mahogany, enameled aluminum, brass 41 h × 29 w × 13¾ d in (104 × 74 × 35 cm)
Aptly named Mitragliera (Italian for machine gun), this early lamp featuring a hollow, tapered stand and a circular rod arm that slides to adjust the height recalls the shape of an aimed gun atop a tripod. This example, with its frame and stem made entirely of wood, is the earliest incarnation of this rare design. In search of new possibilities, Albini would later modify this design swapping the wood stem for iron and eventually creating the lamp entirely in brass. Few examples of this early variation are known.
provenance: Private collection, Ancona | Thence by decent
literature: Zero Gravity: Franco Albini, Construire le Modernita, Bucci and Irace, ppg. 265 illustrates variation Custom-Built: The Concept of Unique in Italian Design, Annicchiarico, ppg. 36-39
