Ettore Sottsass ID-S Floor Lamp for Zumtobel

The ID-S is Ettore Sottsass at his most practical — and that makes it fascinating. Designed for the Austrian lighting manufacturer Zumtobel in 1987, this floor lamp takes the playful geometry and bold thinking of the Memphis movement and channels it into a functional uplighter that genuinely illuminates a room.

The aluminium body rises to 185 centimetres, topped by a glass shade that diffuses light upward and outward in a soft, ambient wash. Integrated wheels at the base allow the lamp to be repositioned effortlessly — a practical touch that reflects Sottsass's understanding that good design serves daily life, not just gallery walls. The proportions are deliberately sculptural: the vertical column, the angled shade, the low rolling base create a composition that reads as both lighting fixture and standing sculpture.

This ID-S is in good condition and fully functional. The lamp shows minor wear consistent with nearly four decades of life, the electrical components work as intended, and the glass shade is intact. The aluminium finish retains its original character, and the wheels still roll smoothly.

Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) is one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century. Born in Innsbruck, educated in Turin, and based in Milan, he founded the Memphis group in 1981, launching a revolution against minimalist orthodoxy with furniture and objects that embraced colour, pattern and geometric playfulness. The ID-S lamp, designed six years into the Memphis era, shows a more mature Sottsass — still inventive, still unconventional, but increasingly interested in how radical design thinking could serve everyday function.

This lamp brings genuine design history into a living space. It lights a room beautifully while serving as a conversation piece that connects you to one of the most important design movements of the late twentieth century.