Akari UF1-H Table Lamp

The Akari UF1-H Table Lamp was designed by Isamu Noguchi for the manufacturer Vitra.

It was this Swiss-based firm that first introduced Europe to many of the United States' most important 20th-century designers during the late 1950s and early '60s. Born in America to Japanese parents, Isamu Noguchi 1904-1988 studied in China before returning to America to work on a range of projects including sculptures and set designs for ballets as well as furniture and lighting. His work crossed disciplines and blended cultural heritages in a way that was decades ahead of its time. There is a popular museum dedicated to Isamu Noguchi in Queens, New York.

Standing 51cm in height, 20cm in depth and 20cm in width, the Akari UF1-H Table Lamp has a framework of cast iron wire covered in the kind of thick, textured paper traditionally used in Japanese sliding screen doors. The resulting piece is graceful - and at the same time appears pleasingly rustic and homespun. Its mellow, diffused radiance makes the Akari UF1-H Table Lamp an ideal mood piece for dimly lit cafe tables and restaurants as well as East-Asian-inspired domestic interiors.