Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio Pendant Lamp

Materials: Brown degrading plastic (acrylic) lampshade, white on the inside. 4 chromed metal (iron) curved rods. Chrome reflector. Chrome canopy. Steel wire. 3 Bakelite sockets.

Cord Length: 80 cm / 31.49’’

Height: 46 cm / 18.11”

Width: ∅ 50 cm / 19.68”

Electricity: 2 bulbs E14, 2 x 60 watt maximum (inside the lamp shade) and 1 bulb E27, 1 x 75 watt maximum (below under the diffuser) – 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, but white or frosted bulbs are preferred for the E14 bulbs inside the acrylic lampshade. A silver cupped light bulb below. The lights can work separately if the wiring in the house is provided for this purpose.

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

Designer: Studio 6G, the Harvey Guzzini design-team led by Luigi Massoni.

Manufacturer: Harvey Guzzini, Recanati, Italy, today named iGuzzini. 

Other versions: The Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio pendant lamp exists also as a floor lamp and table lamp. It was at least also made in white, yellow, green and orange. A version exists with a white metal diffuser instead of a chrome one.

Quadrifoglio, the Italian word for four-leaf clover.

Gae Aulenti

This Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio pendant lamp is often attributed to Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), but those are false assumptions. Gae Aulenti started to work for the iGuzzini company in 1985 and created together with Piero Castiglioni the (industrial) Cestello lamp series for the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy; 17 years after the Quadrofoglio was designed. Source: the website of iGuzzini and the book: “Culture of an Italian Region. The Marche, Guzzini and design“, written by Augusto Morello, published in 2002. The Cestello lamp series was in production from 1985 until 1992.

The Quadrifoglio pendant lamp has some similarities with the Pipistrello lamp Gae Aulenti designed for Martinelli Luce. Most likely the story originated that way. Several designer books are wrong, unfortunately.

iGuzzini illuminazione

iGuzzini illuminazione was established in June 1958 by Raimondo Guzzini (born 1928) under the name Harvey Creazioni. Harvey is derived from the famous movie ‘Harvey’ with James Stuart and the invisible rabbit Harvey from 1950.
The initial production of enamelled copper objects was supplemented by decorative luminaires.
In the early sixties it became a family business when his 5 brothers joined the company. In 1962 Luigi Massoni was attracted to lead the design team. He worked for Fratelli Guzzini and Harvey Guzzini until 1976. Luigi Massoni designed many iconic lamps in that period. They are on display here on Vintageinfo.

The company still exists and changed the name in 1974 into iGuzzini and in 1981 to iGuzzini illuminazione.

MEBLO

Harvey Guzzini lamps were also sold under the brand name MEBLO. MEBLO is a Slovenian (Yugoslavia) company.

The MEBLO factory was founded in 1948 when Gorizia craftsmen joined forces and founded the Furniture Factory, later named Edvard Kardelj (communist leader and national hero of World War II). In 1950 the name changed in MEBLO.

At first, they made exclusive furniture, which was later supplemented with upholstered furniture, lighting, plastic and mattresses.

MEBLO also produced plastic chairs and tables, plasticised metal garden tables and chairs, plastic chairs for sports halls, plastic flower beds, mirrors and plastic bathroom equipment (design by Luigi Massoni), wooden set of club tables, shelves, buffet carts and mirrors (design by Gianfranco Frattini).

The last lamps were produced around 1990, 1991 until the break-up of Yugoslavia.

Today the company is named MebloJOGI. It only produces mattresses for beds.

Sijaj Hrastnik

Before Meblo started to produce Harvey Guzzini lamps, Sijaj Hrastnik, another Slovenian company sold them in Yugoslavia.

USSR

The Russians made a copy of it, or better, a pendant lamp in this style. Also in acrylic, but with wooden rods instead of chrome.

Acrylic: often named by its commercial name: Perspex, Plexiglas, Crylux, Acrylite, Lucite, is a thermoplastic.

Lamps in the movies

The Quadrifoglio table lamp was used as a prop in the French film Le Corps De Mon Ennemi (Body of my enemy) from 1976 with Jean-Paul Belmondo. Many Harvey Guzzini lamps together with Stilnovo and Raak lamps appear in this movie.  

The Quadrifoglio table lamp was used as a prop in the French TV series Dix Pour Cent (10%). English title: Call My Agent. Here in episode 1 of season 3 (2018).

The Quadrifoglio table lamp and floor lamp were used as a prop in The Little Drummer Girl, a TV Mini-Series from 2018. Based on the novel of the same name by John le Carré published in 1983.

A Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio style pendant lamp was used in the 2019 Russian steampunk fantasy adventure film Abigail. Starring Yevgeny Melentyev, Viktor Denisyuk and Aleksandr Kurinsky. This pendant lamp has wood rods instead of chrome rods and it has a slightly different shape and it is without the chrome diffuser below. In all probability it is a former Eastern Bloc country lamp. It is not made by Harvey Guzzini or Meblo. These lamps always appear in these countries.