Pair of Joe Colombo "KD24" table lamps for Kartell, 1964. Three-part rotating system in perspex and aluminium. Discontinued. Very good vintage condition.
Specifications:
- Designer: Joe Colombo
- Manufacturer: Kartell
- Country/Period: Italy, 1964
- Materials: Translucent perspex, satin cream perspex, brushed aluminium
- Conditions: Very good vintage; minimal signs of use; slight deformation to the circular top of one diffuser (not visible when assembled); engraved figures on one aluminium reflector
- Dimensions: 15 x 12 cm (H x D)
- Literature: I. Favata, Joe Colombo Designer Catalogo Ragionato 1962-2020, Silvana Editoriale, 2021
- Price: €950 (pair)
- Shipping: Contact us for a quote
Designed by Joe Colombo for Kartell in 1964 and long discontinued, the KD24 is among the earliest lighting designs of Colombo's brief but decisive career. The lamp's three-part construction — translucent perspex body, rotating brushed aluminium reflector, and rotating satin cream perspex shade with a diagonal aperture — functions as both formal experiment and practical mechanism. By turning the two screens independently, the user controls the direction and intensity of light; a circular opening at the top ensures a constant diffusion of soft ambient glow regardless of the shade's position.
The system reflects the cultural moment precisely: Colombo moved in the circles of Kinetic and Programmed Art in Milan, and the KD24 shares that movement's interest in variable form and user participation — here applied to an everyday domestic object. The lamp is sculpture that responds to touch.
Both examples are in very good vintage condition with minimal signs of use. One aluminium reflector carries engraved figures, a production mark. A slight deformation to the circular top of one perspex shade is not visible once assembled. Each lamp takes an E14 bulb.
