Jasperware Lamp
Antique 19th Century French Neoclassical Table Lamps
Brass
Early 20th Century Unknown Neoclassical Table Lamps
Metal
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Early 20th Century Unknown Empire Table Lamps
Metal
Mid-20th Century British Neoclassical Table Lamps
Ceramic, Faience
Recent Sales
Antique 19th Century British Table Lamps
Antique 19th Century English Table Lamps
Porcelain
Antique Mid-19th Century British Table Lamps
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century English Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic, Porcelain
Antique 1890s English Table Lamps
Ormolu
Antique Early 1900s English Classical Roman Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique Late 19th Century French Grand Tour Table Lamps
Bronze, Ormolu
Early 20th Century American Neoclassical Table Lamps
Carrara Marble, Bronze
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Candelabras
Bronze, Ormolu
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Candelabras
Bronze, Ormolu
21st Century and Contemporary Table Lamps
Ceramic
Vintage 1920s English Neoclassical Table Lamps
Silver Plate
Vintage 1940s American Table Lamps
Ceramic, Wood
People Also Browsed
Mid-20th Century Sculptures and Carvings
Bronze
Antique Late 19th Century European Moorish Architectural Elements
Wrought Iron
21st Century and Contemporary American Anglo-Indian Taxidermy
Wood, Feathers
Antique 19th Century French Art Nouveau Glass
Glass
Early 20th Century English Neoclassical Revival Planters, Cachepots and ...
Ceramic
Antique 19th Century English Chinese Chippendale Vitrines
Glass, Mahogany
Vintage 1960s Mexican Modern Tables
Gold Leaf
Early 20th Century English Neoclassical Pottery
Stoneware
Antique 1890s French Aesthetic Movement Soup Tureens
Faience
Antique Mid-19th Century English Anglo-Japanese Ceramics
Ironstone
20th Century American Wingback Chairs
Wicker
Antique Late 19th Century French Belle Époque Urns
Onyx, Bronze, Enamel, Ormolu
Vintage 1980s North American Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Brass
Mid-19th Century Barbizon School Landscape Paintings
Oil, Board
Antique 19th Century British Chinese Chippendale Wall Mirrors
Giltwood
Antique 19th Century English Renaissance Revival Panelling
Wood, Pine
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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