Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio Table Lamp

Materials: Round chrome base. Black cast iron bottom. 4 chromed metal (iron) curved rods. Chrome reflector. 2 chrome balls. White plastic (acrylic) lampshade. 3 Bakelite sockets.

Height: 52 cm / 20.47”

Width: ∅ 50 cm / 19.68”

Electricity: 3 bulbs E14, 3 x 40 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preffered.

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

Designer: Studio 6G, the Harvey Guzzini design-team led by Luigi Massoni.

Manufacturer: Harvey Guzzini, Recanati, Italy, today named iGuzzini. 

Other versions: The Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio table lamp exists also as a floor lamp and pendant lamp. It was at least also made in brown, yellow, green and orange.

Quadrifoglio, the Italian word for four-leaf clover.

Gae Aulenti

This Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio pendant lamp is often attributed to Gae Aulenti (1927-2012), but those are false assumptions. Gae Aulenti started to work for the iGuzzini company in 1985 and created together with Piero Castiglioni the (industrial) Cestello lamp series for the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy; 17 years after the Quadrofoglio was designed. Source: the website of iGuzzini and the book: “Culture of an Italian Region. The Marche, Guzzini and design“, written by Augusto Morello, published in 2002. The Cestello lamp series was in production from 1985 until 1993.

The Quadrifoglio table lamp has some similarities with the Pipistrello lamp Gae Aulenti designed for Martinelli Luce. Most likely the story originated that way. Several designer books are wrong, unfortunately.

iGuzzini illuminazione

iGuzzini illuminazione was established in June 1958 by Raimondo Guzzini (born 1928) under the name Harvey Creazioni. Harvey is derived from the famous movie ‘Harvey’ with James Stuart and the invisible rabbit Harvey from 1950.
The initial production of enamelled copper objects was supplemented by decorative luminaires.
In the early sixties it became a family business when his 5 brothers joined the company. In 1962 Luigi Massoni was attracted to lead the design team. He worked for Fratelli Guzzini and Harvey Guzzini until 1976. Luigi Massoni designed many iconic lamps in that period. They are on display here on Vintageinfo.

The company still exists and changed the name in 1974 into iGuzzini and in 1981 to iGuzzini illuminazione.

MEBLO

Harvey Guzzini lamps were also sold under the brand name MEBLO. MEBLO is a Slovenian (Yugoslavia) company.

The MEBLO factory was founded in 1948 when Gorizia craftsmen joined forces and founded the Furniture Factory, later named Edvard Kardelj (communist leader and national hero of World War II). In 1950 the name changed in MEBLO.

At first, they made exclusive furniture, which was later supplemented with upholstered furniture, lighting, plastic and mattresses.

MEBLO also produced plastic chairs and tables, plasticised metal garden tables and chairs, plastic chairs for sports halls, plastic flower beds, mirrors and plastic bathroom equipment (design by Luigi Massoni), wooden set of club tables, shelves, buffet carts and mirrors (design by Gianfranco Frattini).

The last lamps were produced around 1990, 1991 until the break-up of Yugoslavia.

Today the company is named MebloJOGI. It only produces mattresses for beds.

Acrylic: often named by its commercial name: Perspex, Plexiglas, Crylux, Acrylite, Lucite, is a thermoplastic.

Lamps in the movies

The Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio table lamp appears in the French TV series Dix Pour Cent (10%). English title: Call My Agent. Here in episode 1 of season 3 (2018).

The Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio table lamp and floor lamp were used as a prop in The Little Drummer Girl, a TV Mini-Series from 2018. Based on the novel of the same name by John le Carré published in 1983.

The Harvey Guzzini Quadrifoglio table lamp was used as a prop in the French film Le Corps De Mon Ennemi (Body of my enemy) from 1976 with Jean-Paul Belmondo. Many Harvey Guzzini lamps together with Stilnovo and Raak lamps appear in this movie.