Lamp

Materials: Round stainless steel base and ring. Chrome ornamental screw on top. Adjustable plastic slats (PVC) globe lampshade. Some metal and electric parts. Silver painted Bakelite E14 socket.

Height: 40 cm / 15.74”

Width: 31,5 cm / 12.40”

Base: ∅ 15 cm / 5.90”

Electricity: 1 bulb E14, 1 x 40 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred. 

Period: 1980s, 1990s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: KARE Design, Germany. – attributed.

Other versions: This 1980s Lamella Moon table lamp was and is made by many companies. Today’s editions of this table lamp are most of all made in China and are sold under many names. There is no label present on this one, unfortunately. The electrical components suggest that it is a lamp made in between the late 70s and early 80s. 

KARE Design

The German company KARE Design produced a similar Moon table lamp for many years, in several  variations. Probably it is a lamp by this company. KARE Design was founded in 1981, so it is possible. They also sold a complete chrome version, it is often labelled on the base. Massive from Belgium produced a similar table lamp with a curved chrome base in the 90s.

This 1980s Lamella Moon table lamp is a copy of the Moon pendant lamp designed by Verner Panton (1926-1989) in 1960. Verpan never produced a table lamp. However, French designer Henri Mathieu designed a similar table lamp in the 60s, but completely made of aluminium.

Both Verpan, the Verner Panton company and Mathieu Lustrerie still produce these lamps. In 2018 the Moon pendant lamp was available in 5 versions. The biggest lamp is 150 cm / 59” wide. 

The “Spirales cinétiques” lamps (spiral kinetics) by Henri Mathieu are available in several versions, all in aluminium.

Chimney caps

The design of these lamps by Henri Mathieu was inspired by the design of galvanised sheet metal chimney caps, according to his sons Régis website.

In 2002 Nico Heilmann made his version of the Henri Mathieu lamps for the German company Tecnolumen, also in plastic. It is named La Perle, French for the pearl.

Louis Weisdorf designed similar lamps in the late 1960s for the Lyfa company from Denmark. His Konkylie lamp model P483 is probably the most well known.