1980s Reed Table Lamp

Materials: White porcelain or earthenware “pumpkin” with gold stripes. Brass plated iron round base and leaves. Some brass parts. Striped round conical fabric lampshade. Bakelite E27 socket.

Height: 50,5 cm / 19.88”

Width: ∅ 30 cm / 11.81”

Base: ∅ 10,5 cm / 4.13”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1980s, 1990s – Hollywood Regency style.

Designer: To be appraised, probably inspired by a lamp designed by Maison Charles, Paris: “Vase Roseaux” (reeds vase) and often sold as a Maison Charles or Maison Jansen lamp. The Maison Charles table lamps always have a stamp in the metal on the back of the base with the company’s name on. The Vase Roseaux is still in production, you can find it on the website of Maison Charles. Often presented as “palm lamps”.

Manufacturer: Massive, Mortsel, Kontich and Wommelgem, Belgium.

Other versions: Massive produced many models of this 1980s reed table lamp over the years. Most of them have these “short” leaves. The leaves of lamps made by the other Belgian company S.A. Boulanger have long leaves. In the links below you can find two other palm lamps made by Massive.

Massive

Massive was in origin a bronze foundry and they produced mainly candlesticks, crucifixes and chandeliers in Wilrijk near Antwerp, Belgium. The company was founded in 1926 by Pieter-Jozef De Jaeck. His son Eddy De Jaeck was responsible for the huge expansion of the company in the 1970s. But it were his sons, Piet and Jan De Jaeck who made Massive a true multinational. Thus, they moved production to Eastern Europe and China.

In the 1980s Massive became the leading brand in Europe. In 2002, the brothers left the company to the investment fund CVC Capital Partners, for allegedly more than 250 million euros. 
Since 2008 the company is owned by Philips and the name of the shops is changed into Light Gallery.

When the takeover by Philips was announced in November 2006 Massive commercialised more than 10.000 lighting products under brand names such as Massive, TRIO and Lirio. The group had about 5.000 employees worldwide and was active in 70 countries.

VLM Components

All the electric parts were made by VLM Components in the 1980s. The company was founded in 1945 in Buccinasco, a small village near Milan, Italy. The company became famous for the switches they produce since 1968, designed by Achille Castiglioni.
VLM is part of the Relco Group, founded in 1967. Today they are the owners of the brands Relco, Leuci, Relco Lighting, VLM and Segno.