Light Ball Wall Lamp by Achille Castiglioni for Arteluce

About This Piece

Vintage Design

Stunning ivory Light Ball, designed by Achille Castiglioni for Flos in Italy in the 1960s. In white metal and opal glass. This fantastic lamp was designed by Castiglioni for Arteluce and produced in Italy by Flos in the 1960s. This iconic lamp can be mounted on the wall or ceiling; it is characterized by a round base in white metal and an opaline glass sphere screwed onto the metal base. An elegant and refined piece, perfect for completing a mid-century modern space.

Opal lamp in perfect condition, no damage
E27 bulb connection requires wiring
Bulb not supplied in the sale
Height 24 cm including the opaline glass sphere, diameter 32.5 cm

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

Creator	Achille Castiglioni
Manufacturer	Arteluce
Design Period	1960 to 1969
Production Period	Unknown
Country of Manufacture	Italy
Identifying Marks	This piece has an attribution mark
Style	Italian, Mid-Century, Italian Modern
Detailed Condition	Very Good — This vintage/antique item has no defects, but it may show slight traces of use.
	The vendor has confirmed this piece is in working order.
Restoration and Damage Details	Light wear consistent with age and use, Lampada opaline in perfette condizioni nessun danno Attacco lampadina E27 necessita cablatura Lampadina non fornita nella vendita Altezza cm 24 compresa la sfera di vetro opalino diametro 32,5 cm
Plug Type	European Plug (up to 250V)
Product Code	AAR-1917783
Materials	Iron, Opaline Glass
Color	Ivory
Height	24 cm 24 cm
Diameter	32.5 cm

Shipping & Delivery

Ships from	Italy
Returns	Returns accepted within fourteen days of delivery, except for Made-to-order items

Sustainability

Carbon Neutral	For every purchase made, Pamono offsets 100% of estimated carbon emissions from global shipping.
Vintage	Choosing vintage and antique furniture reduces your carbon footprint by cutting down on waste and reduces demand for new materials and extends the life of the products we use.

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

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