Clizia Table vs Clizia Battery: Corded or Cordless

Slamp makes Clizia as a corded table lamp and as a rechargeable, cordless lamp, and on paper the two look almost identical: the same Adriano Rachele shade, the same 27 x 27 x 25 cm footprint, the same net weight. So the real question is not which one is prettier but how you intend to live with it. This guide compares the Clizia Table and the Clizia Battery side by side, and looks at the Veli Table as a third option from the same designer.

One shade, two ways to power it

Clizia is built from an intricate gathering of shaped modules that Slamp compares to a cloud or a treetop. Light passes through and between the layers, so the lamp throws a soft, broken pattern of reflections and shadows onto the wall behind it rather than a single even pool. The modules are held together with a magnetic system, which makes assembly straightforward.

The name comes from Greek myth. Clytie (Clizia in Italian) was the nymph who was turned into a flower that always turns its face towards the sun, a fitting patron for a lamp whose whole purpose is the handling of light.

Both versions share that silhouette exactly. The Table is fixed to a power socket by its cable; the Battery runs on a rechargeable lithium battery and has no cable in use. Everything else about the decision follows from that single difference.

Clizia Table and Clizia Battery compared

The figures below come straight from Slamp's product data. Note how little separates the two Clizia versions on size and weight; the differences are in power, finish options and materials.

The Clizia Table: a fixed point of light

A corded lamp asks one thing of you: a place near a socket. In return it is always ready. There is nothing to charge and no reason to think about it again once it is placed, which is exactly what you want from a lamp you switch on every single evening in the same spot.

That makes the Table the natural choice for the classic table lamp positions. On a sideboard or a console, Clizia reads as a lit sculpture and fills the wall behind it with dappled shadow. On a bedside table it sits at eye level, where its broken, diffused light is far kinder than an overhead fitting. In a small living room it adds the lower, second layer of light that stops a space from feeling flat when only a ceiling lamp is on.

The Table also has the wider palette. Beyond the four Mama Non Mama finishes and Fumé, it comes in plain White and Orange, and its material list includes Cristalflex with cold foil, a material the Battery version does not list. If you want a strong colour statement, such as the Orange, only the corded model offers it.

The Clizia Battery: light that follows the evening

The Battery version is recharged and then used without any cable at all. That changes where Clizia can go. A lamp without a cable can stand in the middle of a dining table, on a bookshelf far from the wall, on a windowsill or on a balcony table for a summer dinner, and move again the next day.

Because it shares the Table's 0.63 kg net weight and 27 cm footprint, it is easy to carry from room to room. That matters most in compact homes, where one room is often the sitting room, the office and the dining room in the course of a single day. Rather than planning outlets around furniture, you move the light to wherever the evening is happening.

Two practical notes. First, a rechargeable lamp needs a routine: somewhere to charge it and the habit of doing so. Slamp does not specify running time in the product data we hold, so plan on charging it regularly rather than relying on a fixed number of hours. Second, the colour range is narrower, with five finishes: the four Mama Non Mama versions and Fumé. There is no plain White or Orange Battery.

Finishes, materials and how the light changes

Slamp has worked in techno-polymers rather than glass since it was founded in Rome in 1994 by Roberto Ziliani. Its patented sheet materials can be cut, folded and layered by hand, which is how Clizia gets a shade with real depth at a very low weight.

Both Clizia versions are made from Lentiflex and Cristalflex. The finish you choose changes the character of the lamp more than the power source does. Fumé, a smoky tint, gives a dimmer, moodier glow suited to a bedroom or a bar cabinet. Mama Non Mama White keeps the light pale and soft. Mama Non Mama Black reads as graphic and architectural when switched off. The two gold versions, with a dark or light base, add a warm metallic sparkle, and the base colour decides whether the lamp sits quietly on a pale surface or stands out against it.

If Clizia feels too busy for your room, the Veli Table is worth a look. Also by Adriano Rachele, it is slightly wider and lower at 32 x 32 x 22 cm, and its shade is made of Opalflex folded into pleats inspired by draped fabric. Where Clizia scatters light into many small reflections, Veli gives a smoother, pearly glow. It is a corded table lamp, so the same placement logic as the Clizia Table applies.

Which one to choose

Choose the Clizia Table if the lamp will live in one place, next to a socket, and be used every evening. It is the simpler object to own, and it is the only version in White and Orange.

Choose the Clizia Battery if you want the same shade on a dining table, a shelf or a terrace, or if your home has more good surfaces than well-placed outlets. Accept the charging routine and the five-colour range in exchange for that freedom.

Many homes end up with both: a corded Clizia as the fixed evening light in the living room and a Battery that travels to the table at dinner. For more cordless designs from other makers, read our guide to the best portable designer lamps, or see the full Slamp collection for the rest of the range in techno-polymer.