Alvar Aalto - Nordic Masters London Tuesday, September 20, 2016 | Phillips
  • Literature

    Gerhard Krohn and Klaus Halmburger, Lampen und Leuchten, Ein Internationaler Formenquerschnitt, Munich, 1962, p. 40, fig. 130
    'Alvar Aalto', Domus, no. 435, February 1966, p. 5, fig. 22 for a drawing
    'Artek, Finlandia', Domus, no. 440, July 1966, n.p.
    Thomas Kellein, ed., alvar & aino aalto. design, collection bischofberger, exh. cat., Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Zurich, 2005, p. 186

  • Catalogue Essay

    The present lot is an exceptionally rare example of ‘Angel's Wing’ standard lamp, manufactured in white leather and fitted with an extra-long cord; most probably produced for a special order, this lamp belonged to a Finnish architect.

  • Artist Biography

    Alvar Aalto

    Finnish • 1898 - 1976

    In contrast with the functionalism of the International Style (as well the neoclassicism put forward by the Nazi and Soviet regimes), Alvar Aalto brought a refreshing breath of humanism to modern design: "True architecture exists only where man stands in the center," he wrote. Aalto designed furniture in stack-laminated plywood composed of Finnish birch, which was cost-effective and lent warmth to his interiors. Aalto also revived Finnish glass design with his entries in the various Karhula-Iitala glassworks competitions throughout the 1930s.

    In 1936 he won first place for a collection of colorful, wavy vases in various sizes titled Eskimoerindens skinnbuxa (The Eskimo Woman’s Leather Breeches). The vases were an immediate success and the most popular size, now known as the "Savoy" vase, is still in production today. Aalto's freeform designs, in harmony with human needs and nature, anticipated the organic modernism of the 1950s and 1960s; in particular, his innovations in bent plywood had a major impact on designers such as Charles and Ray Eames.

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17

Early and rare 'Angel's Wing' standard lamp, model no. A805

circa 1954
Painted metal, brass, tubular brass, leather-bound metal.
172 cm (67 3/4 in.) high
Manufactured by Valaistustyö Ky, Helsinki, Finland. Top of stem impressed with Valaistustyo/A 805.

Estimate
£8,000 - 10,000 

Contact Specialist
Madalena Horta e Costa
Head of Sale
+44 20 7318 4019

Nordic Masters

London Auction 21 September 2016