Hans Bergström Elm And Brass Table Lamp For Asea, Sweden 1950s

Hans Bergström’s designs are just as scarce today as the information available on the Swedish designer, despite his undeniable quality of output. Guided by the mantra, “Light must be white and shine freely,” he designed and produced functional and modern fixtures that were intended to brighten up entire spaces. Bergström had a modernist approach based on quality and architectural precision, and was the favourite lighting designer of many fellow architects, among them Bruno Mathsson.

Like many of the decade’s designs, this table lamp masterfully pairs different materials and textures. The pairing of brass and wood creates an interesting visual effect, where the organic and traditional look of the elm meets the modern look of brass. Swedish lighting manufacturers, like ASEA, were masters of creating designs with great textural variety - as this table lamp shows. The brass lampshade “crowns” the stem and base beautifully. The wide-brimmed, gently sloping shade with perforations creates both decorative and functional lighting, the subtle decorative pattern on the rim of the shade adding a unique touch to the otherwise streamlined look. Furthermore, the shade directs the light downwards and prevents any glare, emphasizing the beauty of the colour and texture of the brass and elm body even further when the light is turned on.

Thanks to Bergström’s masterful sense of proportion, this model is perfectly balanced visually. Apart from the aesthetics, the quality of this table lamp is also true to its Scandinavian heritage. Adding illumination to a living space with this stylish table lamp will certainly improve the ambience of any interior.

Condition:
In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use.

Dimensions:
15.75 in Ø x 19.29 in H
40 cm Ø x 49 cm H

About the designer:
Swedish architect-designer Hans Bergström was born in 1910 in Karlshamn. After completing secondary school in 1927, he worked for several years at the Ystad-Metall metal manufactory in Ystad, where he designed lamps, mirrors, bottles, jars, and bowls. In 1929, he enrolled in Stockholm’s Konstindustriell Skola (now known as Konstfack), notably designing a chandelier (1932) for a church in Iggesund for his thesis project. After graduating in 1933, Bergström returned for a short time to Ystad-Metall before establishing his own lighting firm, ateljé Lyktan, in 1934 in Helsingborg. In 1935, he and his wife Vera relocated the atelier to Åhus, on Sweden’s southeast coast. Not long after, Bergström also established a showroom in neighboring city Kristianstad.

In the mid-1940s, Bergström began designing lights with fabric lampshades as an alternative to metal, which was in short supply due to the war. With the introduction of plastic in the 1950s, Bergström experimented with new lighting techniques. He developed a new method that involved spraying plastic threads onto a rotating wire frame, which resulted in both a patent and the spherical Model no. 166 Light (1952).

Bergström is most well-known for his minimalist Model 181 Lamp (1950), also known as Struten, which was awarded a Gold Medal at Milan’s Triennale in 1954. Sometime in the early 1960s, Bergström retired and Philips’s Design Manager, Anders Pehrson, became ateljé Lyktan’s Head of Operations in Åhus, steering the company away from bespoke services toward mass production.

Bergström passed away in Karlshamn in 1996. In 2009, ateljé Lyktan celebrated its 75th anniversary and published the retrospective book Ljuset ska vara vitt och lysa fritt–Historien om ateljé Lyktan by Johan Jansson and Staffan Bengtsson. Some of Bergström’s designs remain in production with ateljé Lyktan today—and hundreds (dating back to 1934) are catalogued in the ateljé Lyktan’s archives. ~H

Condition report:

Good. Wear consistent with age and use.