The making of lotus
FROM FIRE TO FORM
Few lighting designs capture the relationship between glass and light as compellingly as Carlo Nason’s Lotus Table Lamp. Designed in 1969, the lamp is built around a simple yet technically demanding idea. Four individually crafted, mouth-blown glass shades nest within one another, gradually revealing their layered composition as the lamp is illuminated.
Gathering the glass
Each of the four glass shades that form the Lotus Lamp begins with a gather of molten glass, taken directly from the furnace by a master glassblower. Working at temperatures between 1,100–1,200°C (2,010–2,190°F), the artisan shapes the glowing glass on the blowpipe, creating the foundation for one of the lamp’s individual layers. Each shade is crafted separately, requiring consistency from the outset to ensure the four elements can later be assembled into a balanced whole.
CREATING THE TEXTURE
While the glass remains hot, it undergoes the traditional pulegoso process, an Italian glassmaking technique developed during the early twentieth century. The hot glass is rolled in fine granules, which initiate a reaction that suspends thousands of microscopic air bubbles within the glass’s clear layers. These bubbles do more than define the surface. As light passes through the glass, they scatter and soften the illumination, producing the soft, diffused glow that characterizes the Lotus Lamp.
SHAPING THE LAYERS
Using traditional mouth-blowing techniques, the artisan gradually inflates the glass, which is then blown into a precision mold to achieve its final curvature, diameter, and profile. The process is repeated four times. Each shade is created to a different scale, with proportions carefully controlled so the completed elements nest naturally within one another, creating the Lotus Lamp’s signature layered form.
REFINING THE GLASS
Once formed, every shade is inspected by hand for proportion, wall thickness, transparency, and bubble distribution before passing through a controlled annealing process. Cooling the glass gradually relieves internal stresses, strengthening the material. No two shades emerge exactly alike. Subtle variations in texture, curvature, and bubble pattern are a natural part of the glassmaking process, giving each lamp its own character while remaining true to Carlo Nason’s original design.
Bringing the lamp together
Only once all four shades are complete does the Lotus Lamp take its final form. Each glass element is assembled around a precisely engineered steel structure that supports the layered arrangement while concealing the light source from view.
A lasting expression of light
The making of the Lotus Lamp is an exercise in consistency rather than uniformity. Every stage follows the same process, yet no two finished lamps are ever exactly alike, reflecting the subtle variations inherent to handcrafted glass. More than five decades after its introduction, the Lotus remains a testament to Carlo Nason’s enduring vision, demonstrating how layered glass can transform the experience of light and, with it, shape the atmosphere of a space.