Pair of Alvar Aalto Brass & Black Hand Grenade Pendants A110, Valaistustyö

The hand grenade is one of Alvar Aalto’s most iconic lamps, with its nickname derived from the resemblance with the hand grenade. The model number is A110, but is usually seen in painted metal versions. This brass version is super rare and is from the earlier manufacturer Valaistustyö. The lamp is sleek and is perfect for working areas like kitchens, shop counters or over dinner tables and as a pair will suit perfectly in elongated spaces like hallways or entrances.

Both lamps are stamped with the manufacturer’s stamp and the model number. All parts are original except for the updated electeic wirings.

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is a world famous architect and designer. He was well known for designing his own line of furniture and lighting for the numerous buildings that he designed worldwide. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles, glassware, sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as branches of a tree that stem from architecture.

Aalto’s career from the 1920s-1970s is reflected in the styles of his work, ranging from Classicism to Modernism and to an organic style from the 1940s onwards. Aalto and his wife Aino were famous for not only designing the buildings, but the interior surfaces, furniture, lamps and even the glassware for those buildings. Aalto’s furniture designs are Scandinavian Modernism at its best, especially his technical innovations on the bent plywood furniture, which in turn had a great impact on Mid-Century Modernist furniture.

Aalto’s works are highly sought after and some fetch record prices in auctions and the design world. Of course his works are also widely collected and can be found in numerous private collections and famous museums.