Object Timeline

-0001

2004

  • Work on this object began.

2007

  • We acquired this object.

2008

2012

2013

2014

2024

  • You found it!

Garland Pendant Lamp

This is a pendant lamp. It was designed by Tord Boontje and manufactured by Artecnica. It is dated 2004 and we acquired it in 2007. Its medium is silver-plated photographically etched stainless steel. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

The Dutch-born award-winning designer Tord Boontje, is a graduate of both the Design Academy in Eindhoven and the Royal College of Art in London. His interior architecture and exhibition designs include both unique and limited edition pieces, commissions for museums like the Victoria and Albert in London, and work for retailers as varied as Target and Hermès. Boontje’s numerous mass-produced designs include textiles for Kvadrat and tableware for Salviati. Boontje's work is held by major museums.
The Garland light represents an intersection of Boontje’s interest in pattern-making and textiles. Designed to be mass produced in various metal finishes and colors, each lamp is a pliable garland with no fixed shape. The photographically-etched stainless steel can be draped and layered around a light bulb according to the owner’s whim. Garland exemplifies a growing trend among designers to create works that can be customized by the end user.
The proposed acquisition of Garland in two metal finishes would augment the museum’s holdings of contemporary Dutch design and would help to bring the lighting collection into the 21st century. The Garland light will also be included in the forthcoming Cooper-Hewitt exhibition Rococo: The Continuing Curve, 1730–2008.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled A Metal Lace Chandelier: Tord Boontje's Modern Twist on Centuries-Ago Style.

This object was donated by Artecnica. It is credited Gift of Artecnica.

  • Porca Miseria! Hanging Lamp
  • glazed molded porcelain adhered to metal, stainless steel; halogen light source.
  • Gift of Peter Norton.
  • 2010-16-1
  • Bowl (Brazil)
  • stainless steel, diamond.
  • Gift of H. Stern.
  • 2007-47-1
  • N/T 1185 Tiara
  • silver wire, pearl, mother-of-pearl, smoky quartz, quartz crystal.
  • Museum purchase from Sara Cooper-Hewitt Fund.
  • 1997-43-1

Our curators have highlighted 9 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Heatwave Radiator
  • molded polyconcrete (polyester concrete), aluminum.
  • Gift of Jaga, N.V..
  • 2008-13-1-a/c
  • Epergne (England)
  • glass, brass, metal.
  • Bequest of Walter Phelps Warren.
  • 1986-61-121-a/q

Its dimensions are

H x diam.: 74.9 x 31.8 cm (29 1/2 x 12 1/2 in.) L: (cord): 38.1 cm (15 in.)

Cite this object as

Garland Pendant Lamp; Designed by Tord Boontje (Dutch, b. 1968); Manufactured by Artecnica (United States); USA; silver-plated photographically etched stainless steel; H x diam.: 74.9 x 31.8 cm (29 1/2 x 12 1/2 in.) L: (cord): 38.1 cm (15 in.); Gift of Artecnica; 2007-38-1-a/c

We have 1 video that features Garland Pendant Lamp.

Behind the Scenes: Garland Lamp

Conservator Annie Hall and Curator Cindy Trope discuss the Garland Lamp, how it's made, and how it gets stowed and cleaned in museum storage.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions Making Design and Rococo: The Continuing Curve 1730-2008.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18710577/ |title=Garland Pendant Lamp |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>