the checklist for this modelPH 5 pendant: real or reproduction
A genuine one typically changes hands at €350, and a good reproduction sells for €60 to €140. That gap is why you turn the piece over before you pay.
Below is the whole checklist we run on this model, 5 markers, written so you could run it by hand. Send your photos and we read the most decisive one free.
The markers that decide it
- 01
maker's text
Louis Poulsen prints or stamps its name, and usually the Poul Henningsen name and a date, on the top shade. The text is small, even and slightly sunk into the paint. Stickers or absent text are flags.
- 02
inner cone colours
The original has a red and a blue detail on the inner shades that you can only see from below. Copies leave them out, or get the tone and placement wrong.
- 03
shade edge and paint
Rolled edges, thick even paint inside and out, and no light leaking through the metal at the edge. Thin, sharp edges and translucent paint are reproduction.
- 04
shade geometry
Three shades in a specific stack so no bulb is visible from any normal angle. If you can see the bulb from the side, the geometry is wrong.
- 05
socket house and suspension
Original socket houses are metal with a correct cord grip and a maker-marked ceiling cup. Plastic housings and generic cord kits point to a copy or a rewire.
This is an evidenced opinion read from photographs, never a certificate. A photograph cannot tell us what the piece weighs or how it sounds, and every report names what we could not check.
What one is worth
range as of September 2026
- low
- €180
- typical
- €350
- high
- €700
- good reproduction
- €60 to €140
Read from public results on Catawiki, LiveAuctioneers, Pamono, 1stDibs and Whoppah, for a piece in honest used condition. Condition, provenance and finish move it.
Check the one you are looking at
free · no account · PH 5 pendantThe shots that decide it
If the piece is in front of you, take these. If it is still in the seller's house, look for them in the listing and ask for the ones that are missing.
- 01the top shade from above, showing any printed or stamped maker text
- 02the inside of the lamp looking up, showing the inner cone and its colour
- 03the shade edges from the side, whole lamp
- 04the suspension and the socket house, close
Add the photos
Up to six photos of the piece itself. Your own are the strongest evidence. The seller's photos out of the listing work too: copy an image from the listing and paste it here, or drag it straight onto this page. We say on your case which photos came from where, and a verdict read off a seller's photograph stops at moderate confidence. Renders, generated images and catalogue pictures of another example are refused.
Or drag photos here. From a listing in another tab: copy the image, then press ctrl and V to paste it.
Add at least one photo. The plate under the seat matters most.