Ceiling lamp - Steel

Almost Scandinavian ... and of outstanding quality.
This is a pendant lamp produced by VEB Leuchtenbau Halle, which was part of the Narva Kombinat — the principal lighting manufacturer in the GDR. It is believed that the design was created by Gerd-Heinz Laitko, an industrial designer based in Halle (Saale), who designed residential and commercial lighting for Narva during the 1960s and 1970s. His work is characteristic of East German modernism, being rooted in industrial tradition and functional geometry and using a restrained palette of materials.

The lamp has a shallow, slightly domed, lacquered metal shade with a ring of punched ventilation holes around the central E27 socket, which sits under a brushed metal cone connected to a similar ceiling canopy via a wire.

The two-tone composition — white below, matte black above and brushed steel at the apex — gives the lamp a graphic quality that stands out against both white ceilings and darker interiors.

Narva pieces of this type are exceptionally rare on the market. Examples of this particular design in this condition with intact original hardware almost never surface, even in Germany. To our knowledge, this is the only one available.

Its design language places it close to contemporary Scandinavian work, particularly the cone-over-disc geometry of Jo Hammerborg’s designs for Fog & Mørup in Denmark, as seen in the Nova pendant from 1963. Collectors familiar with Bent Karlby’s work for Lyfa will recognise the Troika pendant lamp. Above all, the similarities with the 1951 Arbejdspendel (work pendant) by Danish designer Axel Wedel Madsen for Louis Poulsen place this lamp clearly in the mid-century design world.

It was manufactured by VEB Leuchtenbau Halle/Narva Kombinat in Halle (Saale) in the German Democratic Republic. The design is attributed to Gerd-Heinz Laitko (c. 1960–1975).

It has been rewired and is ready to shine with a standard E27 bulb. Shade diameter: 35 cm (13.8 in); height: 22 cm (8.7 in). Socket E27, rated 250V/60W.

There are minor surface scratches and minimal dents in the shade, likely caused by storage over a period of more than 50 years. It has most probably not been used over longer periods.