Sure Fontana Arte dates back to famed Architect Gio Ponti’s “artistic” ambitions and the company called Luigi Fontana; and, sure, its lineage is as a global leader in glass manufacturing and design; and, yes, the company has collaborated with architects, artists, and designers as diverse as Piero and Livio Castiglioni, Gae Aulenti, and Marco Acerbis on architectural and lighting installations many and varied, including Vienna’s Style Hotel, Milan’s Scuola Politecnica di Design, and Barcelona’s Museo Nacional de Arte de Catalunya.

Uovo Lamp. Manufactured by Fontana Arte.

But for my money, these achievements pale in comparison to the incredible, edible egg. Dedicated readers might recall my penchant for this elemental ovoid. First there was the Egg Chair, then Armourcoat’s Eight Story Egg, then the Egg Bed, each of which sang the praises of the lovely contours, the comforting symbolism, the undeniable atavistic pull of this perfect source of protein. Well, Fontana Arte’s classic Uovo Lamp may not provide bodily sustenance, but it’s sure to remind you of the conundrum of ultimate origins. This 1972 piece—made of hand blown glass in an ivory metal frame with opal blown glass diffuser—evokes both conception and birth, the comforts of the womb and the mysteries of creation.

Morocco Lamps installed at the Style Hotel. Manufactured by Fontana Arte.

Different models product different effects. As a table lamp, it sits idly by, like an omniscient icon. Casting a somewhat ethereal (yet white and bright and enviably even) glow, it admirably illuminates the surroundings while imparting a surreal intelligence. Then there’s the Uovo Wall Lamp. Halved and pegged to the wall like an alien torchiere with tentacled suckers, it re-invents the Gothic, transforming dimly-lit hallways and serpentine passages into corridors of splendid luminescence, where your imagination is the only element not in broad relief. Or try the Uovo Suspension Lamp: its transparent feeding cable lets it hover unmoored, enlivening the surrounding darkness with an aura of sublime beneficience.

Uovo certainly has a vintage appeal. Its aesthetic hearkens back to a muted psychedelica, a mise-en-scene of overlit interiors and shattered darkness a la Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and 2001. But that doesn’t diminish its contemporary appeal. Equally at home in the media room or the drawing room, the cavernous porticoes of stone edifices or the cozy confines of a modular cabin, Forntana Arte’s Uovo transcends time and space.