Links (external links open in a new window)
Massive – Wikipedia (in Dutch)
The complete history of the Philips company
LuigiColani.org – More info about Luigi Colani lamps
Official Luigi Colani website: colani.ch
Vintageinfo
Many thanks to Frank from Flowermountain.be for the photos and the enthusiasm.
Curved Smoked Glass Discs Chandelier
Materials: Brass plated iron frame, curved rods, chain and canopy. 10 cut smoked glass curved discs round lampshade. Bakelite E27 sockets.
Chain Length: 53 cm / 20.86”
Height: 37 cm / 14.56”
Width: ∅ 55 cm / 21.65”
Electricity: 5 bulbs E27, 5 x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, but clear or bright bulbs are preferred.
Period: 1980s, 1990s.
Designer: To be appraised.
Manufacturer: Massive, Mortsel, Kontich and Wommelgem, Belgium.
Other versions: This curved smoked glass discs chandelier exists as wall lamp, flush mount, table lamp and floor lamp.
Made in several variations and colours. A lotus flower chandelier with brown leaves can be found here. A lotus flowers floor lamp with pink leaves can be found here, on Vintageinfo.
This smoked cut glass with gold coloured metal is typical 1970s, 1980s. This is the Massive version, made in Hong Kong.
One of the German companies that produced similar lamps is Sische. They produced a large amount of cut glass chandeliers in this style. One of the most well known chandeliers is the Baum lamp, designed by Luigi Colani, as you can see below.
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.
Massive sold many lamps made by others. Peill + Putzler from Germany and Yamada Shomei from Japan produced lamps for Massive, to name a few. Many other lighting companies did.
Simon & Schelle – Sische
The light company Simon & Schelle GmbH & Co. KG was founded right after World War II in the German city of Sundern in 1946. Founders were Josef Simon and Josef Schelle. 3 years later they presented their first light collection. Over the years the company produced many lamps. One of the most well known lamps are made of glass flowers and brass, as you can see below.
In 1980 Luigi Colani designed the disk lamp with the tree-decoration, named Baum, Bonsai etc. How strange it may sound today, these lamps were a huge success. The design was used for many objects such as glasses, decanters and vases produced by the German Ritzenhoff AG. Several companies produced lamps and objects with a comparable design.
Until 1989 the original founders led the company after which the second generation stepped up.
Simon & Schelle ended business in 2015. At that time they were also active as an electroplating company and they sold a collection made by Joop!, a German fashion company founded in 1987. For a while they also sold furniture and home decor.
The website of Sische still exists today, but is under construction. There may be a restart of the company or someone has bought the domain name.