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Object Timeline

1928

  • Work on this object began.

1970

1994

  • We acquired this object.

2012

2013

2017

2022

2025

  • You found it!

Model 404 Piano Lamp

This is a Piano lamp. It was designed by J.J.Pieter Oud and manufactured by W.H. Gispen. It is dated 1928 and we acquired it in 1994. Its medium is metal, chrome-plated metal, bakelite. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

A self-described “poetic functionalist,” Dutch architect J.J. Pieter Oud rejected ornamentation and historicism of any kind. The Gispen firm produced a wide range of metalwork, including bent tubular steel furniture and modern lighting devices, based on straightforward geometric shapes and featuring functional characteristics such as adjustability.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled Functional Sculpture.

It is credited Museum purchase from the Decorative Arts Association Acquisition and Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Funds.

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  • silver plated, metal.
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  • 2002-22-1
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  • Table Lamp
  • chrome-plated steel, brass.
  • Gift of George R. Kravis II.
  • 2015-41-11

Our curators have highlighted 1 object that are related to this one.

  • PH 4/3 Table Lamp
  • molded glass, patinated metal.
  • Gift of George R. Kravis II.
  • 2018-22-22

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 11.5 x 29 x 20 cm (4 1/2 x 11 7/16 x 7 7/8 in.)

Cite this object as

Model 404 Piano Lamp; Designed by J.J.Pieter Oud (Netherlands); Manufactured by W.H. Gispen; Netherlands; metal, chrome-plated metal, bakelite; H x W x D: 11.5 x 29 x 20 cm (4 1/2 x 11 7/16 x 7 7/8 in.); Museum purchase from the Decorative Arts Association Acquisition and Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Funds; 1994-71-21

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18649289/ |title=Model 404 Piano Lamp |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=6 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>