Milanese designer and architect Achille Castiglioni sought to inject personality into all of his work, and found deep inspiration in everyday objects. A legend of Italian mid-century modernism, he created iconic, universally loved table lamps, chairs and other lighting and furniture with his likeminded brothers during the postwar years.
There was the Snoopy lamp, which brings to mind the unmistakable Peanuts character, while the shape of a common street lamp inspired the design behind the Arco floor lamp. Elsewhere, the Toio floor lamp — a provocative fixture in any living room — was made with automotive parts as well as run-of-the-mill recreational gear.
Castiglioni studied the classics at Liceo Classico Giuseppe Parini, art at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and finally architecture and design at the Polytechnic University of Milan. After graduating in 1944, Castiglioni began working with his brothers Pier Giacomo and Livio at the studio they cofounded with classmate Luigi Caccia Dominioni.
Livio left to pursue lighting design and sound technology, leaving Achille and Pier Giacomo to continue to collaborate on various projects. One such design was the iconic Taraxacum hanging lamp for FLOS which featured a resin “cocoon” created with sprayed plastic polymers that protects its steel core and allows for the diffusion of light.
Castiglioni won Italy’s highest award for industrial design — the Compasso d’Oro — seven times, and the Museum of Modern Art was home to his first individual retrospective in the United States. Castiglioni later taught at the Polytechnic University of Turin and at Polytechnic in Milan.
Castiglioni’s designs remain timeless. Some of them can be found in Tokyo’s Living Design Center Ozone, the Triennale di Milano and the Hangaram Art Museum at the Seoul Arts Center.
Find vintage Achille Castiglioni lighting, seating, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Mid-century cocoon pendant lamp, Achille Castiglioni, Italy 1960s
By Achille Castiglioni
Located in Miklavž Pri Taboru, SI
Rare Cocoon pendant lamp with Teak made in Italy in the 1960s. The key feature of this iconic hanging lamp by architect Achille Castiglioni is the new material used to make it. The f...
Plastic
Mid-century cocoon pendant lamp, Achille Castiglioni, Italy 1960s
By Achille Castiglioni
Located in Miklavž Pri Taboru, SI
Rare Cocoon pendant lamp with Teak made in Italy in the 1960s. The key feature of this iconic hanging lamp by architect Achille Castiglioni is the new material used to make it. The f...
Plastic
Vintage Cocoon Pendant Lamp by Achille Castiglioni, Italy ca. 1960s
By Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in Geneva, CH
Beautiful resin and metal lamp This ceiling lamp was designed and produced by Castiglioni, Italy in 1960. It features a dandelion or cocoon shade shape. The lamp remains in a good vi...
Metal
Mid-Century Modern Cocoon Pendant Light, 1960s, Italy
By Achille Castiglioni
Located in Hagenbach, DE
A cocoon pendant lamp made in Italy in the 1960s. The hanging lamp has been manufactured in the design of the lamps made by Achille Castiglioni. The lamp shade is of original cocoon ...
Resin
$1,722
H 13.39 in Dm 13 in
Mid-Century Modern Cocoon Pendant Lamp by Achille Castiglioni, Italy , 1960s
By Achille Castiglioni
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern Cocoon Pendant Lamp by Achille Castiglioni,Italy, 1960s
Resin
$1,336
H 10.44 in W 15.75 in D 15.75 in
Mid-Century Modern Pendant Lamp by Achille Castiglioni, Italy, 1960s
By Achille Castiglioni
Located in Brussels, BE
Mid-Century Modern Pendant Lamp by Achille Castiglioni, Italy, 1960s.
Resin
Midcentury Cocoon Losange Pendant Light, 1960s, Italy
By Achille Castiglioni
Located in Hagenbach, DE
A losange cocoon pendant lamp made in Italy in the 1960s. The hanging lamp has a design similar to the lightings made by Achille Castiglioni. The lamp shade is of original resin and ...
Synthetic
$3,540
H 16.5 in Dm 20 in
Large Cocoon Bell Pendant Lamp by Goldkant, 1960s in Castiglioni, Flos Style
By Goldkant Leuchten, Achille Castiglioni
Located in Frankfurt am Main, DE
Large Mid-Century Modern bell shape cocoon pendant in the style of Achille Castiglioni, designed by Friedel Wauer for Goldkant Leuchten and manufactured in Germany during the 1960s. ...
Metal
1960s Italian Bell-Shaped Cocoon Lamp Pendant
By Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni
Located in London, London
A sculptural Italian cocoon pendant light, dating to the 1960s, defined by its softly flared, bell-like silhouette and organic surface texture. The shade is formed from sprayed poly...
Resin
Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni Cocoon pendant lamp
Located in RIDDERKERK, NL
This special Cocoon pendant lamp , attributed to Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni , is an iconic example of experimental Italian design from the 1960s . The design consists of...
Resin
