Table lamp PH 4/3 designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen,
Denmark, 1927.

Brass and copper.

Stamped Pat. Appl.

Provenance: From a private Danish collection.

Poul Henningsen’s lamp designs are characterised by their innovative distribution of light. It was Henningsen’s continuous goal to achieve illumination that sheds warm, soft light without a harsh glare coming directly from the bulb. Henningsen developed his ’system of lamp shades that completely surround the source of light so that no radiating rays can meet the eye directly’.

Designed in 1927, this PH 4/3 table lamp is stamped ‘pat appl’, designating it as one of the earliest examples to be produced. This stamp was only used on the PH 4/3 within the first two years of its design. From 1929, they were instead stamped ‘patented’.

Henningsen’s famous lamps with a three-shade system range from small to large and are available in different types. The very early PH-shades were produced in white frosted glass, amber-coloured glass, or lacquered copper – the last two being the most desirable.

The white shades were produced in milk glass in the 1920s and early 1930s but never produced again after that, as they were soon replaced by cased glass. The milk glass shades have a solid white colour, as opposed to cased glass, which consists of two or sometimes three different layers of glass. The shades in milk glass are undeniably more coveted. The lacquered copper shades should have their original paint, often with visible paint loss, especially around the metal screws placed on the lower shade.

The PH-lamps were manufactured by the internationally renowned Danish lighting manufacturer Louis Poulsen, with whom Henningsen built a lifelong working relationship after presenting their famous Paris Lamp at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris (and winning the prize).

Poul Henningsen (1894 - 1967) was a Danish author, critic, architect, and acclaimed designer. He is frequently referred to simply as ’PH’ and is most associated with his design of the PH-lamp series. Henningsen’s unique understanding of the relationship between light structures, shadows, glare, and colour reproduction is unparalleled in Scandinavian design history.


H: 52 cm / 20 1/2''
Shade D: 40.5 cm / 16''
Base D: 18 cm / 7''

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