Bremen's Iconic Wilhelm-Wagenfeld-Lighting Marks Its Centenary Celebration
A Bauhaus Classic: The Wilhelm Wagenfeld MT8 Table Lamp
The Bauhaus MT8 table lamp, designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld in the early 1920s, is a testament to the modernist design movement that originated from the Bauhaus school. Created around 1923–1924, the lamp is a symbol of Bauhaus lighting design and remains highly regarded in modern furniture and lighting design history.
Wilhelm Wagenfeld, a key figure of the Bauhaus movement, designed the lamp with a focus on simplicity, functionality, and the merging of glass and metal materials. The lamp's minimal, functional form, emphasizing clear geometric shapes, embodies the Bauhaus principles of combining art and industrial design.
Initially, there were no dealers interested in selling the lamps. However, advertisements placed in art and home magazines sparked interest, and the lamp quickly sold out. The high demand for the MT8 lamp is evident, as it is one of the most frequently counterfeited design objects.
Tecnolumen, a German lighting manufacturer specializing in Bauhaus and mid-century modern designs, has been responsible for producing authentic versions of the MT8 lamp based on Wagenfeld's original design specifications. The brand emphasizes durable materials and traditional manufacturing techniques, ensuring quality craftsmanship and preserving the historical and aesthetic integrity of the lamp.
The glass shade for the lamp is mouth-blown in small glassworks in Poland and Slovenia. The individual elements for the lamp are assembled and technically inspected for quality in Bremen. Tecnolumen remains the only manufacturer authorized by Wagenfeld and his family, and the lamp now bears the name WA24 (Wagenfeld 1924).
At the age of 23, Wagenfeld was accepted into the "State Bauhaus" in Weimar. He apprenticed as an industrial draftsman at the Bremen silverware factory Koch & Bergfeld and later as a silversmith. The very first Wagenfeld lamp arrived in Bremen as early as the 1920s and is now a permanent loan in the Wilhelm Wagenfeld House, a museum for design and everyday culture that considers the original Wagenfeld lamp as its star piece.
Four official, Wagenfeld-authorized variants of the Bauhaus lamp are now on the market: foot and tube each made of glass or metal. The materials used in the lamp are said to last forever and are often passed on to the next generation. The 28 components for the lamp come from Europe, mainly from Germany.
Wilhelm Wagenfeld, born in the Bremen neighborhood of Walle in 1900, passed away in 1990. His legacy lives on through the iconic Bauhaus MT8 table lamp, a timeless piece that continues to inspire and captivate audiences today.
- Tecnolumen, a German lighting manufacturer specializing in Bauhaus and mid-century modern designs, preserves the historical and aesthetic integrity of the Wilhelm Wagenfeld MT8 lamp by manufacturing authentic versions based on Wagenfeld's original design specifications.
- The lamp's design, combining simplicity, functionality, and the merging of glass and metal materials, embodies Wilhelm Wagenfeld's focus on married art and industrial design, principles established during his time at the Bauhaus school.
