Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen 'PH Artichoke' Pendant in Stainless Steel

Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, 'PH-Artichoke' pendant, stainless steel, chrome-plated steel and aluminum, aluminum, design 1957, production from the mid-1970s

The 'Artichoke' pendant is an all time eyecatcher in the lighting design. This iconic pendant, designed by Poul Henningsen, has stainless steel shades in multiple layers. The principle is many railings staggered from each other. The light partition is warm and effective. The artichoke by Poul Henningsen was designed in 1957 for the Langelinie Pavilion in Copenhagen, which was executed in copper. The steel version was manufactured from the mid-1970s, while the white Artichoke was introduced in the early 1980s. The 'Artichoke' must have been developed extremely quickly as only very rough sketches exist, but this can be deceptive as it can be traced back to a lot of Henningsen's earlier work.

The first 'PH' lamp was the result of Poul Henningsen's ten year attempts at to shade and control electrical lightning. Henningsen noticed several problems with the new electrical light economic, hygienic and aesthetic. Henningsen was also very invested in glare, the colour of the light and shadow and believed that it was necessary to estimate distance and to perceive the shape of an object. He had also observed his mother's pronounced vanity about her wrinkles and complexion which looked their best in the reddish half-shade of the evening. After years of experimentation, he came to the complex use of different shades on top of one another.