East German Table Lamp

Materials: Black painted round metal disc base. Chromed metal (iron) tube on top, made of two parts. Plastic perforated lid. Folded fabric globe lampshade with plastic rims. Bakelite E27 socket.

Height: 34 cm / 13.38” 

Width: ∅ 17 cm / 6.69”

Base: ∅ 11 cm / 4.33”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 60 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1950s, 1960s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: VEB Wohnraumleuchten, Stadtilm, GDR (East Germany).

Other versions: This East German table lamp was probably made in some variations. A version by the same East German company exists with a small rod in stead of a tube.

This type of lampshade in folded fabric is often attributed to the French Rispal company. But Rispal only used similar lampshades for some lamps. The first folded fabric lamps were made by the Danish company Hoyrup. It was copied by many lighting producers.

The label is destroyed, only the label “Made in GDR” (German Democratic Republic) is complete, but it’s probably a lamp made by VEB Wohnraumleuchten, Stadtilm, Germany. this company used similar labels.

VEB: Volks Eigener Betrieb – Publicly-owned business.  VEB was the main legal form of industrial enterprise in the communist East Germany.

There were several companies with the name VEB Wohnraumleuchten (Living room lamps) or VEB Leuchtenbau (Luminaire construction). For instance the companie VEB Leuchtenbau, Lengefeld was original Wittig und Schwabe Metalldruckwarenfabriken – Wittig and Schwabe Metal Printing Factories, Lengefeld. 

In 1972, due to the nationalization, almost all GDR lighting manufacturers were combined as VEB Narva.