Eero Saarinen lamp for Herman Miller?  

Peter:

You have a homemade lamp whose base was originally the leg of either a Tulip table or a replica of the Tulip table. The Tulip table was designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll.

"Tulip" isn't the official name for the table, but it'll show up in Google searches. The table was originally part of what Knoll called the Pedestal Collection; now they just call it the "Saarinen Table". You can see it at https://knoll.com/product/saarinen-side-table-16-round .

Hi fastfwd, Thanks for your comments

I am, of course, familiar with the tulip tables...

however, this base is about 2mm thick (spun aluminium I think) hence the need for the cast iron weight to function as a table lamp

I find it hard to believe that this base could have ever have been expected to serve as part of a table...

Ah. I couldn't tell from the photos that the base wasn't cast aluminum like Knoll's (which also have cast iron weights).

Ok, so if it's not a Knoll table leg then it has no connection to Saarinen -- or Knoll or Herman Miller -- at all; it's simply a lamp with a base in the style of Knoll's tulip tables. And in that case it might not be homemade, either, although that wire-routing solution doesn't really look mass-produced.

Regardless, the tulip pedestal is an attractive shape. With a new shade, your lamp will look very elegant.