Tapio Wirkkala for Idman Rare Desk Lamp in Brass and Glass

Tapio Wirkkala for Idman Oy, desk lamp, brass, glass, Finland, circa 1960

Among the nearly 100 lighting designs Tapio Wirkkala created for serial production, the majority were developed between 1959 and 1961. However, his earliest known lighting design dates back to 1951 – a conical-shaped suspended lamp made of opal glass, originally designed for the Finnish pavilion at the Milan Triennale.

The present desk lamp, produced by Idman Oy, does not appear in the period’s official catalogues. However, when examined in relation to Wirkkala’s documented designs, it exhibits key stylistic elements characteristic of his work. The cantilever mechanism with its distinctive handle, for instance, was notably featured in the iconic K10-11 floor lamp (1958). The truncated cone form first appeared in the K10-47 floor lamp in 1960, while the simple cylindrical shade also dates to the same year. By integrating these hallmark features, this lamp exemplifies Wirkkala’s ability to synthesize existing design elements into a cohesive and innovative new form.

Notably, the lamp incorporates Wirkkala’s specially designed incandescent bulb, model WIR105, introduced in 1959 and intended to be used without shades. That year, Wirkkala designed a series of angular opal glass incandescent bulbs for Airam Oy, each assigned a unique WIR serial code. The original series consisted of three models, but by the mid-1960s, only two remained in production (WIR85 and WIR105), continuing to be manufactured until 1991. From 1959 onward, all of Wirkkala’s lighting designs were based on these distinctive bulbs. His approach to lighting design often involved creating modular series, where initial models functioned as foundational elements. By combining and varying different components, he was able to produce a wide array of lighting variations. While Idman Oy manufactured the lamp structures and armatures, the lampshades were produced by Iittala Glassworks.

Biography

One of Finland's leading designers was Tapio Wirkkala (1915-1985) who made a great contribution to Scandinavian mid-century modern design of the 20th century. Born and raised in Helsinki, Wirkkala started his education at the National School of Applied Arts in the capital. Afterwards, he began his career in graphic design. At the age of twenty-five, the outbreak of the Second World War started and Wirkkala soon served the Finnish army. As the war ended in 1945, Wirkkala continued his work as a designer by joining the glass manufacturer ‘Iittala’, where he worked on numerous designs till the end of his life. Wirkkala's approach to design was highly innovative and ranged from furniture, porcelain, glass, jewelry and tableware. His talent excelled in combining organic forms into industrial manufactured designs. A striking example are his inlaid coffee tables that he designed for Asko. For this, he used laminated sheets of plywood sanded to a smooth surface that resembles an abstract leaf. It represents the main approach in his designs; a sculptural and elegant modern exterior that blends perfectly with simplicity and functionality.

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