Pair of “Mars” Table Lamps, Model 5937 – Per Sundstedt for Ateljé Lyktan, Sweden, circa 1970s–1980s

A considered and beautifully engineered pair of Swedish mid-century table lamps, the “Mars” is one of the most accomplished designs to emerge from the fertile decade of Scandinavian lighting innovation that defined the 1970s. Designed by Per Sundstedt in 1972 — originally for Kosta Lampan — the Mars went on to become one of the most recognisable lamps of its era, produced across multiple variants over more than a decade. When Kosta Lampan was absorbed into the Fagerhult Group in 1977, production of the Mars was continued under Ateljé Lyktan, one of Sweden’s most celebrated lighting studios and the maker responsible for icons such as the Bumling and the Softling.

This particular pair — both bearing model number 5937 and the original Ateljé Lyktan label on their bases — represents the lamp at its most elegant. The design is immediately legible as a product of its time: clean, functional, and quietly confident, with not a single unnecessary element. A broad, gently sloping opaline plastic shade sits atop a polished chrome stem that rises from a flat, white-lacquered circular metal base. The stem is articulated, allowing the shade to be adjusted in height, and a perforated grey metal top ring crowns the shade, adding both a technical and aesthetic detail. Viewed from below, the textured silver reflector bowl — which distributes light softly and evenly downward — reveals the lamp’s thoughtful optical engineering.

What makes this pair particularly interesting is the documentary detail it provides. The two lamps carry slightly different model labels on their bases, indicating they were produced in different production runs — almost certainly at different points within the late 1970s to early 1980s window. Their cables also differ, one white and one black, with each lamp’s inline switch matching its own cable colour. This is not a later modification: the alignment of switch and cable colour confirms these are factory-original configurations, offering a small but telling window into how Ateljé Lyktan varied their production across series while maintaining a consistent design identity.

Both lamps are in excellent vintage condition. The opaline plastic shades are free of cracks, discolouration, and scuff marks — a remarkable state of preservation for shades of this age and material. The white lacquered bases show only minor spotting consistent with careful long-term storage. Both original reflectors are present and intact. One lamp retains its original black rubber base protection ring; the other carries a replacement. Both lamps are in full working order.

The Mars in its table lamp configuration is considerably rarer on the market than the floor lamp version, and a matched pair in this condition — particularly one with such clear provenance across two production runs — is an exceptional find for any serious collector of Scandinavian design.