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.
Poul Henningsen PH 3/5-2 Table Lamp – 1930s
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Egå, DK
Exceptional and early PH 3/2 table lamp by Poul Henningsen, 1930s Executed in brass with original yellow opal shades, this rare model of Henningsen’s revolutionary three-shade system...
Brass
Poul Henningsen PH 3/2 Table Lamp – “Pat. Appl.” 1926
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Egå, DK
Poul Henningsen PH 3/2 Table Lamp – “Pat. Appl.” 1926 Exceptional and early PH 3/2 table lamp by Poul Henningsen, dating from 1926–1928, marked “Pat. Appl.” Executed in brass with y...
Brass, Copper
Poul Henningsen PH 3/5-2 Table Lamp – “Pat. Appl.” 1927
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Egå, DK
Exceptional and early PH 3/2 table lamp by Poul Henningsen, dating from 1926–1928, marked “Pat. Appl.” Executed in brass with frosted shades, this rare model represents one of the ea...
Brass
POUL HENNINGSEN Table lamp PH 4/3 pat appl, 1927
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Egå, DK
POUL HENNINGSEN (Denmark, 1894 - 1967). Table lamp PH 4/3 pat appl, 1927. Gilt brass and copper shades. Exhibits wear marks and light wear to the back of the ...
Brass, Copper
Poul Henningsen PH 3/2 Table Lamp – “Pat. Appl.” 1926
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Egå, DK
Exceptional and early PH 3/2 table lamp by Poul Henningsen, dating from 1926–1928, marked “Pat. Appl.” Executed in brass with green-painted copper shades, thi...
Brass, Copper
Poul Henningsen PH piano lamp, 1930s Patented
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Egå, DK
Poul Henningsen PH-1/1 Piano Lamp – Louis Poulsen A rare Poul Henningsen PH-1/1 piano lamp featuring a brass arm and a lacquered metal base, produced by Louis Poulsen. This refined d...
Metal, Brass
Early Poul Henningsen Table Lamp 5/3 Pat. Appl. Louis Poulsen, Copenhagen, 1920s
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Odense, DK
An exceptionally rare and early example of the iconic PH 5/3 table lamp, designed by Poul Henningsen and produced by Louis Poulsen in the late 1920s. This important extra large early...
Metal, Brass
Early Poul Henningsen Pat. Appl. PH 3.5/2 table lamp, 1927
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Rare early ’PH 3,5/2 table lamp’ with patinated browned brass frame and original red/golden copper shades. Designed 1926 and made at Louis Poulsen, 1927-1928. Stamped ‘PAT.APPL.’ Th...
Brass, Copper
Poul Henningsen Table Lamp Model PH 3½/2 Produced by Louis Poulsen in Denmark
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Rare table lamp model PH 3½/2 designed by Poul Henningsen. Produced by Louis Poulsen in Denmark. Marked “PAT. APPL”.
Brass, Copper
1930s PH 3, 5/2 Table Lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen Denmark
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Esbjerg, DK
PH 3½-2 desk light by Poul Henningsen. Original yellow lacquered zinc top-shade, matté yellow single layered glass middle and bottom shade, patinated brass stem and Bakelite detailin...
Brass, Zinc
Poul Henningsen 3.5/2.5 From The 1930s
Located in Søborg, DK
Vintage Poul Henningsen PH 3.5/2.5 Table Lamp for Louis Poulsen This is an original PH 3.5/2.5 table lamp, designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen. The 3.5/2.5 refers to the shade proportions — a 35 cm top shade paired with a 25 cm middle shade — giving it a compact, elegant profile perfect for smaller tables and spaces. Like all PH lamps, it uses Henningsen’s revolutionary 3-shade system from 1925. The three shades are shaped with logarithmic spirals to reflect and diffuse the light. The result is that classic PH glow: warm, soft, and completely glare-free. The bulb stays hidden at every angle, so the lamp is as beautiful lit as it is off. Estimated 1930s production Materials: Painted glass shades with original orange/yellow finish, browned stem and base Good vintage condition with honest, visible patina. The paint on the two lower shades shows flaking and wear, which is common for colored PH lamps of this age and adds character. The top metal shade has most probably been replaced at some point but is an original Louis Poulsen. Dimensions: Approx. 47 cm H x 35 cm W top shade Why it’s special: The PH 3.5/2.5 is one of the most versatile PH table lamps. Smaller than the PH 4/3 but with the same warm light quality. This example has the sought-after browned brass stem and base, which Louis Poulsen used...
Brass
Vintage Poul Henningsen 4/3 Table Lamp from the 1960s
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Søborg, DK
Vintage Poul Henningsen PH 4/3 Table Lamp for Louis Poulsen, 1966 This is an early example of the iconic PH 4/3 table lamp, designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen in 1966, j...
Aluminum, Steel, Chrome
