Glass Sphere Suspension Ceiling Lamp by Gino Sarfatti for Arteluce, 1950s

About This Piece

Vintage Design

Posted on the Artiluce catalog, original patina of the time with slight defects

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* The cable of this item may be original and might need replacement, if not specified otherwise.

Creator	Gino Sarfatti
Manufacturer	Arteluce
Design Period	1950 to 1959
Production Period	1950 to 1959
Country of Manufacture	Italy
Identifying Marks	This piece has been attributed based on archival documentation, such as vintage catalogs, designer records, or other literature sources
Style	Mid-Century
Detailed Condition	Very Good — This vintage/antique item has no defects, but it may show slight traces of use.
Restoration and Damage Details	Light wear consistent with age and use, Patina consistent with age and use, Requires rewiring and/or new electrical parts, originale in patina dell'epoca con lievi difetti
Product Code	OHK-1558222
Materials	Aluminum, Glass, Iron
Color	Black, Clear, silver
Width	35 cm 13.8 inch
Depth	35 cm 13.8 inch
Height	125 cm 49.2 inch
Duties Notice	Import duty is not included in the prices you see online. You may have to pay import duties upon receipt of your order.

Shipping & Delivery

Ships from	Italy
Duties Notice	Import duty is not included in the prices you see online. You may have to pay import duties upon receipt of your order.
Returns	Returns accepted within two days of delivery, except for Made-to-order items

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Delivery Details

Delivery will be completed by a parcel service such as UPS, DHL, or FedEx.
You will receive a tracking number to monitor the status of your shipment.
Delivery will take place between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection.
Item will be left in its packaging after delivery.
A signature will be required upon delivery.

*Important Note

Please examine the packaging upon delivery. In the event that there are visible signs of damaged packaging, please indicate the problem on the Delivery Note, take pictures, and—if the item inside shows damages—contact us within 48 hours of delivery. A signed delivery receipt without notations regarding damaged packaging represents your acceptance of the completed order in perfect condition.

About the Creator

Gino Sarfatti

Born in Venice in 1912, Gino Sarfatti studied aero-naval engineering at the University of Genoa. In 1939, he launched Arteluce, a modern lighting design firm that quickly established itself as a successful international brand, as well as a meeting place for many of the leading Italian designers of the time.

Over the course of his career, Sarfatti designed over 400 lamps, dedicating himself throughout to technical, material, and production research and experimentation. In the mid 1950s, he began to work with Plexiglas, and in the early ’70s, he pioneered the incorporation of halogen bulbs into fixtures. Notable designs include the 1958 Sarfatti pendant lamp.

Sarfatti and Arteluce won several awards, including the Compasso d’Oro in 1954 and 1955. Flos acquired Arteluce in 1973, before Sarfatti died in Gravedona in 1985.

About the Maker

Arteluce

Italian lighting design company Arteluce was established in 1939 by the young Venetian designer-entrepreneur Gino Sarfatti. Political upheaval at the time forced Sarfatti to abandon his aeronautical engineering degree in Genoa and move with his family to Milan. There, despite a lack of formal design training, Sarfatti embarked on a lighting career. Yet it is arguably because he was wholly self-taught that Sarfatti immersed himself in the full lifecycle of the design process, from conception to production, collaborating with artisans and architects to create stronger, lighter, and cheaper modernist lamps than Italy has seen before.

During the Second World War, Sarfatti fled to Switzerland, returning to Milan after the war to restart his company. In 1951, Arteluce’s first retail outlet opened on the bustling Corso Vittorio in central Milan (now named Corso Matteotti). The shop was re-designed by Marco Zanuso in 1953. Arteluce's second outlet, located on the glamorous Via della Spiga, was designed by Sarfatti's lifelong friend and fellow lighting designer Vittoriano Viganò in 1961.

Arteluce quickly established itself as a successful and visionary lighting brand thanks to Sarfatti’s commitment to technical, material, and production research. He designed over 400 lamps in his lifetime (though some sources say it was as many as 700), which are celebrated for their minimalist yet expressive aesthetic and experimental materials. In the mid-1950s, he began to work with Plexiglas, and, in the early 1970s, he pioneered the use of halogen bulbs into fixtures. Sarfatti also dedicated himself to improving every single element of a light fitting, from the switch to the wiring and the reflectors. The ultra-minimal Model 1063 (1954) would influence Italian floor lamp design for years to come. It was awarded the prestigious “Grand Prix” at the Milan Triennale and is known as the most eloquent example of Sarfatti's purist vision of beauty in everyday objects. In the same year, Arteluce was awarded the ADI Compasso d’Oro for the Model 559 and again the following year for the Model 1055.

In the 1960s, Arteluce became a creative hub for Italy’s most talented designers, producing designs by major talents, such as Franco Albini, Cini Boeri, Franca Helg, Ico Parisi, and Massimo Vignelli. The lighting installation for the Teatro Regio opera house in Turin—one of Arteluce's last projects, which comprised hundreds of pendant plexiglas tubes installed under the direction of legendary architect Carlo Mollino in 1972—is considered one of the company's greatest achievements.

In 1973, Sarfatti sold his business to Flos and retired to Lake Como. Many Arteluce creations are still in production today, and several original models are housed permanently in important museums like MoMA in New York. Somewhat forgotten after merging with Flos, Sarfatti’s designs are experiencing a renaissance amongst vintage collectors following the first retrospective exhibition of his work at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan in 2012.

* Images courtesy of Flos