Gaetano Sciolari Trumpet Chandelier

Materials: Chromed metal (iron and brass) rods and slats. 6 chrome trumpet style parts. Chrome rod and canopy. 6 half round clear glass globe lampshades. Bakelite E14 sockets.

Rod Length: 96 cm / 37.79”

Height:  40 cm / 15.74”

Width: ∅ 54 cm / 21.25”

Electricity: 6 bulbs E14, 6 x 40 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used. Not a specific one preferred. For this setup long frosted tubular bulbs were used.

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

Designer: Gaetano Sciolari (1927-1994).

Manufacturer: Société Anonyme Boulanger, Anderlecht, Belgium.

Other versions: This Gaetano Sciolari trumpet chandelier also exists as an up-lighter. A bigger version and wall lamps were also produced. Very rare in this transparent glass. Most of the time they are made in a white opal version. A big version exists. The globes are triple in size and they were made by the Italian Sciolari company for hotels and large buildings. S.A. Boulanger only produced the “standard” chandeliers. Also Amilux from France produced versions of these chandeliers and wall lamps. 

Often said that these lamps were produced by Reggiani, but those are false assumptions. Many of them have the S.A. Boulanger or Sciolari label. However, Reggiani produced a floor lamp with a similar single big globe, hence the confusion. Stilnovo produced a floor lamp, a single pendant lamp, table lamp and wall lamp with many similarities. It was named Jazz. It appears in catalogues 35 until 44 from the seventies. Models 2201, 2202 2203 and 2204.

Angelo Gaetano Sciolari

Angelo Sciolari graduated with a degree in architecture but wanted to be a filmmaker. This course came to an abrupt end when in 1949 his father suddenly died. He had to took over the Sciolari company at the age of 22.

His first designs in the fifties were Sputnik inspired pendants; of course it was the space age.

In the 1960s he created refined, futuristic and sharp classical style chandeliers. Lines were clean and sculptural and materials such as crystal and ice glass sparkled with a voluptuously luxurious coolness and he started combining brass with chrome.

He led the family business with a passionate vision. Within years, he expanded the business and started working with other light companies worldwide.

Gaetano Sciolari created lights for Stilnovo and Stilkronen (Italy), Lightolier and Progress Lighting (USA), S.A. Boulanger (Belgium), Helestra and Leola (West Germany), Lyfa (Denmark), Amilux, France and some other companies and of course for his own Italian family business; the Sciolari company in Rome and Milan; where all the lighting business at that time was present.

Sciolari was the founder and the first president of the trade association of Italian manufacturers of lighting fixtures, the AIDI. The Associazione Italiana di Illuminazione was founded in 1958 and still exists today.

S.A. Boulanger

S.A. Boulanger was founded in Anderlecht, Belgium in 1945. The company is famous for the large amount of lights it produced that were designed by Gaetano Sciolari. At some point in the 1980s the company changed their name in Les Ateliers Boulanger NV.

It has long been thought that they were two different companies, but that is because a trader from Liège, Belgium persisted that the lamps came from Herstal, near Liège.

In 1996 the company had 11 employees. The firm moved in 1998 to the Martelarenlaan 155 in 3010 Kessel-Lo, near Leuven. In the period 1995 – 2001 Jean-Philippe Spalart was the CEO. He did a feasibility study for the transfer of the company to China, Eastern Europe and Africa. Relocation of the manufacture in Zimbabwe.

Boulanger was specialised in metal processing and manufacturers high-end lamps and lighting fixtures. Les Ateliers Boulanger ended business in 2006.

Massive & Boulanger

Massive sold several Boulanger models over the years. The only difference is the typical Massive canopy/ceiling cap and some other parts.

Old text from the 1990s

“Boulanger sells mainly in the high-end lighting markets in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. The growing sales in the US and in South Africa are of growing importance to the company. Due to the highly competitive market, having product with a high added value is very important. The intelligent lamp is an important advantage, compared to our competitors, and will increase our market share in an important way.

The most important local competitors are Massive, a Belgian company, market leader in Europe (turnover of 100 MEUR), Deknudt at Deerlijk (turnover 2.5 MEUR) and some 10 other Belgian competitors of its own size. There is important competition from southern European and Asian competitors. The market share of Boulanger is only a few percent of the share of the Belgian companies. It is a small company with a turnover of about 300 k EURO.”

“Most Boulanger lamps are low voltage and halogen lamps (220V up to 300W or 12V up to 50W).
The products are sold to retail shops. In Belgium, about 300 retail shops sell its products. There are around 40 retail shops abroad: Luxembourg, Germany, France and South Africa.”