Lumina Daphinette Desk Lamp

Materials: Black rectangular painted base with a built-in transformer and switch. Mat white painted lid. Adjustable thin white painted rod. Adjustable white painted half round lampshade with a handle. Switch on top. Aluminium reflector. Porcelain socket.

Height: 45 cm / 17.71” – adjustable

Lampshade: 8 cm / 3.14”

Rod: 35 cm / 13.77”

Base: 9,5 x 8 cm / 3.74 x 3.14”

Electricity: 1 halogen bulb G4, 1 x 20 watt maximum,12 volt, 220 volt. Any type of halogen bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred. It has a switch to toggle between 6 and 12 volts.

Period: 1970s, 1980s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: Tommaso Cimini in 1975.

Manufacturer: Lumina Italia srl, via Casorezzo, 63, 20010 Arluno (Milan), Italy.

Other versions: The Lumina Daphinette desk lamp was made in several colours and is also produced today in an LED version. The design is closely related to the famous Daphine desk lamp, but the Daphinette is the smaller version. The Daphine has a square base and a single arm, while the Daphinette has a more compact construction.

Other versions and related models include the Daphine Cilindro and Daphine Cloe. The floor lamp is officially named the Daphine Terra, while the Daphine Parete is the wall lamp version. These models can be found on the Lumina Italia website.

Lumina

The Italian lighting company Lumina Italia was founded in 1975 by Tommaso Cimini(1947-1997), shortly after he designed his famous Daphine table lamp. The lamp, built around a visible transformer and a highly functional adjustable arm, was presented at the Milan Fair in 1974 and became an immediate success.

From around 1980, Lumina developed into a fully established lighting company, producing a wider range of designs. Tommaso Cimini created many lamps for the company, including the Daphine, Maxi, Zed, Imbutto, Elle and Igloo.

Tommaso Cimini died in an aeroplane accident in 1997, leaving the company to his business partner and his eldest son, Ettore Cimini.

Today, Lumina is managed by his sons Ettore and Andrea Cimini, who continue the family business. The company’s lighting is still produced in Italy, in its workshops near Milan in Arluno, with a strong focus on craftsmanship and local production.

Several Lumina lamps are held in important museum collections, including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Brooklyn Museum and the Judd Foundation in New York, Die Neue Sammlung in Munich and The Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Designers who have worked for the company include Walter Monici, Tommaso Cimini, Emanuele Ricci, Yaacov Kaufman, Francesco Brambilla, Ettore Cimini, Giuseppe Linardi, Foster + Partners, Luciano Balestrini and Paola Longhi.