The design of the Moooi Emperor Lamp was inspired by an Asian folklore story of an Asian Emperor and a beautiful Nightingale. The story goes like this: Once upon a time the Emperor was given a Nightingale as a gift. The bird was so beautiful and sang in such a bewitching way that the Emperor fell immediately in love with it and decided to keep it forever by his side. So the Nightingale was put in a beautiful, majestic cage in the imperial chambers and became the delight of the Emperors days.
The Emperor Lamp is modelled on this story and the shade is supposed to resemble the cage.
Each Moooi cage is woven by hand and therefore has a unique character. There is a touch dimmer that is operated by touching the stem.
Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu are the Founding Partners of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, a design practice that embodies architecture, master planning, interior design, product design and graphic design based in Shanghai, China, which won AR Awards for Emerging Architecture 2010 by Architectural Review, UK and was selected as one of the ten firms for Design Vanguard 2009 by Architectural Record, USA. Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu also founded Design Republic, a design platform which promotes and retails a unique collection of products created by the world’s best design talents.