Apparatus Returns After Five Years with Persian Mythology Collection

New York design studio Apparatus has released Act V: Afsaneh, its first full collection since 2019 — a lighting and furniture line in bronze, brass and glass built around Persian mythology.

The collection takes its name from founder Gabriel Hendifar's background. Afsaneh translates to "fable" and is also the name of Hendifar's mother, tying the project directly to his personal life.

What does the collection contain?

Act V: Afsaneh is mostly lighting: pendants, chandeliers and sconces, alongside a line of tables and a table-like object designed to hold incense.

Blown glass forms both the material and conceptual core of the lighting, representing the cycle of a seed and, in the studio's words, the "divine feminine and the pursuit of knowledge".

"Life is shaped by cycles," said Hendifar. "Creation and destruction. The separation from self and the return. It's in these cycles that the collection finds its rhythm. The seed becomes the flower."

The pieces follow that narrative arc:

• Esfand, the seed: sconces with blown glass wrapped in lacquer settings in colours described as "milk, honey and pomegranate". The lacquered elements also appear as table vessels without the glass light element.
• Gol, the flower: pendants with large domes of semi-translucent fibreglass, split in the middle to reveal smaller speckled, elongated glass orbs, tapering into polished aluminium finishes.
• Rahvi, the serpent: a highly figurative modular chandelier representing the collection of knowledge, with glass orbs sitting in the crooks of water-formed brass pieces that make up the snake's body.

Rahvi is highly customisable. Some demo pieces stretch across multiple suspension cables, and rings made from precious stones such as onyx and tiger's eye can be placed around the brass elements.

A shift toward narrative design

Apparatus said the materials combine "ancient" materials with contemporary explorations in technique.

Hendifar has drawn on ancient symbols and Persian culture in past collections, but Act V marks a figurative turn for the studio, reflecting a move toward more narrative forms.

The release extends beyond objects. The collection includes a custom incense made with Cinnamon Projects, and Apparatus produced a series of short films for the launch with the Martha Graham Dance Company.

The studio has spent recent years renovating its Los Angeles location into a "modernist grotto" and opening a London space. With Act V, Apparatus signals that its five-year silence has ended not just with new products but with a new storytelling ambition.