VEB Leuchtenbau Cascade Pendant Chandelier

Materials: 5 mint green painted metal (iron) eyeball globe lampshades. White painted metal ring in the middle. White painted metal reflector inside. Big round ceiling mount. Bakelite E27 sockets.

Height: 130 cm / 51.18” – adjustable

Globes: ∅ 20 cm / 7.87”

Electricity: 5 bulbs E14, 5 x 40 watt maximum, 110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred.

Period: 1960s – Mid-Century Modern.

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: VEB Leuchtenbau, Lengefeld, Germany.

Other versions: This VEB Leuchtenbau cascade pendant chandelier was in all probability produced in several colours.

This lamp has no label, but it is East German. It is made in the mid 60s by VEB Leuchtenbau, Lengefeld. One of the biggest lighting companies at that time in the GDR.

Several table lamps with similar globes can be found as lamps produced by AKA ELECTRIC. AKA ELECTRIC was the trademark for electrical household appliances, lights and vehicle electrics in the GDR.  

In 1969, 15 of the most important electro-technical, electronic and photo-optical producers in the GDR were merged to form the Volkseigener Betriebe Elektrischer Konsumgüter (Publicly-owned business of Electrical Consumer Goods).

VEB: Volks Eigener Betrieb – Publicly-owned business.  It was the main legal form of industrial enterprise in the communist East Germany.

VEB Leuchtenbau

The VEB Leuchtenbau company in Lengefeld was founded in 1900 as Wittig und Schwabe Metalldruckwarenfabriken (Metal Printing Factories). Right after World War II in 1946, the name changed into VEB Leuchtenbau. In 1963 they manufactured some 1.5 million lamps, of which 80% were exported. In 1965 they produced 120 different models of lamps.

One of the most famous lamps produced by VEB Leuchtenbau is the Kontrast floor lamp, designed by Lutz Rudolf in 1961, when he was 25. The manufacturer himself doubted the success of “this thing” and planned only a small number of pieces.

However, the production was carried through until 1975, in which 11,000 pieces were produced. The GDR citizens at that time were fortunate that the product landed mainly on the domestic East German market, which was not the case with all the design objects. Despite colorfully designed variants, the majority of customers opted for the original, simple-white design of the lampshades of this floor lamp.

Designers that worked for the VEB Leuchtenbau companies were, among others: Lutz Rudolf, Peter Beyer, Udo Domröse, Klaus Neubert, Andreas Kuhnhardt, Theo Schröder, Hans-Jürgen Weiß, Christian Wagner…