Christian Dell

Christian Dell (1893-1974) was a German silversmith remembered today mainly for his pioneering work in the creation of lamps. From 1922 to 1925 he is responsible for the metallurgy laboratory of the Bauhaus school in Weimar, where he has the opportunity to collaborate with László Moholy-Nagy, who is at the head of his department. Among his students, there is Wilhelm Wagenfeld, who shortly thereafter designs the most famous and iconic Bauhaus lamp, known today by the name of WG 24. In that period, Dell still concentrates his silversmith activity mainly on cutlery and accessories for the table: his first lamp dates back to 1927-1928 and combines a spartan and industrial aesthetic with technical innovations destined to set a precedent, including a spherical joint that allows the lamp arm to rotate 360°. Working on the refinements of this initial idea, Dell gives life to over 500 lamp models during the following decade, of which the most famous remains the Idell series produced by the Kaiser brand and characterised by its softened and refined lines. Dell teaches silversmithing from 1926 to 1933 at the Frankfurtr Kunstschule, from which he is later expelled by the Nazi regime. After the war, instead, he runs a goldsmith and jewelery shop in Wiesbaden. His Kaiser Idell series, still very popular, is now part of the catalogue of the Danish brand Fritz Hansen.