PH Artichoke 50th Anniversary Edition

To celebrate the PH Artichoke’s half-century anniversary ("PH" stands for Poul Henningsen), Louis Poulsen is creating a limited edition series of 50 gold Artichokes. Each of the 33"-diameter lamps’s 72 "leaves" will be gilded in 24-carat gold and each lighting fixture will be numbered 1 through 50.

Henningsen’s ceiling pendant, which now lights homes, offices, and institutions around the world, was originally designed at the request of architects Eva and Nils Koppel in 1954, when they won a competition to build the new Langelinie Pavillion banquet hall and restaurant in Copenhagen. The architects wanted "festive yet cozy" chandeliers to give bring a sense of unity to the U-shaped arrangement of dining rooms. Voila: the PH Artichoke.

But commemorating design history comes at a cost: Each anniversary PH Artichoke will be sold for €70,000, or just under $100,000.