WA 23 SW Bauhaus Table Lamp

Wilhelm Wagenfeld's WA 23 SW (1924) pairs a black-painted base and nickel-plated stem with an opal-glass globe. TECNOLUMEN reproduces it exactly as the official Bauhaus lamp, each unit consecutively numbered under the base. A soft, diffused glow from the sphere epitomises early modernist simplicity — a cornerstone of Bauhaus lighting.

The design dates from Wagenfeld's time as a young apprentice in the metal workshop of the Bauhaus in Weimar, where students were challenged to create objects suited to industrial production rather than handcrafted decoration. Wagenfeld's answer was disarmingly logical: a circular base, a cylindrical stem and a spherical opal-glass shade — pure geometry doing the work that ornament used to do. The result became known simply as the Bauhaus lamp, one of the most recognisable objects of early modernism and a textbook example of the school's belief that everyday things should be honest about how they are made. In the WA 23 SW variant, the black-painted base anchors the composition and gives the lamp a more graphic, grounded presence than its all-metal siblings, while the nickel-plated stem and glowing globe keep the original lightness intact. TECNOLUMEN in Bremen produces the authorised re-edition, numbering every lamp consecutively under the base — a genuine piece of design history rather than a lookalike. You can explore the wider catalogue of these faithful re-editions in our Tecnolumen collection.

A century on, the WA 23 SW remains one of the easiest design classics to live with. The opal globe casts a soft, non-directional glow that flatters a desk, a sideboard or a bedside table equally well, and the modest footprint suits the compact apartments of Seoul, Tokyo or Hong Kong, where one well-chosen object often has to do the work of several. Try it as a warm counterpoint to minimalist interiors, or let it bring a note of calm order to a busier room; our guide to designer lighting for small apartments covers how to position a lamp like this for the biggest effect. If you are comparing silhouettes, the full range of table lamps sets the Bauhaus original alongside its Scandinavian descendants.

Light source: E27 (E26 compatible), 1 bulb, max 60 W. IP20, indoor. Bulb not included — we recommend an E27 LED (6–10.5 W, 480–1055 lm).