Italian ‘Fantasma Piccolo’ Cocoon Floor Lamp by Tobia Scarpa for Flos, 1961
Rare and quietly sculptural, the Fantasma Piccolo floor lamp distills Tobia Scarpa’s poetic vision of modern lighting. Designed in 1961, its elongated cocoon form captures the era’s fascination with organic silhouettes and new materials. Scarpa and his contemporaries sought to move beyond the rigidity of modernism, weaving softness, tactility, and atmosphere into design.
The lamp’s metal armature is sprayed with resin in the so-called “cocoon” technique—an innovation first used by Castiglioni for Flos, developed by Italian manufacturers experimenting with polymer technologies. Once hardened, the filaments create a translucent skin that glows from within, diffusing light in a way that feels both fragile and enveloping.
The lamp rises from a looping base, a sculptural counterbalance that anchors the gossamer shade with architectural intent. When lit, the cocoon surface radiates a warm, ethereal glow, the light bending around its sensuous curves and turning structure into atmosphere.
Both functional and atmospheric, Fantasma Piccolo slips easily into a minimalist interior, beside a low sofa or reading chair, or standing alone as a luminous sculpture. It remains one of Scarpa’s most lyrical designs—an object that embodies the optimism and experimentation of Italian lighting in the 1960s.
DIMENSIONS: 19"W x 19"D x 73.5"H
ORIGIN: Italy
PERIOD: 1960s
MATERIALS: Resin,Metal
CONDITION:
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