Table Lamp by Richard Sapper for Artemide, 1998

About This Piece

Vintage Design

The Grey Guy was made in 1998. This design classic by Artemide is the result of an intellectual revolution. A revolution called Tizio, which didn't make a clean slate of the past, but that distorted the most important rules of form and design. This is how the Tizio lamp saw the light, which until today has really lost none of its singular charm. The Tizio is in the true sense of the word the expression of a perfect balance: a counterweight on a rotating axis keeps the wide arm of the Tizio table lamp in a floating position. This keeps the lamp in the desired position. The balance of the lamp gives a visual impression of stability - the geometric rigour of the composition expresses lightness and dynamism. A rather simple idea lies behind the Artemide Tizio: Richard Sapper, the designer who designed this table lamp in 1970, and who won the Compasso d'oro in 72 with this project, preferred to have direct lighting with a beam focused on the work area while working or reading, leaving the rest of the room in half-light so that he could concentrate more easily on his desk activity. His desire was to design a work lamp with a wide range and, at the same time, space-saving. By designing this lamp for Artemide, he succeeded perfectly. This evergreen, on which time seems to have passed without a trace, still seduces today because of its high-quality appearance and high quality workmanship, making this table lamp a faithful accessory that will accompany the user for a very long time.

Designer	Richard Sapper
Manufacturer	Artemide
Design Period	1970 to 1979
Year	1998
Production Period	1990 to 1999
Country of Manufacture	Italy
Identifying Marks	This piece has an attribution mark
Style	Minimalist, Italian Modern
Detailed Condition	Excellent — This vintage piece is in near original condition. It may show minimal traces of use and/or have slight restorations.
	A professional electrician has confirmed this piece is in working order.
Plug Type	European Plug (up to 250V)
Product Code	ERB-698701
Materials	Metal, ABS
Color	Grey
Width	78 cm 30.7 inch
Height	119 cm 46.9 inch
Diameter	4.3 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 14 days of delivery, except for Made-to-order items

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 Maker

Artemide

Legendary Italian lighting manufacturer Artemide was founded in the Milan area in 1959 by engineer-designer Ernesto Gismondi (born in San Remo, 1931) and designer Sergio Mazza (born in Milan, 1931). Notably, the latter designed the company’s first successful product, the Alfa Lamp, a year prior to Artemide’s launch. Both founders went on to contribute designs to Artemide’s ever-evolving lines over the next several decades, alongside spearheading the company’s mission to develop distinctive, architecturally-driven lamps, pendants, and other fixtures in collaboration with major design talents from around the world.

Highlights from Artemide’s vast catalogue include Italian designer Vico Magistretti’s space-age Eclisse Lamp (1967) and German-Italian designer Richard Sapper’s minimal, halogen-lit Tizio Desk Lamp (1972), which has become one of the most popular workspace accessories ever produced. The 1980s saw the launch of the Tolomeo Lamp (1987), designed by Italians Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina, which quickly became an international symbol of the “Made in Italy” style that dominated design tastes at the end of the last century. Today, Artemide continues to commission high-tech, high-concept works—increasingly with a focus on sustainability—from notable international designers, such as Herzog & De Meuron, Naoto Fukasawa, Karim Rashid, and Zaha Hadid, among others. Through the decades, many of Artemide’s lighting designs have been awarded the prestigious Compasso d’Oro, with the company itself receiving a “Career Achievement” award in 1995

For more than 50 years, Artemide’s approach has set the pace for design innovation with well-researched products that often end up in the pages of design history books. Numerous pieces have been acquisitioned into museum collections around the world, from New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art, to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnica in Milan, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.