Isamu Noguchi Floor Lamp Model BB3-55DD

Isamu Noguchi Akari light sculpture, Model BB3-55DD.

Noguchi designed his series of Akari light sculptures in the 1950s. Using mulberry wood paper (mino) produced in Gifu, Japan by the Ozeki company, he created a range of floor lamps under the name Akari derived from a Japanese word for light.

This model BB3-55DD light comprises a circular Washi paper shade on a bamboo stem with cast metal foot. The light is operated with a pull chain to the top of the stem. The lamp is easy to disassemble, as the bamboo stem is in two parts with metal joint and the shade can be gently folded flat. The shade bears the Sun and Moon mark with Noguchi's name, which dates it to probably sometime in the 1980s. The metal base is stamped Made in Japan.

Washi paper, bamboo and cast iron

circa. late 70s