Design | Alhambra-inspired Porcelain Lights by Alessandro Zambelli

MANTUA, ITALY — Italian designer Alessandro Zambelli excels in creating quirky, yet skillfully-executed works in contemporary ceramics. Unfortunately, the one we’re showcasing for you today is something like vaporware. His Moresque pendant and table lamps are mentioned on both his and Seletti’s web sites, but both links lead to empty pages. DesignMilk reported on them about a year ago, but Seletti’s page states they’re “coming soon.”

Whether or not that’s the case, these porcelain lights are worth a look. They take their design from the Alhambra palace in Granada, Andalusia, Spain; a fortress built in 889 then renovated by the Moors in the mid-13th century. The lights are constructed in bands of varying size. Each band is decorated by a simple, yet distinctive pattern. We found our eye searching the fine, razor thin lines of detail in some of the patterns, only to have that exercise broken by a solid band of color in the adjacent component. It feels very satisfying. There’s a diverse palette, ranging from turquoise, burnt orange, green, indigo and gray.

Zambelli lives and works in Mantua, Italy. He studied industrial design at the Cova School of Design in Milan and he began his career with the bathroom designer Agape in 2000. Three years later he founded his own design studio. He began working with Seletti in 2006. He is a recipient of a 2011 European Consumers Choice Award and a 2012 NYIGF award. He’s worked with furniture designer Caimi Brevetti, clock manufacturer Diamantini & Domeniconi and leather goods designer Rudi Rabitti. Zambelli is a co-founder of Padiglione Italia, a collective that focuses on the work of Italian designers. He’s exhibited in Beijing, New York, Tokyo and numerous other international design fairs.

Do you love or loathe these contemporary ceramics? Let us know in the comments.