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Midcentury Abstract Wood Carvings
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A set of three carved wood wall sculptures in a slightly cubist style. These appear to be totems or
Category
Vintage 1950s American Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Wood
$2,400 / set
Witches Broom Burlwood Tree Sculptures
Located in Rochester, NY
the bottom and iron rod mounted on welded steel bases as dramatic totemic sculptural objects. On the
Category
20th Century American Organic Modern Mounted Objects
Materials
Steel
$1,650 / set
Pukumoni Pole Australian Aboriginal Art from Tiwi Island
By Romelo Tipiloura
Located in Atlanta, GA
Pukumoni Pole is a clan totem pole from Tiwi Island off the northern Australian coast. It is made
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Australian Folk Art Tribal Art
Abstract Wooden Sculpture by Aldo Dezza, Italy, 1960s
Located in Rotterdam, ZH
wood and made in the second half of the 1960s. The Totem sculpture is in an excellent original
Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Cedar
French Cast Bronze Abstract Sculpture by Fitzia
By Fitzia
Located in Chicago, IL
and collages.
This small bronze TOTEM like form is very influenced by Picasso and other artists
Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Architectural Model by Pierre Parat, France, 1960
Located in London, GB
headquarters of the pyramids of Evry, the Palais omnisport de Bercy and the TOTEM tower in Paris. His practice
Category
Vintage 1960s European Modern Architectural Models
Materials
Foam, Paper
Hand Carved Biomorphic Wooden Sculptures
Located in London, GB
of the interlocking organic totems drives the viewer upwards to an uneven plateau. The roots of this
Category
Vintage 1970s British Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Hardwood
$1,358 / set
Mid-Century African Janus Shaped Black Wooden Sculpture with Brass Inlays
Located in Salzburg, AT
, totem statue of Mani ("little person" in the Mandinka language).
Anthropomorphic female figure of Janus
Category
Vintage 1940s Malian Tribal Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Brass
Tall Abstract Hand Carved Wood Sculpture Signed "S. Carr"
Located in Los Angeles, CA
looking at a collection of disconnected parts. Different pieces all intertwined to form a totem of some
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Wood
Gouged wooden Mushroom by Robert and Trix Haussmann, circa 1970
By Robert and Trix Haussmann
Located in VILLEURBANNE, FR
the material and craftsmanship. Their abstract, totemic silhouettes blur the line between art and
Category
Mid-20th Century Swiss Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Wood
1970
s Brutalist Artisan Chairs
Located in Rochester, NY
symbols & inset with stones, totemic columns / pedestals and more. During the 1970's her innovative work
Category
20th Century American Brutalist Chairs
1960s Belgian Ceramic Decoration
Located in High Point, NC
in the 1960s, the form has a totemic magnetism: a composition of two ceramic cones resting on a
Category
Vintage 1960s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Wood
James Prestini Sculptures
By James Prestini
Located in Chicago, IL
, featured by Edgar Kaufman for MOMA. Prestini, in this series of totemic, almost tribal like sculptures
Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Sculptures
$24,000
American Studio Craftsmen Modernist Wood Candlesticks
By Paul A. Tarantino
Located in Rochester, NY
consists of a pair of tall totemic form candlesticks and three different style graduated sized pricket
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Candle Holders
Metallic Black Hand-Built Ceramic Sculpture with Hollow Rings on Angled Legs
By Helena Starcevic Ceramics
Located in New York, NY
Part of a new series of related pieces, a sculptural "Family" of Modern Totems and ceramic
Category
2010s American Organic Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Stoneware
Hand Sculpted Rosewood Shore Bird Sculpture after Emil Milan
By Emil Milan
Located in Virginia Beach, VA
totem sculpture. Unsigned.
Dimensions: Overall: 16” W x 9 5/8”H x 5.5”D
Condition: Good vintage
Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Materials
Rosewood
American Craftsmen Studio Modernist Turned Wood Grouping
By Paul A. Tarantino
Located in Rochester, NY
holders along with a free standing totemic looking object. These were all crafted by Paul A. Tarantino and
Category
20th Century American Sculptures
Nature’s Jewels: 19th-Century Glass Globe with Iridescent Beetles by Hasharat
Located in New York, NY
Totems by Hasharat
This exquisite 19th-century antique oval glass globe showcases a mesmerizing
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Napoleon III Animal Sculptures
Materials
Glass
French Cast Bronze Abstract Sculpture by Fitzia
By Fitzia
Located in Chicago, IL
paintings and collages.
This small bronze TOTEM like form is very influenced by Picasso and other artists
Category
Vintage 1970s French Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Ceramic Sculpture, 6 Hollow Rings on Angled Legs, Black with Metallic Specks
By Helena Starcevic Ceramics
Located in New York, NY
Part of a new series of related pieces, a sculptural "Family" of Modern TOTEMS and objects, all
Category
2010s American Organic Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Stoneware
1970s Corten Steel Rotating Abstract Brutalist Sculpture by Patsy Eldridge
By Patsy Eldridge
Located in Dallas, TX
of many Brutalist TOTEM sculptures that she created over the decades. This example was one of her
Category
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Statues
Materials
Cut Steel
Female Figure Sculpture by Leo de Beer, ca. 1965
Located in AMSTERDAM, NL
sculpture evokes Neolithic standing stones or tribal totems, linking contemporary art to humanity’s enduring
Category
20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Stone
Sleek Mid-Century Modernist Nickel Plated Bronze Sculpture on a Lacquer Base
By William Pye
Located in New York, NY
This alluring sculpture features three totems in shimmering nickel-plated bronze attached to a
Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze, Nickel
Guido Drocco
Franco Mello for Gufram 1986 Green Cactus Coat Stand 752/2000
By Guido Drocco and Franco Mello
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
totem and embodies the imagination and the humor of the design in the 1970s. An iconic sculpture that
Category
Vintage 1980s Natural Specimens
Materials
Plastic
Bright Red Ceramic Sculpture, Hand Built, Six Soft Rectangles on Angled Legs
By Helena Starcevic Ceramics
Located in New York, NY
Part of an ongoing exploration into the sculptural family of Modern Totemic Forms and Objects, all
Category
2010s American Organic Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Stoneware
Burmese Chin State Tribal Territory Markers
Located in New York, NY
height 79 - 78 - 72 - 58 tall.
Priced as a set collection including the four totem..
Category
Antique 19th Century Burmese Mounted Objects
Materials
Wood
Modernist Primitive Sculpture of Mother with Child in Translucent Glass
Steel
Located in New York, NY
with cylindrical supports (in the same material) offers a totemic chiseled form in translucent glass
Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Steel
Minoru Kano Abstract Bronze sculpture, 1960s
By Minoru Kano
Located in Rotterdam, ZH
visited the atelier of Ossip Zadkine. From 1964 Kanō started working on his famous golden Totems, in the
Category
Vintage 1960s Unknown Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
James Bearden "Dwelling" Large Abstract Sculpture
By James Bearden
Located in Highland, IN
. Totem-esque in arrangement, several dense masses are connected by linear elements and stand on a walnut
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Cactus Coathanger/ Sculpture by Drocco an Mello, Limited Edition
By Guido Drocco and Franco Mello
Located in Berlin, Berlin
ironic totem, it embodies the design ideas and humour in design at the beginning of the 1970s. This
Category
2010s Italian Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Polystyrene
Cactus coathanger, designed by Guido Drocco and Franco Mello. Italy, 2018.
By Dracco
Mello
Located in Berlin, Berlin
ironic totem, it embodies the design ideas and humour in design at the beginning of the 1970s. This
Category
2010s Italian Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Polystyrene
Cactus Coathanger or Sculpture by Drocco an Mello, Italy
By Dracco
Mello
Located in Berlin, Berlin
and Franco Mello designed the famous cactus. Meant to be an ironic totem, it embodies the design ideas
Category
2010s Italian Organic Modern Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Polystyrene
Harry Bertoia "Twisting Rabbit" Pressure Melt Sculpture
Located in Toronto, Ontario
piece from, it can be a female form, a twisting tree, a totem…endless possibilities.
These pieces are
Category
Vintage 1970s American Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Hand Built Ceramic Sculpture, Dark Brown Stacked Cubes with White Crinkled Top
By Helena Starcevic Ceramics
Located in New York, NY
ceramic TOTEM, round and rectangular forms, organic crinkled cup top, Ref #LU4570122994662
Signed with
Category
2010s American Organic Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Stoneware
Postmodern Italian Memphis Design Green Blue White Red Black Murano Glass Lamps
By Memphis Group
Located in New York, NY
different technique stacked up as a totem, and the hunter green base worked with a sanded opaque technique
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Brass
Black glazed ceramic horse sculpture signed Pouchain – Circa 1960
By Jacques Pouchain and Atelier Dielufit
Located in LYON, FR
its strong animal presence and totemic silhouette, captures the essence of Pouchain’s bestiary: raw
Category
Vintage 1960s French French Provincial Animal Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic
Doug Delind Signed Brutalist Modern Owl Raku Art Ceramic Pottery Sculpture 1990s
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
abstract charm while lending it a totemic, almost mystical quality. Resting atop an organic, rock-like
Category
1990s American Brutalist Animal Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic, Pottery
Fine Taxidermy Gyrfalcon on Tigers Head Sculpture by Sinke
Van Tongeren
By Sinke
Van Tongeren
Located in Haarlem, NL
and plaster sculpted especially for this Falcon. Like a TOTEM of predators. Gyrfalcons are the largest
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Taxidermy
Amedeo Modigliani (after), Woman Head in Terracotta by RMN Grand Palais
By Amedeo Modigliani
Located in Munster, NRW
totemic and luminous sculptures while under the influence of marijuana. He envisioned these heads as part
Category
2010s French Primitive Busts
Materials
Terracotta
James Bearden "Dwelling" Abstract Sculpture
By James Bearden
Located in Highland, IN
. TOTEM-esque in arrangement, dense masses are connected by linear elements and stand perched on a
Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Brutalist Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze, Steel
Icare
Bronze Sculpture
By Georges Boisgontier
Located in Greenwich, CT
Egyptians deities, totem-like Cycladic figures, primitive Greek gods and goddesses, they are heavy with
Category
Vintage 1980s French Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
$14,000
Postmodern Italian Memphis Style Green Blue White Orange Murano Glass Lamps
By Memphis Group
Located in New York, NY
stacked up as a totem, a whimsical centerpiece in any room, bedroom, living room, or entryway.
Founded by
Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps
Materials
Brass
abstract sculpture by Alain Douillard
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
parts and rusty pieces of scrap metal that he cut, bound, and assembled together to create his totem
Category
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Stainless Steel
Geometric white Sculpture contemporary wood organic plaster HYPERCUBE
By Las Animas
Located in Seville, ES
dreamlike. Objects that seek to activate the subconscious and the collective memory with a totemic and
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Composition
Geometric white Sculpture contemporary wood organic plaster HYPERCUBE II
By Las Animas
Located in Seville, ES
dreamlike. Objects that seek to activate the subconscious and the collective memory with a totemic and
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Composition
Geometric white Sculpture contemporary wood organic plaster HYPERCUBE III
By Las Animas
Located in Seville, ES
dreamlike. Objects that seek to activate the subconscious and the collective memory with a totemic and
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Composition
Antonio Grediaga Kieff Abstract Bronze Sculpture
By Grediaga Kieff
Located in Miami Beach, FL
, Saint Bruno, Quebec
Folk Allegory (bronze), Cultural Center, Saint Bruno, Quebec
TOTEM (bronze) city
Category
Vintage 1970s Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Kieff Antonio Grediaga Large Abstract Bronze Sculpture 1/5
By Grediaga Kieff
Located in Miami, FL
Center, Saint Bruno, Quebec
Folk Allegory (bronze), Cultural Center, Saint Bruno, Quebec
Totem (bronze
Category
Vintage 1980s Canadian Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Gufram Another White Cactus Designed by Drocco / Mello in Stock
By Gufram Furniture
Located in New York, NY
totem, and embodies the grit, the imagination and the humour of the design of the Seventies. Likely to
Category
2010s Italian Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Plastic
Winni Brueggemann German
1930–2016
Bronze Floor Chimes
Sonambient
1996
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
lustrous human-scale totems. “Sounding sculptures” display a wide range in size, some rising to a height of
Category
1990s German Mid-Century Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Georges Pelletier White Enameled Ceramic Hen Sculpture, France, 2020
By Georges Pelletier
Located in Santa Gertrudis, Baleares
1980s, he started to produce his famous Totems ans Suns, these pieces has allowed the rediscovery of
Category
2010s French Other Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Ceramic
“Notte” Postmodern Masterpiece in Wood and Pietra di Vicenza by Alberto Cabiddu
Located in Weesp, NL
authenticity. Its modular, almost totemic form makes it a showpiece for refined interiors—ideal for collectors
Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Stone, Steel
Rare Haida Inuit figural Argillite carving dated Autumn of 1898
Located in Palm Springs, CA
century argillite carvings are small totem and pipes. There are repairs to the piece and two hands missing
Category
Antique 19th Century Folk Art Sculptures
Slit Drum from Ambrym Island, Vanuatu
Located in New Orleans, LA
aural delights, totemic effigies laying at the intersection of aesthetics and utility.
The slit gong
Category
Early 20th Century Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Wood
Arno Declercq Black Belgian Oak and Burned Steel Large Babel Vase
By Arno Declercq
Located in Chicago, IL
aesthetic objects of art. Vases turn into totems and candle holders into monumental sculptures, made in the
Category
2010s Belgian Modern Decorative Bowls
Materials
Oak
Transceiver, a Dark Brown, Grey
Purple Glass
Steel Sculpture by Jon Lewis
By Jon Lewis
Located in London, GB
.
Monolithic in scale, with a weathered and aged appearance, these totemic pieces have a symbolic presence.
A
Category
2010s British Organic Modern Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Steel, Iron
1990 Fred Schumm Whimsical Carved Stone Figure
By Fred Schumm
Located in Palm Springs, CA
native carvings.
"I wanted to see the TOTEM poles," he said. "The Alaskan Indians were fantastic
Category
1990s American Sculptures
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Totems For Sale on 1stDibs
An assortment of totems is available at 1stDibs. Each of these unique totems was constructed with extraordinary care, often using ceramic, wood and metal. There are 173 antique and vintage totems for sale at 1stDibs, while we also have 109 modern editions to choose from as well. Totems have been produced for many years, with earlier versions available from the 18th Century and newer variations made as recently as the 21st Century. Totems bearing Modern or Mid-Century Modern hallmarks are very popular at 1stDibs. There have been many well-made totems over the years, but those made by Helena Starcevic Ceramics, Pascale Girardin and Ashley Hicks are often thought to be among the most beautiful.
How Much are Totems?
Prices for totems start at $180 and top out at $195,000 with the average selling for $3,800.
Finding the Right Sculptures for You
Styling your home with vintage, new and antique sculptures means adding a touch that can meaningfully transform the space. By introducing a sculptural work as a decorative finish to any interior, you’re making a statement, whether you tend toward the dramatic or prefer to keep things casual with modest, understated art.
A single, one-of-a-kind three-dimensional figurative sculpture mounted on your dining room wall is a guaranteed conversation piece, while a trio of abstract works arranged on your living room bookshelves can add spontaneity to the collection of first-edition novels or artist monographs you’re displaying as well as draw attention to them. Figurative sculptures are representational works that portray a specific person, animal or object. And while decorating with busts, which are sculpted or cast figurative works, hasn’t exactly topped the list of design trends every year, busts are back. According to designer Timothy Corrigan, “They give humanity in a way that a more abstract sculpture can’t give.” Abstract sculptures, on the other hand, are not meant to show something specific. Instead, they invoke a mood or scene without directly stating what they are portraying.
Busts made of stone or metal may not seem like a good fit for your existing decor. Fortunately, there are many ways for a seemingly incongruous piece to fit in with the rest of your room’s theme. You can embrace a dramatic piece by making it the focal point of the room, or you can choose to incorporate several elements made out of the same material to create harmony in your space. If an antique or more dramatic piece doesn’t feel like you, why not opt for works comprising plastic, fiberglass or other more modern materials?
When incorporating sculpture into the design of your home — be it the playful work of auction hero and multimedia visionary KAWS, contemporary fiber art from Connecticut dealer browngrotta arts or still-life sculpture on a budget — consider proper lighting, which can bring out the distinctive aspects of your piece that deserve attention. And make sure you know how the size and form of the sculpture will affect your space in whole. If you choose a sculpture with dramatic design elements, such as sharp angles or bright colors, for example, try to better integrate this new addition by echoing those elements in the rest of your room’s design.
Get started on decorating with sculpture now — find figurative sculptures, animal sculptures and more on 1stDibs today.
Questions About Totems
- What does totem mean in art?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022In art, a totem means more than one thing. Generally, a totem is any item that depicts another object, person or animal. Indigenous people often use totems to symbolize their family heritage and ancestors. On 1stDibs, shop a variety of totems.
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