Brass Table Lamp ‘Trombone’

A Scandinavian Modern table lamp in brass, the ‘Trombone’ was designed by Jo Hammerborg in 1966 and made by Fog & Mørup in Denmark during the 1960s. A slim golden cylinder hangs between two upright rods and pivots on its axis like an instrument held at rest, so the light can be tipped towards a page, a wall or the ceiling with one easy turn.

Hammerborg came to lighting with a silversmith’s eye, and it shows in how little this lamp needs. Danish lighting of the period was about directing light rather than displaying the bulb, and here the whole idea lives in one plain tube. Each end is edged with a fine row of slots that lets a thin halo escape, while the white interior sends a clean beam where it is wanted. The rest is reduced to a ladder of brass tubing on a small brown base, a frame drawn with a ruler and finished with the care of a jeweller.

This example carries the honest marks of a life in use. The brass has mellowed to a warm, soft gold, one side of the shade holds more fine scratches than the other, and the original label inside has been left just as it was found. Set it on a desk and angle the beam onto your work, or turn the shade upward on a sideboard to wash the wall in amber. Once the room goes dark, the slotted rims trace a delicate ring of light around the metal.

Lamp shade can we rotated, dimensions change.