Kaare Klint 'Model 306' 'Versatile Lamp'

A late-1940s to early-50s example of a brass and Bakelite 'Versatile Lamp' by Professor Kaare Klint for the Danish firm Le Klint.

Designed in 1945, the sleek model 306 light can be used as both a table lamp & wall lamp, due to the tilting mechanism located above the early plastic that bounds the handle.

To change the position of the light, the user simply needs to lift it from, or offer it up to, the wall. A ball-shaped counterweight at the end of the light’s stem provides visual balance but also prevents the light from moving casually. Emphasizing the balls presence is the fluid circular shape of the base which also seamlessly allows the lamp’s electric cable to connect.

Although, perhaps one of Klint’s smallest designs, the model 306 lamp is a supreme example of his ethos and design principles.

Klint was an early proponent of functionalism in Denmark. He combined studies of historically successful furniture types and anthropometrics which refined tradition and saw objects developed that satisfied their primary function beautifully. Klint also had an acute sensibility for a designs’ relationship to its environment. His designs never dominate a space but unite art and utility for a greater whole.

A rich and even patina covers the entirety of the sinuous brass pole used in the light. The switched bulb holder and wiring are new, but both components are sympathetic to the lamps 70+ year age. The newly made lampshade is in a textured linen cotton material.