Rare Vela Ceiling Light Model 12385 by Arredoluce

Angelo Lelii for Arredoluce rare Vela ceiling light, model 12385, in lacquered aluminum, brass and nylon cord, Monza, Italy, circa 1951.

The modernist Vela ceiling light is an exceptionally sculptural ceiling light built around a dramatically curved white lacquered aluminum reflector suspended by fine nylon cords. Its raised corners evoke the form of a sail—vela in Italian—giving the fixture an extraordinary sense of lightness and movement.

Beneath the reflector, an elongated black lacquered aluminum light is positioned asymmetrically along the slender brass structure, creating a striking counterbalance between the broad white sail-like plane and the compact dark element below. The brass framework extends from the ceiling canopy through an angled central support and terminates in finely articulated details. Polished brass, contrasting lacquered surfaces and the nearly invisible nylon suspension combine to give the light a dynamic architectural presence.

Designed circa 1951, the Vela belongs to the formative period of Arredoluce and represents Lelii at his most inventive. Rather than treating the ceiling light as a conventional fixture, Lelii conceived model 12385 as a suspended architectural composition in which structure, light and balance are inseparable.

Produced in limited numbers and appearing only infrequently on the market, the model is extensively documented in the literature on Arredoluce and postwar Italian lighting. Its radical asymmetry, tensioned nylon cord and sail-like reflector distinguish it from more conventional lighting of the period and demonstrate the experimental approach that established Arredoluce as one of Italy’s most important postwar lighting manufacturers.

A rare and iconic example of Angelo Lelii’s early work for Arredoluce and one of his most recognizable ceiling light designs, the Vela remains a remarkably modern expression of postwar Italian lighting.