The name Poul Henningsen is synonymous with the best and most innovative modern Scandinavian lamps and other lighting. The Danish designer created a signature vocabulary of fixtures with tiered and layered shades in sculptural arrangements that are at once naturalistic and geometric.
Henningsen grew up in a town on the outskirts of Copenhagen and studied architecture at the Technical University of Denmark. He would become a noted art critic, journalist and screenwriter, but his first love was lighting design.
Henningsen’s childhood home was illuminated by oil lamps. When his family switched to electrified lighting, he was alarmed and repelled by the harsh glare cast by an incandescent bulb, and in his late teens he began conducting quasi-scientific experiments to measure which materials and methods best diffused or reflected light to give it a warm brightness. His work came to the attention of the lighting-fixtures firm Louis Poulsen, which sponsored the development of a prototype lamp. The design won a gold medal at the 1925 Paris Expositions Internationales des Arts Decóratifs et Industriels Modernes — from which the term Art Deco derives. The lamp, whose three-part shade is said to be inspired by the arrangement of a dinner plate atop a soup bowl atop a teacup, became the basis for Henningsen’s most successful design, the PH 4/3 desk lamp.
All told, Henningsen would design some 100 lighting fixtures in his career. Some of his most notable creations are hanging lamps, which include the Septima (1929), a pendant composed of seven graduated frosted-glass layers; the Spiral (1942), made of a single ribbon of enameled aluminum; and the Artichoke lamp (1958), whose 70 glass or metal fins in a staggered and graduated arrangement on a central steel frame resemble those of its namesake. The last is likely Henningsen’s masterwork and an icon of mid-20th-century design. Like all Henningsen lighting designs, it is striking, sculptural and — thanks to his insistence on the primacy of the quality of the light cast — superbly functional.
Find a collection of authentic Poul Henningsen table lamps, floor lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs.
PH Grand Dressing Table, brass legs, black oak veneer, white ash wood drawers
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Designed in 1920 by Poul Henningsen (PH), the PH Grand Dressing Table is the larger relative of the PH Dressing Table, sharing all of the beautiful design features of its narrower co...
Brass
PH Dressing Table, Natural Oak Veneer, White Ashwood Drawers
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Luxurious as well as practical and functional, the PH dressing table is the perfect place to take a moment for oneself every day. Timelessly elegant, the Poul Henningsen designed Dressing Table will sit harmoniously in every bedroom and is set to become a design Classic of the future. Designed in 1919, the PH dressing table is the first piece of furniture designed by Poul Henningsen. The body rests on the edges of eight legs and makes a clear design distinction between what is carrying and what is being carried. It is a beauty floating or dancing on high heels, like a ballerina dancing, yet at any time standing strong and solid on her many legs...
Wood, Oak
PH Dressing Table, mahogany veneer, white ash wood drawers
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Luxurious as well as practical and functional, the PH Dressing Table is the perfect place to take a moment for oneself every day. Timelessly elegant, the Poul Henningsen designed Dressing Table will sit harmoniously in every bedroom and is set to become a design classic of the future. Designed in 1919, the PH Dressing Table is the first piece of furniture designed by Poul Henningsen. The body rests on the edges of eight legs and makes a clear design distinction between what is carrying and what is being carried. It is a beauty floating or dancing on high heels, like a ballerina dancing, yet at any time standing strong and solid on her many legs...
Wood, Mahogany
PH Small Drawer Chest, Wood Legs, Black Oak Veneer, White Ash Wood Drawers
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
This small but perfectly formed storage piece is made out of wood and can be combined with soft leather on the panels. It is elegant and stylish all the way around and from all angles. Poul Henningsen designed this in 1920. The PH small drawer chest...
Wood, Oak
PH Grand Chest of Drawers, Brass Legs, Black Oak Veneer, White Ash Wood Drawers
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created so it can be placed in the centre of a room, away from a wall, Poul Henningsen’s grand chest of drawers features wooden panels on all...
Brass
PH Grand Chest of Drawers, Wood Legs, Black Oak Veneer, White Ashwood Drawers
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Created so it can be placed in the centre of a room, away from a wall, Poul Henningsen’s grand chest of drawers features wooden panels on all...
Wood, Oak
Black oak desk with two solid drawers and shelf in mid century modern style
Located in SULECHÓW, -
Desk in mid-century style with two drawers, shelf and brass handles. The tapered legs are finished with brass plated aluminum feet. Desk made of solid oak wood and wood covered with ...
Brass
Black oak desk with three solid drawers in mid century modern style
Located in SULECHÓW, -
Desk in mid-century style with three drawers and brass handles. The tapered legs are finished with brass plated aluminum feet. Desk made of solid oak walnut wood and wood covered wit...
Brass
Large black oak desk with three drawers in mid century modern style
Located in SULECHÓW, -
Desk in mid-century style with three drawers and brass handles. The tapered legs are finished with brass plated aluminum feet. Desk made of solid oak walnut wood and wood covered wit...
Brass
Scandinavian Modern Dressing Table in Rosewood by Severin Hansen, 1950s
By Severin Hansen
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
The rare desk or dressing table, model 65, designed by Severin Hansen and produced by Haslev Møbelsnedkeri in Denmark, is a refined example of Danish modern furniture design. Crafted...
Rosewood
Dressing Table / Vanity / Bureau in Rosewood and Brass by Frode Holm, 1950's
By Frode Holm
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Dressing Table / Vanity / Bureau in Rosewood and Brass by Frode Holm, 1950's Additional Information: Material: Rosewood, brass Style: Mid century, Scandinavian Produced by Illum Bol...
Brass
Macassar Ebony & Satin Brass Dressing Table / Writing Desk w Two Drawers
By Mondo Design Studio
Located in New York, NY
We do our best to expedite production and to ship and deliver product within the listed lead time, however current lead times might be longer due to global shipping backlog and dela...
Metal
