Blanc De Chine Ginger Jar Lamps
Mid-20th Century Italian Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Ceramic
Vintage 1980s Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Mid-20th Century Unknown Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Porcelain
Vintage 1950s Table Lamps
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Unknown Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Porcelain, Wood
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Pottery
Recent Sales
20th Century Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Ceramic
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic
20th Century Irish Anglo-Japanese Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 19th Century Chinese Table Lamps
Porcelain
Vintage 1960s Chinese Other Table Lamps
Porcelain
20th Century Chinese Hollywood Regency Ceramics
Brass
20th Century Chinese Hollywood Regency Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s Japanese Hollywood Regency Table Lamps
Brass
20th Century American Hollywood Regency Table Lamps
Ceramic
Vintage 1970s American Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Planters, Cachepots...
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Japanese Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Pottery, Majolica, Ceramic
Vintage 1930s Asian Table Lamps
Ceramic
20th Century Chinese Table Lamps
Porcelain
Vintage 1960s Chinese Chinese Export Table Lamps
Porcelain
20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Porcelain, Mahogany
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1990s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
20th Century American Chinoiserie Wall Mirrors
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Philippine Art Deco Night Stands
Brass
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
2010s American Georgian Dining Room Tables
Mahogany, Satinwood
21st Century and Contemporary American Club Chairs
Cotton, Linen, Wood, Down
Antique 19th Century Bergere Chairs
Fabric, Wood, Paint
20th Century Chinoiserie Floor Mirrors and Full-Length Mirrors
Metal, Silver Leaf
Vintage 1960s Japanese Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Ceramic
2010s Chinese Table Lamps
Bronze
Vintage 1950s American Neoclassical Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1960s Art Deco Table Lamps
Stained Glass
Late 20th Century American Organic Modern Natural Specimens
Coral
20th Century English Georgian Tableware
Silver, Sterling Silver
Late 20th Century Jewelry Boxes
Shell
Finding the Right Table-lamps for You
Well-crafted antique and vintage table lamps do more than provide light; the right fixture-and-table combination can add a focal point or creative element to any interior.
Proper table lamps have long been used for lighting our most intimate spaces. Perfect for lighting your nightstand or reading nook, table lamps play an integral role in styling an inviting room. In the years before electricity, lamps used oil. Today, a rewired 19th-century vintage lamp can still provide a touch of elegance for a study.
After industrial milestones such as mass production took hold in the Victorian era, various design movements sought to bring craftsmanship and innovation back to this indispensable household item. Lighting designers affiliated with Art Deco, which originated in the glamorous roaring ’20s, sought to celebrate modern life by fusing modern metals with dark woods and dazzling colors in the fixtures of the era. The geometric shapes and gilded details of vintage Art Deco table lamps provide an air of luxury and sophistication that never goes out of style.
After launching in 1934, Anglepoise lamps soon became a favorite among modernist architects and designers, who interpreted the fixture as “a machine for lighting,” just as Le Corbusier had reimagined the house as “a machine for living in.” The popular task light owed to a collaboration between a vehicle-suspension engineer by the name of George Carwardine and a West Midlands springs manufacturer, Herbert Terry Sons.
Some mid-century modern table lamps, particularly those created by the likes of Joe Colombo and the legendary lighting artisans at Fontana Arte, bear all the provocative hallmarks associated with Space Age design. Sculptural and versatile, the Louis Poulsen table lamps of that period were revolutionary for their time and still seem innovative today.
If you are looking for something more contemporary, industrial table lamps are demonstrative of a newly chic style that isn’t afraid to pay homage to the past. They look particularly at home in any rustic loft space amid exposed brick and steel beams.
Before you buy a desk lamp or table lamp for your living room, consider your lighting needs. The Snoopy lamp, designed in 1967, or any other “banker’s lamp” (shorthand for the Emeralite desk lamps patented by H.G. McFaddin and Company), provides light at a downward angle that is perfect for writing, while the Fontana table lamp and the beloved Grasshopper lamp by Greta Magnusson-Grossman each yield a soft and even glow. Some table lamps require lampshades to be bought separately.
Whether it’s a classic antique Tiffany table lamp, a Murano glass table lamp or even a bold avant-garde fixture custom-made by a contemporary design firm, the right table lamp can completely transform a room. Find the right one for you on 1stDibs.
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