Ashoka Lamp by Ettore Sottsass, 1917-2007

The ‘Ashoka’ table lamp is one of the of several lamp designs produced by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis. In form,  this is the closest the ‘totem’ design language of some of his furniture, like the Carlton room divider and the Casablanca sideboard. 

The Ashoka lamp was named after a Buddhist emperor and seems, in its semicircular elements, to echo Buddhist reliquary structures, or stupas.

Ashoka means “without sorrow” which was most likely his given name. He is called great because of his model rule based on peace and compassion that helped in unifying the culturally diverse empire under a centralized administration. Sottsass combined this backstory with the collaged aesthetic, pop pastels, and exposed lightbulbs that would characterize 1980s interior design. 

A fabulous opportunity to own design history.

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Italian

1981