Modern Table Lamps
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
20th Century Modern Table Lamps
Crystal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Steel, Zinc
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic, Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary English Modern Table Lamps
Slate, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic, Clay, Porcelain, Wool, Alpaca, Silk
2010s Portuguese Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic, Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Silver Leaf, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Plastic, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Asian Modern Table Lamps
Brass
2010s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Table Lamps
Marble
Early 2000s American Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Stainless Steel
1980s Dutch Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Table Lamps
Stoneware, Parchment Paper
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Travertine, Chrome
2010s Taiwanese Modern Table Lamps
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Table Lamps
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Resin
2010s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Steel
20th Century American Modern Table Lamps
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Resin
Early 2000s Swedish Modern Table Lamps
Metal
2010s American Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic
2010s French Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic
Early 2000s Chinese Modern Table Lamps
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum
1980s Irish Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Crystal, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Table Lamps
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Marble, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Resin
2010s American Modern Table Lamps
Marble, Stone, Brass, Steel
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Table Lamps
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic, Parchment Paper
2010s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Metal
1980s German Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Plastic
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Steel
2010s French Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Table Lamps
Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Gold
2010s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Iron
1970s German Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Italian Modern Table Lamps
Metal, Aluminum
1970s Swedish Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Pine
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Table Lamps
Steel
2010s Taiwanese Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Steel
2010s French Modern Table Lamps
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Table Lamps
Glass
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Table Lamps
Aluminum, Brass











