Online Pamono Butterfly Wall Lamp Sconce by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Flos, Italy, 1980s

A special, poetic and currently discontinued wall light, designed by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for the Italian company “Flos” in the 1980s. In 2007 John Galliano designed a summer collection for Christian Dior inspired by Giacomo Puccini’s famous opera “Madame Butterfly” but Afra and Tobia Scarpa anticipated him by thirty years with this floor lamp. The body of the wall lamp is in metallic pearl white enamelled metal, surmounted by two oval frosted glasses that hide and diffuse the light of a halogen lamp. Magic and mystery come into play by mounting the 2 large adjustable and directional fans, in pleated fabric. They can be moved as in a traditional Geisha or Maiko dance performance to shade or increase the intensity of the light. The reference to Japan is found not only in the fan shape of the lampshades but also in the fabric in which they are made, which is reminiscent of rice paper. The lamp is functional and more than in good vintage condition, we could say almost new. Equipped with original box and packaging, it appears to have been assembled for the first time to photograph it.