The real Butterfly pendant lamp from Hoyrup
Prova BHS UK Series 33 Pendant Lamp Box
Hoyrup Butterfly 72 pendant lamp in the 1974 IKEA catalogue
Lamps in the movies
A never seen Butterfly style table lamp appears several times in the French TV show “La TV des 70’s” (TV of the 70s) on France 3 on 7 January 2022. In this episode the topic is “1974: Quand Giscard était président“. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing became president and the TV stations TF1, Antenne 2 and FR3 were born.
Butterfly Style Pendant Lamp
Materials: White folded PVC plastic slats lampshade. Iron wire rings. Bakelite E27 socket.
Cord length: 65 cm / 25.59”
Height: 45 cm / 17.71”
Width: ∅ 55 cm / 21.65 ”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.
Period: 1970s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: To be appraised.
Manufacturer: Woja, The Netherlands.
Other Versions: Made in many variations and colours.
This Butterfly style pendant lamp is made after a 1968 design by Lars Eiler Schiøler (1913-1982). The 2 boxes you see are from the original lamps. The original lamps don’t have the metal wire ring on top and below through the plastic, but they are inside the lampshade. Later it became a plastic grill.
At least sold by Woja, Zicoli (Germany), BHS and Argos (UK), but in all probability also sold by other companies.
Woja
This Butterfly style pendant lamp was sold by the Dutch company Woja. Woja gave them women’s names such as Iris and Mira. The maker remains unknown. The Woja company no longer exists. Woja is best known for the series of spring lamps with a globe on top, made after a design by Ingo Maurer from Germany. It was their biggest succes.
Prova
Prova was a house label for British Home Stores (BHS). Not only lamps exist with this label, also clothing. Prova was not a lamp producer, they sold lamps made by others. The maker of this lamp remains unknown, according to the box of Prova it was made in Britain. This lamp is Series 1, but also a Series 33 exists. A very similar DIY pendant lamp, but made in Denmark…
This pendant lamp was acquired in The Netherlands, so another company sold it. Do you have an idea about the producer? Please let us know through the contact form and help improve the websites exactitude. Your help is much appreciated.
BHS
British Home Stores was a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. The company was founded in 1928. The company went bankrupt in 2016. The Qatari Al Mana Group purchased BHS and formed a new business, BHS International (UK) Limited, based in London. It launched a new website: bhs.com.
Hoyrup
The Hoyrup company was founded in Christianshavn, Copenhagen, Denmark by Preben Johan Høyrup in the late 1940’s. In 1968 Lars Eiler Schiøler became minority shareholder. Lars Schiøler designed almost the complete collection from the 50s until the 70s for the company.
Hoyrup created a wide range of stylish modern Danish lights, that were easily-assembled and therefore easy to ship around the world to more than 40 countries. In 1978 the company was split and sold, it became HoyrupLight. It ended business in the mid 80’s. Their famous lamps are copied by many companies.
Other designers that worked for Hoyrup: Carsten Erik Schiøler, Uffe Gustav Schiøler.
IKEA
The Swedish company IKEA sold the Butterfly 72, made by Hoyrup. It appears in the 1974 catalogue, as you can see.
Prova Lighting Series 1 Pendant lamp
Lamps in the movies!
Another fake Butterfly lamp, but fabricated as lampshade on a wooden floor lamp was used as a prop in the 2017 film The Hitman’s Bodyguard. A comedy about a bodyguard who protects a hitman. The title immediately tells the whole story. Starring Ryan Reynolds as Michael Bryce the bodyguard and Samuel L. Jackson as Darius Kincaid the hitman.
Links (external links open in a new window)
History of the Hoyrup company in their website
The Hitman’s Bodyguard – Wikipedia
Quand Giscard était président – France TV website
Vintageinfo
Many thanks to Uffe Schiøler for the enlightening information and many thanks to Marjan from Vintage Drachten for the beautiful pictures and the enthusiasm. Many thanks to Benjamin for the photo of the Prova box.