White Acrylic Mushroom Table Lamp

Materials: White painted round metal base. Galvanised bottom lid. White painted thick rod. Some metal parts. White acrylic mushroom lampshade. Big white ornamental nut on top. Bakelite E27 socket.

Height: 40 cm / 15.74”

Width: ∅ 30 cm / 11.81”

Base: ∅ 19 cm / 7.48”

Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 60 watt maximum,  110/220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used, not a specific one preferred. However, clear bulbs creates stripes on white lampshades.

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

Designer: To be appraised.

Manufacturer: Massive, Mortsel, Kontich and Wommelgem, Belgium.

Other versions: This white acrylic mushroom table lamp was also made with a chrome and a brown painted base and also made as a big floor lamp and a wall lamp. These lamps were produced until the early 90s.

Label on the bottom: Mass. Max. 60W. (Massimo Maximum 60 Watt). Massimo is the Italian word for maximum. Max. is used for every other language in Europe were Massive sold lamps at that time. Labels like this were used by Massive. At Massive they were economical with the labels, they only started using labels when the government had compelled them to do so. The first labels that became mandatory in Europe (EEC) were stickers that stated the maximum power of the light bulbs to be used. Later on Massive used the same round labels with the same font that says: Mass. Max. 60W., Made In Belgium and also labels exists with Massive Mass. Max. 60W. More info about these labels can be found over here on Vintageinfo.

Massive

Massive was in origin a bronze foundry and they produced mainly candlesticks, crucifixes and chandeliers in Wilrijk near Antwerp, Belgium. The company was founded in 1926 by Pieter-Jozef De Jaeck. His son Eddy De Jaeck was responsible for the huge expansion of the company in the 1970’s. But it were his sons, Piet and Jan De Jaeck who made Massive a true multinational. Thus, they moved production to Eastern Europe and China.

In the 1980’s Massive became the leading brand in Europe. In 2002, the brothers left the company to the investment fund CVC Capital Partners, for allegedly more than 250 million euros. Since 2008 the company is owned by Philips and the name of the shops is changed into Light Gallery.

When the takeover by Philips was announced in November 2006 Massive commercialised more than 10.000 lighting products under brand names such as Massive, TRIO and Lirio. The group had about 5.000 employees worldwide and was active in 70 countries.

Massive sold many lamps made by others. Peill + Putzler from Germany and Yamada Shomei from Japan produced lamps for Massive, to name a few. Many other lighting companies did.

VLM Components

All the electric parts of this lamp are made by the Italian VLM Components company. VLM Components is located in Buccinasco, near Milan. VLM Components is famous for the switches they produced that are designed by Achille Castigilioni in 1968. The switch of this light is a redesign of this switch from the 1970s. VLM Components produced electric parts for almost every light company in Europe.

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