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Rietveld Collection Expanded with a Unique Wall Lamp
The Centraal Museum has made a remarkable acquisition: a unique wall lamp by Gerrit Rietveld. Only one example of this design is known to exist.
19 Mar 2026
Gerrit Rietveld designed various pieces of furniture and lighting for the Rietveld Schröder House, but also created interiors for other homes and clients. This unique wall lamp (c. 1935) is a fine example. It clearly reflects Rietveld’s pursuit of simplicity: a chrome-plated brass frame with five opal glass panels, mounted on a brass base with a lamp holder.
Gerrit Rietveld, Wall lamp, c. 1935, inv. no. 36387. Collection Centraal Museum Utrecht. © Pictoright
Around 1935, the lamp was offered for sale at the Amsterdam avant-garde department store Metz & Co. It came into the possession of Ada Helena Hondius-Crone (1893–1996), a Dutch feminist, patron of the arts and art collector. Over a period of several decades, she commissioned work from progressive designers and architects. Around 1935, she asked Gerrit Rietveld to renovate one of her homes, Villa Vijverhof in Bloemendaal.
In addition to a large tubular lamp that Rietveld designed for the interior, he also installed this small wall lamp in the villa in Bloemendaal. An eye-catching feature in the modern, light-filled interior. Since 1990, the lamp has appeared at international auctions twice. It eventually found its way into private collections and the Dutch art trade.
TEFAF 2026
During TEFAF Maastricht 2026, the wall lamp was presented by Galerie Van den Bruinhorst as part of the Focus presentation ‘Rietveld’s Visions’. The Centraal Museum has acquired the wall lamp, adding another remarkable Rietveld design to its collection.
The unique wall lamp is expected to go on display in Collection Central at the end of this year.