An early Saturn pendant light by Jo Hammerborg for Fog & Morup, late 1950s

An early Saturn pendant light by Jo Hammerborg for Fog & Morup, late 1950s

The Saturn was one of Jo Hammerborg's first designs when he took over as director of design at Fog & Mørup at the end of the 1950s and began the process of transforming the company's product lines, bringing in a new modernist aesthetic that was strongly informed by his previous work as a silversmith at Georg Jensen. The Saturn's banded design and distinctive combination of copper, black and orange became a theme that Hammerborg explored in many variations of proportion during his 20-year incumbency at Fog and Morup, and the brass stem of this particular Saturn marks it out as one of the earliest examples produced and dates it to the period between 1957 and 1963 – later editions had a black stem. Measuring 30 cm in diameter and 19 cm in height, the lamp is in excellent condition with just a few small spots of patination.