Six Lamps, One Vision

The Floor Lamp 9602 designed in 1935 for the Hotel Aulanko, is perhaps the most lyrical of all. Nicknamed the 'Chinese hat' it seems to capture the essence of Finnish modernism — elegant yet natural, refined yet unassuming. With its rattan-covered frame and gently tilted shade, in canvas or bamboo, it offers a diffused golden glow that feels more like daylight remembered than electricity. The engraving TAITO IDMAN marks its maker, but its true signature is its softness.

From the 1950s comes the Table Lamp 9224, made for Taito Oy, a company synonymous with Tynell’s most iconic designs. Brass, leather, and perforation meet here in perfect harmony; industrial and organic, polished and warm. The brass shade, meticulously pierced by hand releases a constellation of light while the leather-wrapped stem grounds it in tactility. It is a lamp that feels alive: moving, breathing and responding.

More monumental, the chandelier designed for the Myllykoski Paper Mill around 1945 transforms light into architecture. Only six were ever produced, each a bespoke commission that speaks to Tynell’s mastery of proportion and his understanding of space. Hanging above workers and visitors, it turned an industrial hall into a cathedral of light. 

By contrast, the Pair of Wall Lamps 6200 distil that generosity into intimate form. Their simplicity — polished brass, perforated shades — belies the skill of their composition. The light they cast is not directional but ambient, spreading softly across the wall. 

The Ceiling Lamp 10103/4, designed in the 1950s and featured in the Finland House catalogue 'Harmony in Lighting for Harmony in Living', extends that philosophy abroad. Created during the period when Tynell’s work illuminated interiors in New York — from Finland House on 50th Street to the United Nations Headquarters — it carries with it the optimism of post-war modernism, an era when Finnish design began to speak fluently to the world.

Finally, the Helmet Table Lamp 9209, with its curved brass dome and leather-wrapped stem, returns to intimacy. Designed in 1950, it embodies the warmth that made Tynell’s work so beloved. The perforations around the dome’s edge scatter small rings of light, echoing the stars of a northern sky — a reminder that even in darkness, beauty can be found in restraint.

Together, these six pieces form more than a collection; they are variations on a single theme. Brass and rattan, leather and canvas — each material becomes a language through which Tynell explored the poetry of light. They remind us that in the long winter, illumination is not just what we see by, but what we live by.