Poul Henningsen spent his career on one question: how do you make electric light as kind to a room as gaslight was? He had grown up with gas lamps in Denmark and thought the bare electric bulb was a step backwards, glaring and unflattering.
His answer was the multi-shade system that carries his initials. Light is bounced off a series of shades set at calculated angles, so that no direct line of sight to the bulb exists from any position in the room. His first PH lamp won first prize for modern lighting at the Paris International Exposition of Decorative Arts in 1925, and he refined the same principle for the rest of his career.
The PH 5 arrived in 1958. Three stacked shades in spun aluminium, with a red cone and a small blue reflector inside to warm the reflected light toward the candlelight end of the spectrum. Most people never see those two pieces; they are the reason the light feels warm rather than white.
The PH Artichoke arrived the same year, commissioned for the Langelinie Pavillonen restaurant in Copenhagen by its architects, Eva and Nils Koppel. Henningsen finished it in three months, building on an idea he had developed around 1927 for a glass lamp with alternating clear and sandblasted shades. The original hung in that restaurant and still does.
For lighting chosen by room rather than by designer, see ceiling lights and the wider lighting collection. For the other mid-century lighting designer in the range, see the French designer Serge Mouille.
The range splits into pendants and table lamps, and within the pendants into two very different propositions.
The one most people picture. Three spun aluminium shades, 50 cm across and 28 cm high, weighing 4 kg, on a fully adjustable 180 cm cable. From GBP 199.50.
It is the practical choice for a dining table: wide enough to light the whole surface and shallow enough not to block a sightline across the room. The PH 5 Mini is the same design at 30 cm across and 1 kg, from GBP 154.50, for a smaller table or a run of pendants over a kitchen island.
Seventy-two metal leaves arranged in twelve rows of six, each leaf angled to hide the bulb and bounce the light. The undersides are finished in white whatever the outer colour, which is what keeps the light warm rather than metallic.
The steel Artichoke comes in rolled steel with a chromed cast aluminium frame, in copper, aluminium or white, and in four diameters: 48, 60, 72 and 84 cm, from GBP 329.50. The glass Artichoke uses curved 3 mm white opal glass leaves, comes in 48 or 60 cm, starts from GBP 714.50 and is held in UK stock.
Henningsen originally called it the Kogle, Danish for pinecone. The artichoke name stuck later.
Three practical points, and the third surprises people.
Four sizes in steel, two in glass (48 and 60 cm), and the jump between them is larger than the numbers suggest.
If you are unsure, the smaller one is almost always the right answer in a UK home. An 84 cm pendant in a room with a 2.4 metre ceiling dominates rather than lights.
The steel Artichoke ships with an adjustable hang of 85 cm to 194 cm, measured from the ceiling, and the glass Artichoke 30 cm to 200 cm. The PH 5, PH 5 Mini, PH 3/2 pendant and Snowball each have a 180 cm cable that can be shortened at installation.
Over a dining table the lamp only has to clear the heads of people sitting down, so a low hang works and puts the light where it is wanted. In a walkway it has to clear the heads of people standing up, which usually means taking the drop to its shortest setting. Work out which of the two the lamp is going over before ordering, because it decides whether the adjustment range is enough.
An electrician is advised for every pendant, and all ship with instructions.
This is the point that catches people out.
Both flagship lamps take a single bulb. The PH 5 takes one E27 at 60 W maximum. The Artichoke, for all its 72 leaves, also takes one E27, at 100 W maximum.
That is the whole idea. Henningsen was not trying to produce more light, he was trying to produce better light: the shades exist to remove glare and warm the tone, not to multiply output. A PH lamp will not light a room like a set of downlights, and it is not meant to.
Both are dimmable, though the dimmer device is not supplied. Neither includes a bulb.
Poul Henningsen was a Danish designer and writer who spent his career on the problem of glare in electric light. He grew up with gaslight and thought the bare bulb was a backwards step. His first PH lamp won first prize for modern lighting at the Paris International Exposition of Decorative Arts in 1925, and he went on refining the same multi-shade principle for the rest of his career.
A PH lamp uses several shades set at calculated angles so that the bulb is never directly visible from any viewing position. Light reaches the room after bouncing off those shades, which removes glare and warms the tone. PH stands for the designer's initials, Poul Henningsen. It has nothing to do with light-therapy or daylight lamps. Every lamp here is a reproduction: its product page states it is not manufactured by or affiliated with the original designer.
The PH 5, often written PH5, is Henningsen's 1958 pendant and the most recognisable lamp in the range. Three stacked spun aluminium shades conceal the bulb completely, with a red cone and a small blue reflector inside to warm the light. The Mobelaris version is 50 cm across, 28 cm high, weighs 4 kg and hangs on a 180 cm adjustable cable.
The PH Artichoke is Henningsen's 1958 pendant made from 72 metal leaves in twelve rows of six, each angled to hide the bulb and bounce light in every direction. It was commissioned for a Copenhagen restaurant and finished in three months. The Mobelaris steel version comes in four diameters, 48, 60, 72 and 84 cm, and a glass version is also stocked.
Henningsen originally named it the Kogle, which is Danish for pinecone, after the way the overlapping leaves are stacked. The artichoke name came later and is now the one everyone uses. Both refer to the same 1958 design, and you will see it listed under either.
The 48 cm is almost the same width as a PH 5 and suits a normal dining table or living room. The 60 cm becomes the focal point of a room. The 72 cm and 84 cm, offered in steel only, are architectural sizes intended for tall or large spaces. In a UK home with a standard 2.4 metre ceiling, the 48 cm is usually the right answer.
It depends on what is underneath. Over a dining table the lamp only needs to clear the heads of seated people, so a lower hang works and puts light where it is useful. In a walkway it has to clear standing head height. The steel Artichoke adjusts from 85 cm to 194 cm and the glass one from 30 cm to 200 cm; the other pendants have a 180 cm cable that can be shortened.
It depends on the lamp: this collection uses three different fittings. The PH 5, PH 5 Mini, both Artichokes and the Snowball take E27. The PH 3/2 pendant and table lamp take E14. The PH 2/1 table lamp takes a G9 capsule. None uses the B22 bayonet common in UK homes, and no bulbs are included, so check each product page before ordering.
Not especially, and that is deliberate. Both flagship lamps take a single bulb: 60 W maximum on the PH 5 and 100 W on the Artichoke. Henningsen designed the shades to remove glare and warm the light, not to increase output. A PH lamp gives pleasant, even light over a table rather than general illumination for a whole room.
Two pieces are held in UK stock and dispatch in 48 to 72 hours: the glass Artichoke and the PH 3/2 table lamp. The other six take 12 to 16 weeks. Each product page shows its own estimate under the Add to Cart button, and timings are confirmed by email once the order is placed.
