Minerva Touch Lamp in Glossy Black from Les First

This elegant table-top lamp brings together innovation and Classical myth for a unique lighting experience. The lamp’s body is crafted from high-quality ceramic in the Venetian tradition, entirely hand-finished. Its bold personality and distinctive flair make this lamp the perfect match for any decorative style in the most prestigious mansions. A bust of the Roman goddess Minerva sits atop the classic column-shaped pedestal. The innovative touch technology allows to switch and adjust the light with a delicate brush of the hand on the ceramic pedestal. The light source is a 7W LED bulb with 3000K lumen and 100-240V voltage.

Les First – Design made in Italy’s very first desktop light sculpture, first in the Light of the Gods collection, Minerva matches the traditional ceramic of Nove (Vicenza) with modern LED light technology, and the art of Giulio Romano, author of the Hall of the Giants in the Palazzo Te of Mantua.

A celebration of the ancient goddess of knowledge, arts and light, it aims to amaze, to embody a new style, to fuse history and innovation into a new concept of energy as a flow. Classic elegance, color and high-tech combine into a sophisticated lamp that switches on and off with a touch, thanks to a dedicated software.

Les First: Light of the Gods
A luminous pantheon reinventing myth in a flow of energy and imagination: light sculptures with a strong and versatile personality, a perfect fit for both classical or minimalist settings, born to satisfy the senses and pay tribute to a timeless beauty.

The Idea: Les First – top quality Italian craftsmanship
All Les First lamps are inspired by the mythological subjects in the frescoes that Renaissance artist Giulio Romano painted in the halls of Palazzo Te for the Gonzaga lords of Mantua. Distinctive design, blending traditional handmade ceramic from potteries of Venetian tradition with specially created, innovative technology, makes the lamps unique in the field of lighting fixtures.
Les First’s top quality table-lamps are crafted in the regions of Lombardy and Veneto. Carefully handpicked artisan workshops craft to specification the various components, that are then assembled in the Les First atelier in Mantova.
The finest ceramics and skilled handcraft guarantee top quality together with the uniqueness of artisanal production.

Technological Innovation: the dimmable touch lamp
The ceramic sculpture, core of the artistic composition, is enhanced by the innovative lighting cylinder of clear acrylic glas.
The micro-incisions, laser-engraved by CNC machines on the cylinder’s surface, ensure an even distribution of light across the whole pane.
The light is switched and adjusted through an innovative dedicated software, especially created by a technical laboratory in Verona. A microprocessor manages and processes the proximity effect of the user’s hand to control and adjust the light. The system, developed especially for Les First, turns the ceramic sculpture into a dimmable Touch Lamp, whose soft glow can be switched on and off and adjusted simply by touching the lamp’s ceramic base, without a conventional on-off switch.

Technical Features:
Weight: 5,8 kg / 12,79 lb
Power consumption: 7 W (LED)
Light source available: 1 Led Strip x 7W
Lumen: 411
Colour temperature: 3000 K
Color Rendering Index (CRI): 90
LED panel lifespan: 50 000 hours
Dimmer: Included
Voltage: 24Vdc
Environment: Indoor
Protection Rating: IP 20
Electric insulation class: 3^
Energetic class: A+

Power Supply Technical Data
Supply included: Yes
Supply voltage: input 100-240V, 50-60HZ; Output 24Vdc
Cord Lenght: 100 cm / 39,37 in

Indoor use only.
Ermes touch lamp is CE certified.

Artisanal Production
Les First’s ceramic lamps are artisanal pieces, and only a few components are made industrially. Due to the complex and many-staged hand production, each lamp can show individual characters, features unique to the hand-crafting process that must not be viewed as faults. A slight unevenness in the ceramic surface can result from shrinkage during the firing stage, or from characteristic features of the antique molds. Colors may show variations, with a very individual and pleasing effect, due to the firing process of the crystalline glaze, such as the typical and prized “crackle”. In the case of gold and silver metallic coating, slight irregular cracks can occur on the surface, as the precious metals and clay undergo different dilations during the various firing and cooling stages. Pieces from the same batch can show a slightly different appearance. Such varying reactions to the manufacturing process cannot be entirely predicted even by the most experienced potter, and are part of the unique and enduring charm of hand-crafted ceramic.
Each lamp is carefully vetted against out exacting quality standards. Les First holds to the highest quality standards for manual production, as established through centuries of experience in the potteries of Vicenza. The element of imperfection, typical of all hand-made products, is not a fault – but rather the mark of Italy’s ancient handcraft tradition.

Assembling
Assembling a Les First lamp from its hand-crafted components requires extremely skilled work, and it is never outsourced: the owner personally assembles each piece with the help of his assistants, making sure that the final result conforms to the chosen quality standard.

Minerva lamp: total weight (lamp + crate) 31 kg / 68,34 lb
External dimension of the crate: 56 x 56 x 106(H) cm / 22,05 x 22,05 x 41,73(H) inches

Maintenance
Ceramic
Use only a soft cotton cloth to clean all Les First ceramic products. Do not use generic degreasers or products for polishing metals.
Glossy ceramic can be cleaned with a slightly moistened, well-wrung cloth, using a small amount of non-aggressive degreaser. Spray the degreaser on the cloth – and never directly on the ceramic surface.
Matte ceramic must only be cleaned with a soft, dry pure cotton cloth.

Metallic Colors (gold, silver, copper)
Some Les First products have a metallic gold, silver or copper surface finish. There are very delicate metal coatings. Clean exclusively with a soft, dry pure cotton cloth, and avoid any strong rubbing of the edges and/or protrusions of the ceramic parts, as this can damage the exterior finish.

Warning: the use of alcohol, or any alcohol based cleaner, will damage the acrylic glas LED panel. Direct exposure to sunlight will also cause damage.
Les First is not liable for damages resulting from improper cleaning/maintenance of its products.

Use and Positioning
All Les First ceramic products are breakable decorative accessories. As such, they must be safely placed on a suitable bearing surface that is absolutely level. All Les First products must not be moved by dragging or pushing them across surfaces; they must be carefully lifted and laid down, with due consideration to the product’s weight, and the supporting surface’s suitability.
Les First will not be liable for damages resulting from any improper use of its products.