Corona Danish art light by Jo Hammerborg for Fog & Mørup, early 60s

With its futuristic rocket-shaped outline, Jo Hammerborg's Corona is a space-age classic and beautifully captures the optimistic mood and silvery aesthetic of the Apollo moon landing – so it's startling to realise that he actually created it sometime between 1957 and 1963, in the early period of his 23-year reign as head of design at top Danish lighting company Fog & Mørup. What is no surprise, however, given the Corona's sleek and glossy modernist lines, is that Hammerborg's background before he joined Fog & Mørup was in fine art and silversmithing, and that he spent eight years at Denmark's most prestigious jewellery producer Georg Jensen before joining Fog & Mørup. 

The Corona is a powerful statement piece with a substantial profile, standing 45 cm tall with a 23 cm diameter. Quietly elegant when not in use, it transforms when the bulb is lit into a stunning work of art – the cerise colour inside the central band reflecting off its spun aluminium exterior as if preparing for launch. It is an early and seminal example of the class of Danish art light we personally call psychedelic modernism, a term that neatly encompasses much of what is so distinctive about the work of the best Danish designers of the space-age era. This particular example of the Corona is in exceptional condition with barely a mark to show for its 60-year lifespan beyond a small ding near the top of the cone (see photos). It takes a standard Edison screw bulb max 100w (not supplied).