Model 57/416 floor lamp by Dieter Schulz, Switzerland, 1950s.

Floor lamp in brass and white lacquered metal, model 57/416 by Dieter Schulz for Wohnbedarf AG, Switzerland, 1950s.

• The reflector is adjustable on a vertical axis via its brass ball joint.
• Normal wear marks on the base, see photo.
• Rewired by our restorer.
• H 108 cm x W 18 cm (reflector set horizontally) x D 12 cm (= reflector diameter)
• Base diameter 11 cm.

A lamp documented in the collections of the Deutsches Design Museum

This floor lamp, model 57/416, designed by Dieter Schulz for the Swiss publisher Wohnbedarf AG, is documented in the historical archives of the Rat für Formgebung (German Design Council), now held by the Deutsches Design Museum. The photographic documentation, produced between 1959 and 1962, is listed under inventory number DK296 and provides valuable evidence of the history of this model.

Founded in 1953 at the initiative of the German Federal Parliament, the Rat für Formgebung was tasked with promoting excellence in industrial design. Its slide collection, now held by the Deutsches Design Museum, brings together thousands of iconic objects of post-war European design, selected for their aesthetic, technical and functional qualities.

Swiss modernism of the 1950s

The model 57/416 reading lamp illustrates the Swiss post-war approach to lighting, where simplicity of line meets a constant pursuit of functionality. Its weighted brass base ensures perfect stability, while its tubular stem supports an adjustable white lacquered sheet-metal shade, allowing the light to be directed precisely as needed. The balance of its proportions, the quality of its materials and the precision of its manufacture reflect the principles of Swiss modernism, which favors durability and function over ornament.

The weighted domed brass base reflects Dieter Schulz’s research into combining stability, visual lightness and simplicity of form, in the spirit of Swiss-German modernism.