Poul Henningsen

POUL HENNINGSEN (Denmark, 1894–1967).
Eight-light ceiling lamp “PH Crystal Chandelier,” 1915–1916.
Brass, crystal prisms, and red glass
Restored piece, with some signs of use and age, including scratches, marks, and surface oxidation. Some metal wires were replaced, as the originals were oxidized or deteriorated.
Features renewed electrical wiring.
Measurements: 120 × 63 cm.

This exceptional eight-light chandelier dates back to the early days of Poul Henningsen’s research into lighting design. It was designed and commissioned between 1915 and 1916, when Henningsen was just twenty-one years old and had not yet developed the lighting system that would later make him a key figure in Danish design. The piece’s origins are tied to a residence on Frederiksberg Allé in Copenhagen, the renovation of which was entrusted to Henningsen. The owner, lawyer and family friend Falk Jensen, commissioned him to redesign the home. It was during this project that Henningsen began to experiment with lighting in a particularly free-spirited manner. Decades later, in 1966, Henningsen himself would recall that commission, saying that “many strange and convoluted things” had emerged from it, including a modern lamp. This remark is particularly revealing: the piece documents the moment when the young architect began to view the light fixture not merely as a decorative object, but as an architectural and technical problem related to the way light is controlled. When Henningsen saw the lamp again many years later, his reaction was far from complimentary. According to the lot documentation, he humorously described it as something akin to “a creation by a deranged bicycle mechanic.”
The lamp combines a brass frame, eight light sources, and numerous glass prisms, designed to capture and disperse light. The central red glass element, together with the metal frame, also introduces a strong chromatic and sculptural component. One of the most extraordinary aspects of this lamp is its own conservation history. After it was made, the piece was moved to Falk Jensen’s vacation home in North Zealand, where it remained stored in an attic for approximately 70 years. It was later passed down through inheritance to the family of the current owners.
A Danish designer, architect, and critic, Poul Henningsen was one of the key figures in Denmark’s cultural life during the interwar period. He studied architecture from 1911 to 1917 but never graduated, as he decided to become an inventor and painter. Nevertheless, he went on to work as an architect and became one of the most prominent advocates of functionalism. In his career as a designer, his most famous creation was the “PH Artichoke” lamp, a simple lamp that utilized hallmarks of light to prevent glare and create a beautifully aesthetic effect. Its success allowed Henningsen to finance his subsequent work. His work is currently represented at the Danish Museum of Art and Design, MoMA in New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among many others.