Raak Serpent Desk Lamp

Raak Serpent desk lamp round aluminium base eyeball globe black hose gooseneck E27 socket 1960s 1970s

Raak Serpent Desk Lamp – 1973 Studio Collection Catalogue Picture

Several models on this page of the catalogue. Table lamps, clamp lamps and a wall lamp.

Text from the catalogue in Dutch

“Paradijselijk ontwerp: slang en appel, kan het listiger?
De slang kronkelt zich naar alle standen, naar de hand van haar
“bezweerder”. Volgt uw stemmingen en gedachtenkronkels.”

Blank aluminium reflector met zilvergrijze slang. Maximum
vlucht 100 cm. Normale gloeilamp tot 100 watt. Wenst men
bijzonder sterke lichtaccenten dan bestelle men
extra spiegeloptiek R-41.”

Translated text from the Raak catalogue

“Heavenly Design: snake and apple, can it be more cunning?
The snake winds itself in all positions, to the hand ofher
“enchanter“. Follow your moods and twisted thoughts. “

White aluminum reflector with silver grey snake. Maximum
Flight 100 cm. Normal light bulb up to 100 watts. If one wants
particularly strong lighting accents than one order
additional mirror optics R-41. “

Raak Serpent Desk Lamp – 1968 Catalogue Picture

A wall lamp and a clamp lamp.

Raak Serpent Desk Lamp – 1972 Catalogue Picture

Raak Cobra table, clamp and floor lamp.

Many thanks to Martine Le Forestier for the help.

Materials: Round aluminium base with a cast-iron counterweight. Iron gooseneck with black plastic hose. Aluminium eyeball lampshade. Porcelain E27 socket.

Height: 60 cm / 14.17” – adjustable

Base: ∅ 25 cm / 16.92”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 75 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, but preferably a small round white or clear bulb.

Period: 1960s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: Martine Le Forestier.

Manufacturer: Raak, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Other versions: The Raak Serpent desk lamp was produced in several variations. Other versions are shown in the images below, taken from Raak catalogues from 1968 and 1972, including wall lamps, clamp lamps, floor lamps, table lamps and desk lamps.

This particular lamp is model D-2124. It appears only in an intermediate catalogue from 1973, the Raak Studio Collection Catalogue. This was a small catalogue intended exclusively for retailers (image on the left).

In Raak Catalogue 9 from 1972, the Serpent lights were still referred to as Cobra lamps.

Martine Le Forestier

Martine Le Forestier is a French designer, born on September 3, 1945.

She studied at the ENS AAMA (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art – National School of Applied Arts and Crafts) in Paris. In 1969, she won the prestigious Prix Viénot for the design of this lamp.

Martine Le Forestier also designed an infrared lamp for Philips and worked for the renowned French industrial designer Roger Tallon. Tallon is best known for designing the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), the French high-speed electric passenger train, as well as a collection of watches for the French company LIP.

In addition to transportation design, Roger Tallon created furniture, household objects and, of course, lighting designs. Examples of his lamps can be found here on Vintageinfo.

Raak Amsterdam

The Dutch company Raak Amsterdam was founded in 1954 by Carel O. Lockhorn (18 June 1923 – 6 October 2004), a former employee of Philips Lighting in Eindhoven. The name Raak, which means “to hit” in Dutch, implies a design approach that precisely “hits the nail on the head”.

Raak is best known for its organic modern designs of the 1960s and 1970s, combining glass and metal to achieve a sophisticated, futuristic style.

The lighting company collaborated with several international designers and architects, including Bertrand Balas, Evert Jelle Jelles, Frank Ligtelijn, Ger Vos, Jan Jasper Fayer, Li Helo, Maija-Liisa Komulainen, Nan Platvoet, Nanny Still-Mackinney, Nico Kooi, Sergio Asti, Tapio Wirkkala, Willem van Oyen, and many others.

Collaborations

Raak also collaborated with other companies. They worked with the German manufacturer Peill+Putzler on the Raak Globe lamps. Peill+Putzler produced the glass components. Raak also sold lamps manufactured by Peill+Putzler, such as a pendant lamp designed by Aloys Ferdinand Gangkofner.

For the Raak Discus series, the glass was produced by Bega, also a German company. For the Stalactites flush-mount lamps, a collaboration was undertaken in the late 1950s with the Belgian glass manufacturer Val Saint Lambert. Raak also sold lamps produced by Staff Leuchten (Staff & Schwarz Leuchtenwerke GmbH) from Germany, as well as by several other manufacturers.

Carel Lockhorn sold the company in 1974 to ITT, but remained a director until 1977. In 1980, Raak merged with BIS Lighting from Aalsmeer, also in the Netherlands, and was renamed BisRaak. In 1986, Raak became independent again. The company adopted a more business-oriented appearance, using only the colours white, black and grey.

In 1999, Raak merged with Artilite B.V. and Indoor B.V. and became CLA: Centrum voor Lichtarchitectuur B.V. in Drachten (Centre for Light Architecture). The Centre for Light Architecture was founded by Egbert Keen. The company was declared bankrupt on 19 May 2011.