Acona Biconbi Chandelier –

Many thanks to Hans from Objeta for the beautiful pictures and the enthusiasm.

Acona Biconbi Chandelier

Materials: Chromed metal (iron) globe style lampshade. White painted metal globe inside. Bakelite E14 sockets.

Cord Length: 80 cm / 31.49’’

Height: 40 cm / 11.81”

Width: ∅ 40 cm / 13.38”

Electricity: 7 bulbs E14, 7 x 40 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used. Not a specific one preferred. Most of the time silver cap bulbs are used.

Period: 1960s, 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: Bruno Munari (1904 – 1997).

Manufacturer: Danese, Milan, Italy.

Other versions: The globe inside this Acona Biconbi chandelier is made in several colours.

Recent (2000s) chandeliers have been made in The Netherlands and “designed” by Paul De Haan, de founder of Jolina Products B.V. These lamps have angular corners in stead of rounded. You find them always with a ridiculous story about a 4th floor futuristic landscape in a hotel in Madrid. Without mentioning Bruno Munari, of course. But I don’t know if this story is true. The company is specialised in reproductions of 1950s American style furniture and interior products.

Bruno Munari

Bruno Munari was born on October 24, 1904, in Milan, Italy. He was an Italian designer, inventor and artist who contributed fundamentals to many fields of visual arts. He created paintings, films, sculptures, graphic design, industrial design and this Acona Biconbi toy/lamp.

In 1927 he exhibited for the first time at the collective exhibition “33 Futurist Painters” (33 pittori futuristi) at the Galleria Pesaro in Milan.

Described by Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) as “the Leonardo da Vinci of our time”.

Before the Second World War, Munari worked as a graphic designer for the Italian publishing company Mondadori. He wrote more than 60 books. From children’s books to design manuals.

In 1948, Munari, along with Gillo Dorfles, Gianni Monnet and Atanasio Soldati founded the abstraction-driven Concrete Art Movement in Italy, the Movimento Arte Concreta (MAC).

Bruno Munari produced many objects for the Italian design industry, including ashtrays, coffee machines and televisions. The Acona Biconbi was designed in the late 50s. Originally conceived as a work of sculpture issued from Munari’s researches on the subject of multiples. It was manufactured as a game for the first time in 1961 by Danese.

Munari passed away in the same town where he was born (Milan) on September 30, 1998.

Danese

Danese is a design company founded in Milan in 1957 by Bruno Danese and Jacqueline Vodoz. The company looked to an idea of design that included the languages of graphics, visual arts and photography. In 2014, Danese became part of the Artemide group.

Corraini

Corraini is the publisher of the books written by Bruno Munari. To commemorate the hundredth birthday of Bruno Munari, Corraini had issued a reissue of the cardboard version of Acona Biconbi in 2004. The toy/game is still available in some online shops.