A huge AV Mazzega glass collection somewhere in Belgium. Many glass parts are made in the same way as this floor lamp.
AV Mazzega Floor Lamp
Materials: Round chromed metal (iron) base. 3 chrome rings. Metal rod and parts. 3 clear and white mottled hand blown glass segments & lampshades. Made of two layers of glass. 1 glass globe lampshade. Made of clear and white hand blown bubble glass (pulegoso). 7 silver painted Bakelite E27 sockets.
Height: 110 cm / 43.30”
Globe: ∅ 34 cm / 13.38”
Base: ∅ 31 cm / 12.20”
Electricity: 7 bulbs E27, 7 x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred. For this setup clear bulbs were used.
Period: 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: To be appraised.
Manufacturer: To be determined.
Other versions: This AV Mazzega floor lamp exists in many variations, sizes and colours. Also made as a table lamp.
Although everyone says this is AV Mazzega, I haven’t found any evidence of this anywhere. Not in a catalogue, never even a label.
AV Mazzega
AV Mazzega was founded in 1946 by Angelo Vittorio Mazzega. In 1950 his son Gianni Bruno Mazzega started working in the family’s glass factory.
Today, under the watchful eye of Andrea Mazzega, grandson of Angelo Vittorio, the company works together with high-level international designers. Andrea is the president of the company since 2000. Today the company is named Mazzega 1946.
Designers that worked for AV Mazzega – Mazzega 1946 are among others: Carlo Nason, Aldo Nason, Christophe Pillet, Michele De Lucchi, Giovanni Barbato, Paolo Piva, Sam Baron, Gasmi Chafik, Oriano Favaretto and Riccardo Giovanetti.
Pulegoso
Italian word taken from the dialect word pulega, which means bubble. The glass is containing numerous bubbles of all sizes, produced by adding bicarbonate/soda, gasoline, or other substances to the glass. The bubbles make the glass semi-opaque and give the surface an irregular texture. The technique was developed in the 1920s by Napoleone Martinuzzi (1892-1977) on the island of Murano, Italy and used for the first time by the famous Venini company.
VLM Components
All the electric parts were made by VLM Components in the 1970s. 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. You can find them over here. 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.
This AV Mazzega floor lamp is equiped with the double single pole foot switch model D-662 from VLM. It was also designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1968 and is still in production (2017). The top, bottom and middle parts of this floor lamp can switched on independently.