Soviet JP54 "Rocket" Spotlight Floor Lamp | Vintage 1970s USSR Studio Light on Ertel-Werk Tripod
Soviet JP54 "Rocket" Spotlight Floor Lamp | Vintage 1970s USSR Studio Light on Ertel-Werk Tripod
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A genuinely unusual Soviet studio spotlight, its rounded, finned shape earning it two nicknames in the vintage trade, the lemon press and the rocket, mounted here on a German army field tripod from Munich's Ertel-Werk.
At a glance
| Origin | Soviet Union |
| Produced | Circa 1970s |
| Model | JP54 |
| Nicknames | Also known as the lemon press, or the rocket |
| Condition | Original vintage item, honest signs of wear |
| Wiring | Rewired, E27 fitting, approx. 3m electrical cord, switch, plug |
| Bulb | Compatible with any standard LED or incandescent bulb; bulb shown in photos included |
| Adjustability | Fully adjustable in any direction |
| Tripod | Vintage wooden field tripod by Ertel-Werk, Munich |
| Spotlight dimensions | 26 x 27 x 26 cm (10.2" x 10.6" x 10.2") |
| Total height (adjustable) | 105–152 cm (41.3"–59.8") |
| Availability | One of one, once sold this exact piece will not return |
| Import duty | Payable by the buyer in their own country |
| Shipping note | Pickup available; due to the fragility of the glass, please contact us about shipping options |
The story
Its shape is what gives this Soviet spotlight away before anything else does: a rounded, ribbed housing that tapers toward the lens, distinctive enough that collectors in the vintage trade know it by nickname as often as by model number, the lemon press for its squat, segmented body, or the rocket for its tapering, finned profile. This example is marked JP54 and dates to the 1970s, produced in the Soviet Union at a time when studio and stage lighting across the Eastern Bloc favoured this kind of rugged, unmistakably industrial design, built to work reliably rather than to look refined.
The tripod underneath it comes from a very different tradition. Ertel-Werk of Munich was a precision instrument maker with roots stretching back to the early nineteenth century, to a workshop founded in 1802 by Georg von Reichenbach and later continued under Traugott Ertel's name, building astronomical and surveying instruments known across Germany for their accuracy. That precision made the company useful to the war effort during the Second World War, when it was called on to manufacture components for the Enigma cipher machine, before turning fully to wartime production. This folding wooden field tripod, built for exactly that standard of purpose-built engineering, now supports a fixture from the opposite side of the Cold War entirely, two very different national traditions of precision manufacturing standing together in one floor lamp.
The spotlight has been fully rewired for safe home or studio use, fitted with an E27 fitting, a switch, a plug, and roughly 3 metres of cable, so it accepts any standard LED or incandescent bulb. The one shown in the photographs is included. As an original vintage piece, it carries honest signs of wear, exactly what makes it genuinely unique rather than a reproduction.
Suited to collectors of Soviet and Eastern Bloc design, interior designers looking for a bold, conversation-starting statement piece, and anyone furnishing a loft, studio, or living space who wants a lamp unlike anything else in the room.