10 years after the debut of Adriano Rachele’s Clizia, a luminous suspension lamp whose diffuser is constructed of intricate folds of Cristalplant, manufacturer Slamp commemorates the best-selling light with a golden version. Called, “Clizia Mama non Mama” (“Clizia Loves Me Loves Me Not”), the new iteration is especially apropos when considering its origin story.

The myth goes that the nymph Clizia, having been rejected by sun-god Helios, pined away and was gradually transformed into a Heliotrope, otherwise known as a sunflower.

Beyond the metaphorical heft, Clizia is an extraordinary technical achievement. Its floral form is achieved via a painstaking method of hand assembly in which square elements of Cristalflex (Slamp’s proprietary cold-cut, hand-molded technopolymer) are interlocked. The tenth anniversary edition exhibits a further innovation—application of a two-sided gold foil to achieve a translucent craquelé effect: “a delicate reproduction of the texture of human skin with its fine cracks… the ‘petals’ of the luminous objects acquire an extra thickness and materiality, allowing light to filter through in a wide range of effects reminiscent of the warmth of sunlight.”  

I’m reminded of the way a flashlight held up to a finger seems to reveal the intricacies of the circulatory system beneath, or how the right angle of sunlight can illuminate the interior of a butterfly’s wings.

In its delightfully unpredictable illumination, its approximations of the way light needs darkness and darkness needs light, Clizia Mama non Mama captivates and mystifies, “paying homage to gold as the physical manifestation of sunlight and emanating rich, energetic perfection.”

Read more at Slamp.