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Price category: 9,000 - 12,500 usd / eur

This marvellous, brass twelve-light chandelier was created in what we now call “the golden age of Scandinavian design”. Hans-Agne Jakobsson was the great Swedish master of lighting, designing some of the most recognizable mid-century modern lamps of Scandinavia.

With a brass frame holding 12 smoked, translucent glass shades, this model has become synonymous with Hans Agne Jakobsson’s design aesthetic. The design clearly shows the Swedish designer’s studies in architecture, with beautiful geometric forms and symmetry dominating the structure. This large chandelier has a brass frame comprised of a single, vertical brass pole. Attached to the main pole are twelve, symmetrically arranged poles with a shade on each one’s end. Unlike most pastoral chandeliers, here the large, translucent shades face downwards, which adds to the modern look of this chandelier. This is a characteristic of Jakobsson’s, and makes his designs immediately recognizable. The bulbs are “invisible” in the sense that thanks to their shape, they create a stunning optical effect when lit, blurring their outlines. Furthermore, the round shape of the shades breaks the strict lines of the body to add visual and structural interest. As a result of the geometrical arrangement of the brass poles and bulbs, the chandelier divides the light evenly. When switched on, the light coming from the glass shades brighten the yellow brass beautifully, as if the brass was also glowing from the inside. From below, the chandelier reveals its geometrical shape that resembles a modernist sculpture.

Like most of Jakobsson’s mid-century designs, this softly glowing, glare-free model was inspired by the "organic modern" approaches of Danish lighting master, Poul Henningsen and Finnish icon, Alvar Aalto. Jakobsson was famed for his imaginative light fixtures, which utilize unique angles and materials to create a soft quality of light. With a background in cabinetmaking and the world of architecture, shaping light with the use of materials and colours came naturally to him. This ceiling lamp was created at his own famed workshop in Markaryd, Sweden, and have the firm’s mark on it.

Condition:

In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use.

Dimensions:

40.55 in ⌀ x 31.88 in H

103 cm ⌀ x 81 cm H

About the designer:

Born in 1919 in Gotland, Sweden, Hans Agne Jakobsson is one of the most well-known Swedish lighting designers. He did his carpenter apprenticeship before studying architecture in Gothenburg.

First working as an industrial designer for General Motors, he later founded his own company after being an assistant to the designers Carl Malmsten and Werner West. In 1950, due to Christmas, he added a model of hanging lamps in small strips of pine in one of his stores to soften the lively lighting of the shop window. The people who were passing by were immediately seduced by this hanging lamp, which started it all. He established his own company in 1951: Hans Agne Jakobsson AB and began producing this model in his factories and achieved success abroad as well. In 50 years, he designed more than 2000 lamps with unique designs.

He used materials and experimented with multiple techniques, for example using fabrics with fringes, blown glass of colour and smoked glass. His great diversity resulted in a wide range of timeless lighting models. These pieces continue to seduce design lovers, as they adapt themselves to any interior, without blending into the background.

Today, Jakobsson’s works can be found in private homes as well as public institutions throughout Sweden. The designer passed away in 2009 in Sweden, leaving behind a great legacy. ~H.