Table Lamp Model "12826 Pekino"
Manufactured by Arredoluce
Italy, 1960s
Glass, Brass

Measurements
21 × 21 × 25h cm
8,3 × 8,3 × 9,8h in

About
Designed in 1960 by Elio Monesi for Arredoluce, the “12826 Pekino” table lamp is a compact yet sculptural object that exemplifies the refined materiality and geometric clarity of Italian modernist lighting. Crafted in brass and glass, the lamp features a cubic form with soft contours, achieving a visual balance between precision and warmth.
The model’s name—Pekino—hints at an abstracted dialogue with Asian architectural forms, distilled into a minimalist, functional structure. The design is elegant in its restraint, with subtle details in proportion and material finish that elevate it beyond mere utility.

Biography
Elio Monesi (1927-1994). Graduating in 1953, after attending and graduating from Brera´s artistic high school, he founded a company making funerary monuments to build chapels for the Musocco cementery, “Artenuova”, which he sold at the end of 1960. He then opened his own studio in Via delle Ore and worked with another architect, Salvadè, in Via Mario Pagano, dedicating himself above all to building (with Ceretti). With the sculptor Remo Braschi he made the Fontana del Nuotatore in the square in front of the Palazzo del Turismo in Rimini (1958).
He also worked as a consultant for interior design for De Padova and their acquaintance and collaboration was probably part of relationship between Lelii and De Padova.
Monesi was responsible for two complete series of lamps in polished and nicke-plated brass, dated 1960 and 1961, the model 12813 ceiling lamp, and the model 12865 ceiling lamp.
However, it should be remembered that Monesi also designed other lamps for Arredoluce, which he included in his interior designs: typical of this was his use of opal white duplex glass, re-proposed and used in several ways.