Noguchi Floor Lamp Model UF4 L10. I picked one up today but am having a tough time dating it. The pull chain is the brass dog collar type ball chain, and the socket looks to have a little age to it. No tears, but slight aging to the paper. The legs are dark grey black enamel coated metal so I know not earlier than late 70s. I was thinking early 80s, but hard to say. Is there a database on these, as they have not stopped making them for 50 plus years and they seem harder to date than a lot of things. I can post pics later if needed. thanks Josh
The Noguchi lamps were made...
The Noguchi lamps were made by a company called Ozeka, in Gifu, Japan. Gifu ia town which produces traditional paper lamps which are popular in Japan. Noguchi visited Gifu in 1951 and decided to re-design the traditional lamps in order to transform them into "light scuptures". The lamps are made of mulberry wood paper ("mino") which is hand produced in Gifu. In 1952, he produced the first series of his Akari lamps. Note well that Ozeki only produced the shade. Because of the differences in electric standards throughout the world. The local importers of the lamps would supply the electrical parts. The Noguchi lamps began to arrive in the USA in 1979 and were imported by George Kovacs in New York who presumably supplied the electrical parts. Later Noguchi had a disagreement with Kovacs and then for a peridod of time the lamps were not available in the USA. Finally during the 1980's another distributor began to sell the lamps. Since the lamps are very delicate and the paper oxidizes and becomes brittle, the lamps begin to break and tear. Consequently, you can date the lamp by the condition of the paper. The wonderful Noguchi Museum in NYC (Queens) sells some "vintage"lamps.
During the 1980's I filled my home with these lights--around 30 or so, of all sizes. Of the original lamps only 5 remain and these have been repaired. However, I have replaced some of the lamps with new shades. Although the old lamps have their charm, the new ones are more beautiful.
Nilo
Kovacs
This, of course, indicates that the lamp was imported and sold during that period. in my opinion, when it comes to objects of design that were mass-produced during the mid and late Twentieth century, the condition of the object is more important than the date of production. Serious collectors search for examples that are in mint condition.Such items are handled by specialized dealers and almost never end up in thrift shops or garage sales.
Nilo
Yesterday, at a thrift...
Yesterday, at a thrift store, I got a near mint shade for a Noguchi UF4-31N Akari floor lamp. The shade was still tied closed with what appeared to be the original factory ties, and does not look to have ever been used. It was $1 US, but sadly it had no hardware.
I have seen three different marks on Akari lamps -- The one on my lamp, in the top image, which has just the sun & moon stamp. Then there are lamps with the same mark but with "Japan" stamped under it. Then there is the current production, which also bear the I. Noguchi signature stamp.
Does anyone know if the stamps correlate to any particular time period of production?
It also looks like I will have a very hard time finding the appropriate floor lamp stand for the shade, as it is not sold separately. I might try to make one...
Noguchi lamp shades
Hi, I came across this post upon researching my old Noguchi lamp. You mention in your post that you replaced the shades. Where did you find replacement shades? I have a base and have been looking for years.I have the bb3/33s base. Any help is appreciated, I know the post is a bit old but I'm hoping someone responds.
Thank you
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