Michael Bang Holmegaard Table Lamp

Materials: Round hand blown opal glass base with a grey design with a clear layer of glass on top. Brass ring. Conical white fabric lampshade. White Bakelite E27 socket with a built-in switch.

Height: 51 cm / 20.07”

Width: ∅ 33 cm / 12.99”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 75 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1980s.

Designer: Michael Bang (1942 – 2014) in 1972.

Manufacturer: Holmegaards Glasværk, Hørsholm, Denmark.

Other versions: This Michael Bang Holmegaard table lamp exists in several variations. Labelled with Lamp Art Symmetrisk. The lampshade used for this setup is not original.

Often said it is a design from 1984, but according to the Danish-Lights.com website it is a lamp from around 1972. It has 1980s looks, that’s for sure.

Michael Bang

Michael Bang, born in 1942, was the son of famous designer Jacob Eiler Bang the first real designer who worked for Holmegaard.

Michael Bang started working for Bjørn Wiinblad in Copenhagen, Denmark. He designed for the Royal Porcelain Factory in Copenhagen and the Odense Glass Factory. In Sweden, he designed for the Ekenäs mill.

In 1970 he already designed for Holmegaard, but in the 1980s he moved to Holmegaard and started to work for the Holmegaard Glass Factory. At Holmegaard he managed the design of hand-blown lamps in opal glass in which the glass factory specialised, as you can see with this Lamp Art table lamp.

One of his most famous lamps is the Astronaut lamp he designed for Holmegaard in 1970. Other lamps he designed for this company, are among others: the Bowler table lamp in 1970. The Parasol table lamp in 1970. The Victoria table lamp in 1971. The Rollino table lamp in 1973. The Moon pendant lamp in 1973. The Epoch wall lamp and flush mount in 1976. The Meteor table lamps in 1976. The P&T pendant and table lamps in 1976. The Etude, Kantate and Sonate pendant lamps in 1979. Many of his designs have now become collector’s items. Some of them are still in production. Michael Bang passed away in 2013.

The biographies on the various websites contradict each other. It’s hard to make something out of it, unfortunately.

Holmegaard

The Holmegaard glass-works factory was founded around 1820 by Count Christian Danneskiold-Samsøe in the town of Holmegaard Mose (“Holmegaard Bog”), but he needed permission from the King of Denmark.

The Count died in 1823 without receiving an answer from the king. A short while after his dead, permission was granted and his wife Countess Henriette Danneskjold-Samsøe started the business. Production began in 1825.

In the beginning the company produced only green bottles, but within its first decade production was shifted on to table-glass.

During the 20th century, artists such as Jacob Eiler Bang (1899-1965) entered the equation, designing and shaping Holmegaard’s glass products. Designer Per Lütken(1916-98), and Jacob Bang’s son, Michael (1944-2002) joined the firm and brought it to what it is now: a well known company, famous for its high-quality products of Danish design.

Today Holmegaard is part of the Rosendahl Design Group.