German designer Ingo Maurer (1932–2019) was known as a “poet of light” for how he artfully created table lamps and floor lamps that married form and function, from bulbs that soared on goose-feather wings to chandeliers that suspended bursts of shattered tableware like a slow-motion explosion.
One of Maurer's first lamps, a 1966 design that was merely called Bulb, nested a lightbulb inside a larger glass lightbulb shape, drawing on his connection to German art traditions of reductive forms as well as Pop art and the playful aesthetics of 1960s pop culture. The success of Bulb — its fans included American design icon Charles Eames — led to the founding of his own company to produce this provocative fixture as well as other fantastic lighting designs. Later, for Maurer’s bestselling Uchiwa lamps of the 1970s, the designer found inspiration in Japanese fans made of bamboo and lacquered rice paper.
Born on the island of Reichenau in Lake Constance in southern Germany, Maurer apprenticed at a newspaper before moving to the United States in 1960. In New York and California, Maurer initially worked as a graphic designer for IBM and elsewhere before returning to Germany with his then-wife, designer Dorothee Becker, in 1963. The experience that Maurer gained in typography and bold forms was regularly expressed in the lamps crafted by his company, which was called Design M before the name was changed to Ingo Maurer GmbH. The lighting manufacturer is still based in Munich.
Some of Maurer’s pieces were minimal, such as a ceramic table lamp in 1996 he called Broken Egg, which radiated light from a fissure in an oblong shape, while others were monumental, such as the designer’s last completed installation — a colossal chandelier composed of over 3,000 silver-plated leaves — in Munich’s Residenztheater. Maurer was always at the forefront of lighting innovations, exploring holograms, LEDs and OLEDs in his projects. Through his company, the venturesome Maurer also promoted inventive new designers, including Moritz Waldemeyer, whose My New Flame (2012) imagined a futuristic candle with LEDs.
Ingo Maurer GmbH continues to produce the late designer’s distinctive table lamps, chandeliers and other fixtures, including the imaginative Bulb that started it all.
Find vintage Ingo Maurer Uchiwa lamps and other lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
Mid-Century German Red Prix Table Lamp by Ingo Maurer for M Design, 1960s
By Ingo Maurer
Located in Hamburg, DE
The Prix is an early design by the well -known luminous designer Ingo Maurer from the late 1960s. Here in a rare color. A special piece for light collectors and design lovers. The...
Metal
Mid-Century Ml1 Table Lamp by Ingo Maurer for M-Design, 1960s
By Ingo Maurer
Located in Hamburg, DE
An early design by the well-known luminous designer Ingo Maurer from the late 1960s. An elegant and classic design. The ornamental foot is designed in clear glass. The original scre...
Metal
Mid-Century Modern German Space Age Rare Red Giant Bulb by Ingo Maurer 1960s
By Ingo Maurer, M Design
Located in Hamburg, DE
Mid-Century Modern Space Age Giant Bulb Table Lamp by Ingo Maurer for M-Design. A Giant Bulb based on a design by renowned lighting designer Ingo Maurer from the 1960s. Here in a par...
Metal
Mid-Century Ml1 Table Lamp by Ingo Maurer for M-Design, Germany, 1960s
By Ingo Maurer
Located in Hamburg, DE
An early design by the well-known luminous designer Ingo Maurer from the late 1960s. An elegant and classic design. The ornamental foot is designed in white glass. The umbrella has ...
Metal
Mid-Century Space Age Modern Swiss Table Lamp, 1960s
Located in Hamburg, DE
A minimalist design. The lamp head features a simple spotlight shape and is finished in red. The color of the shade is repeated in the plate base. The head can slide up and down the ...
Metal
Mid-Century Minimalist Gully Table Lamp by Ingo Maurer for M-Design, 1960s
By Ingo Maurer
Located in Hamburg, DE
The Gully is an early design by the well -known luminous designer Ingo Maurer from the late 1960s. Here in a rare color. A special piece for light collectors and design lovers. The ...
Metal
Big Design Red Glass Hotel Table Lamp, 1970s
Located in Praha, CZ
- Czechoslovakia - 1970s - Origin: hotel in Prag - Perfect intact original condition.
Glass
Red Allglass Table Lamp Designed by Stefan Tabery, 1960s
By Stefan Tabery
Located in Praha, CZ
Made in Czechoslovakia Made of opaline glass Re-polished Fully functional Original condition.
Opaline Glass
Carlo Nason, Space Age Red Murano Glass Table Lamp, AV Mazzega, 1970s
By AVMazzega, Carlo Nason
Located in Firenze, IT
Space Age Murano glass table lamp. Designed by Carlo Nason, AV Mazzega, Italy 1970s Opaline half white glass and red glass. Chromed aluminum. Two bulbs, one lights the white sp...
Glass
Mid-Century All Glass Table Lamp, Designed by Stepan Tabera, 1960's
By Stepan Tabera
Located in Praha, CZ
Bold and expressive glass vase designed by Štěpán Tabera for the Škrdlovice glassworks in the 1970s. Featuring a dynamic, organic silhouette and vibrant orange-red glass with a contr...
Mercury Glass
Mid-Century Modern Red Italian Desk Lamp, Metal and Glass, 1960s
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern red Italian desk lamp, metal and glass, 1960s European Red part is metal.
Metal
Mid-Century Table Lamp in Red Orange Opaline Glass, Designed by Stepan Tabery
By Stepan Tabera
Located in Vienna, Austria
A beautiful red orange, opaline glass table lamp produced by OPP Jihiava and designed by Stepan Tabery in the 1970's in Czechoslovakia. The metal base is made from brass coloured al...
Opaline Glass
