Mid-Century “Black Lady” Table Lamp by Barsony, Australia, 1950s
By Barsony Ceramics 1
Located in Weesp, NL
Mid-Century “Black Lady” Table Lamp by Barsony, Australia, 1950s Dimensions: H 56 cm x W 23 cm x D 15 cm (H 22.05 in x W 9.06 in x D 5.91 in) Marked: Barsony on reverse A striking...
Brass
Joe 700 Ceiling Lamp minimal, 20th century modern handmade by Wende Reid
By Wende Reid
Located in Chatswood, NSW
This classic, tailored, double ceiling lamp, inspired by old Hollywood and menswear is reminiscent of the 1940s and the early simplicity of Art Deco. Its clean shape is the perfect ...
Brass
Joe 640 Tailored Minimal 20th Century Inspired Pendant Light by Wende Reid
By Wende Reid
Located in Chatswood, NSW
This Classic, tailored pendant light, inspired by the stitching on my father's Mark Cross cuff link box, is reminiscent of mid-century style and the early simplicity of Art Deco. Als...
Brass
Joe 640 Pendant Light Classic Modern Tailored Minimal Handmade by Wende Reid
By Wende Reid
Located in Chatswood, NSW
This classic, minimal, tailored, Joe Pendant Light is inspired by menswear reminiscent of 1940s style and the early simplicity of Art Deco. Available also as a flush mount, the clean...
Brass
Marz Designs, "Terra 0 Pendant - Fabric Flex"
By Marz Designs
Located in BYRON BAY, NSW
Simple cylindrical ceramic forms define the Terra 0 range, which comes in pendant light, long and short wall light formats. The Terra 0 Pendant Light is available in a choice of six ...
Metal, Brass, Nickel
$2,750 / set
Pair of Emil Stejnar Style Sconces
By Emil Stejnar
Located in Miami, FL
Pair sconces from Austria by Emil Stejnar. Backplate: 1.5" W, 3" H. Wired for US and in working condition. Have a look on our impressive collection of French and Italian Mid-Cen...
Crystal, Brass
Marz Designs, "Terra 0.5 Wall Light" Ceramic Wall Light
By Marz Designs
Located in BYRON BAY, NSW
The Terra 0.5 Wall Light celebrates modular design and craftsmanship in a deceptively simple yet architectural form. Its sculptural metal bracket elegantly contrasts the asymmetric s...
Metal, Brass, Nickel
20th Century Australian Aluminium Lighthouse Lamp
Located in Sydney, NSW
A 1950s aluminium lighthouse lamp by White Horse Industries, Blackburn, Victoria.
Aluminum, Iron
Unavailable
H 85.04 in W 11.03 in D 19.3 in
Black Vintage Industrial Movie Spot Light from Manly Theatre-Australia
Located in Cromer, AU
This is an original vintage theatre (Spot) Light from an old manly theatre in Manly. This has been cleaned, fully refurbished and is in good working order. In very good vintage con...
Steel
Australian Midcentury Rite Lite ‘Mayflower' Chandelier, circa 1950s
Located in Melbourne, AU
Australian midcentury rite lite ‘Mayflower‘ chandelier. Made in Melbourne, Australia, 1957. Presents in excellent original condition, minor wear commensurate with age. This is the...
Mid-Century Atomic Age Lamp by Daydream, 1950s
By Daydream Production
Located in Melbourne, AU
Australian Mid-Century desk lamp by 'Daydream', 1950s.
Pair of Mid-Century Hollywood Regency Lamps, 1960s
Located in Melbourne, AU
Rare pair of Mid-Century Hollywood Regency lamps, 1960s. These were commissioned for residence in Melbourne, Australia in the early 1960s. Tall in stature, these are a truly excep...
Barsony, 1950s Tall White Lady Lamp
By Barsony Ceramics 1
Located in Pymble, NSW
Barsony ceramics is an Australian company founded in the 1950s by Husband and Wife team George and Jean Barsony in a factory in Guildford near Sydney. This very large white lady lam...
Ceramic, Wood
Unavailable
H 24.41 in Dm 6.89 in
Ellis Pottery Sgraffito Ceramic and 'Walnut' Table Lamp Base Melbourne, 1950s
By Ellis Ceramics
Located in Melbourne, AU
An Ellis Pottery ceramic lamp with Australian blackwood base and a turned myrtle stem stained to a deep walnut finish. We love these ceramic and timber Ellis lamps for their Classic...
Ceramic, Hardwood
Sold
H 66.93 in W 15.75 in D 15.75 in
Mid-Century Modern Articulating Studio Floor Lamp by Planet Lighting, c1960s
By Planet
Located in TORQUAY, AU
A quintessential piece of Australian industrial design, this studio floor lamp was produced by the celebrated manufacturer Planet during the 1960s. Engineered for precision and dura...
Steel
Mid century Barsony Beautiful African Female Figure Table Lamp
By Barsony Ceramics 1
Located in Weesp, NL
Mat black colored ceramic Barsony table lamp with female figure carrying a basket. Made in Australia in the 1950s. This beauty will be shipped insured overseas in a custom made wood...
Ceramic, Nylon
Sold
H 13.39 in W 5.12 in D 3.15 in
Black and Green Modernist Table Lamp from Brown Evans & Co., 1950s
Located in Esbjerg, DK
- Modernist aluminium lamp - Made by Brown Evans and Co. - BECO in Australia - From the 1950s - Aluminum corpus - Black and light green contrasting colors (original) - Sculptura...
Aluminum
Lobmeyr Met Chandelier
By Hans Harald Rath
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Swarovski strass hand cut crystal. Nickel polished rod and canopy. Vienna Austria Designed by Hans Harald Rath in 1963
Crystal, Nickel
A Vintage Pair of Large Chrome and Crystal Kinkeldey Sconces
Located in Astoria, NY
A large vintage pair of Kinkeldey sconces with clear faceted crystals and chrome mounts. Reduced from: $2,850
Chrome
1950's Atomic Flying Saucer Lamp by Esther Lighting Co.
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A petite atomic flying saucer accent lamp from Australia, made by the Esther Lighting Company, circa 1950's. Cone shaped black and metallic red base is topped with an adjustable whit...
Metal
Custom Listing for Bethany Fortitude Valley Job, QLD, Australia
By Stilnovo
Located in New York, NY
Two sconces composed of curved bottom cone and straight top cone identical in shape to the sample image provided (first photo), attached in the middle with a brass coupling. Straight...
Aluminum, Brass, Enamel
Australian 1960s Replica of Corona Pendant Light by Jo Hammerborg
By Jo Hammerborg
Located in Melbourne, AU
Jo Hammerborg's beautiful cone shaped Corona pendant was produced by Fog and Mørup in Denmark in 1963. Someone at that time in Australia took a liking to the design and had it reprod...
Steel, Aluminum
Sold
H 29.73 in Dm 14.97 in
Pair of Mid-20th Century Bendigo Pottery Table Lamps with Period Textured Shades
By Bendigo Potters
Located in Ettalong Beach, NSW
Extra large, odd couple pair of mid-20th century, water dispenser style table lamps, by renowned Australian potters, Bendigo Pottery, established 1958. Original and amazing, peri...
Pottery
Sold
H 10.63 in W 5.91 in D 4.73 in
'Firefly' Brass and Perforated Metal Wall Sconce by Daydream, Australia, 1950s
By Daydream Production
Located in Melbourne, AU
A restored, collectable Daydream wall light. The 'Firefly' model, as you can see in original advertising included with these images. The light has been professionally stripped and ...
Brass, Sheet Metal
Sold
H 16.93 in Dm 34.26 in
Brown Evans and Co. 'BECO' Copper Chandelier for Anatol Kagan, Melbourne 1950s
By Donald Brown
Located in Melbourne, AU
Cabinet de Luxe salvaged all these lights from the refit of a Mid-Century Modern home in Caulfield, Melbourne. 380 Glen Eira Road Caulfield was designed by Russian emigre architect A...
Copper
Brown Evans and Co. 'BECO' Pull Down Pendant Light, Melbourne, 1950s
By Donald Brown
Located in Melbourne, AU
This fabulous original BECO pull-down makes ideal lighting over a desk, a kitchen bench or any area needing flexible task lighting. BECO pull-downs are rare in any condition - th...
Aluminum
Brown Evans and Co 'BECO' Wall Sconce Melbourne, 1950s
By Donald Brown
Located in Melbourne, AU
They are in superb condition, fully restored and rewired. Australian collectors and Mid-Century home owners will be familiar with the difficulty of finding BECO lighting, let alo...
Aluminum
Brown Evans and Co 'BECO' Wall Lights Melbourne, 1950s
By Donald Brown
Located in Melbourne, AU
Serious Mid-Century Australian home renovators will be interested in these and in further listings of BECO lighting over the coming weeks, some of them extremely rare individual arch...
Aluminum
Sold
H 13.78 in W 11.82 in L 13.78 in
Brown Evans and Co. 'BECO' Copper Wall Sconces for Anatol Kagan, Melbourne 1950s
By Donald Brown
Located in Melbourne, AU
Cabinet de Luxe salvaged all these lights from the re-fit of a Mid-Century Modern home in Caulfield, Melbourne. 380 Glen Eira Road is featured in Modernist Australia website's featur...
Brass, Copper
Joe Colombo Kartell Mid Century KD27 Table Light
By Joe Colombo, Kartell
Located in Pymble, NSW
A joe Colombo designed Kartell KD27 orange plastic table light with pull switch c.1970. This light was in production from 1967-81. In lovely condition.
Plastic
Brown Evans and Co. 'BECO' Ceiling Mounted Reflector, Melbourne, 1950s
By Donald Brown
Located in Melbourne, AU
This feather-light ceiling fixture or reflector is a sweet Mid-Century number with some lovely period details - brass fittings, scalloped edges and a grand scale and proportion. It p...
Aluminum, Brass
Huge Hand Decorated Ellis Pottery Ceramic Lamp Melbourne, 1960s
By Dagmar and Miloslav Kratochvil
Located in Melbourne, AU
A rare example of Ellis pottery on a grand scale. It has a monumental quality, reminiscent of a lighthouse. Ellis Ceramics was set up in 1953 by Dagma and Miloslav Kratochvil, o...
Earthenware
Kartell KD29 Desk Light Joe Colombo circa 1970 Purple
By Joe Colombo, Kartell
Located in Pymble, NSW
Classic Space Age designed table lamp by Joe Colombo for Kartell and licensed manufactured by Advance Industries, Australia. The KD29 table lamp is made entirely of plastic and ha...
Plastic
Andrew Halford Pottery Table Lamp, circa 1975
By Andrew Halford
Located in Pymble, NSW
Andrew Halford (1953) trained with Shigeo Shiga in his Sydney workshop at Terrey Hills from 1968-1969 and with Les Blakebrough at the Sturt Pottery, Mittagong, from 1971-1972. After ...
Pottery
Kartell Joe Colombo KD29 Green Light Italy, circa 1970
By Joe Colombo, Kartell
Located in Pymble, NSW
Classic space age designed green table lamp by Joe Colombo for Kartell and licensed manufacture by Advance Industries Australia. The KD29 table lamp is made entirely of plastic an...
Plastic
Finnish Design Chandelier in Brass, Teak and Glass, Finland 1970s
By Valinte Oy
Located in Helsinki, FI
A beautiful and delicate Finnish mid-century ceiling lamp attributed to Valinte, circa the 1970s. As one of the leading lighting manufacturers in Finland, Valinte was known for its h...
Brass, Metal
$12,590 / item
H 35.44 in W 66.93 in D 66.93 in
Large Contemporary Italian Chandelier Brass and Glass, 12 Arms
By Angelo Lelii, Stilnovo
Located in Bochum, NRW
Trendy Mid Century Italian Style, this beautiful ceiling fixture impresses by its lines simplicity and clean design. 170x170x35 cm (WxDxH) Made of brass and with mate glass globe sh...
Brass
$985 / item
H 8.67 in W 7.88 in D 9.45 in
Italian Sconces Stilnovo Style, Brass and 20 cm Diam Glass, Mid-Century Design
By Stilnovo, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Bochum, NRW
Mid-century design wall lights in the style of Stilnovo. A stylish combination of brass & opaline glass! These wall lights look amazing when lit and are a superb example of the f...
Brass
$3,246 / item
H 31.5 in Dm 47.25 in
Orbitale Brass Chandelier 3 Rotating Balanced Arms, 120 cm 48 inches diameter
By Stilnovo, Silvio Piattelli
Located in Tavarnelle val di Pesa, Florence
This superb bespoke brass chandelier features three rotating arms skillfully balanced on a heavy cast brass sphere that rotate in an orbital movement along the stem. To achieve perfe...
Metal, Brass
$639 / item
H 25 in W 14 in D 18 in
Laguna Counter Stool Vegetable Tanned Leather with Oxblood Stain Rosa Morada
By Peter Glassford
Located in San Antonio, TX
Laguna leather strap counter stool (24" high seat). Vegetable tanned leather finished with oxblood stain. Natural matte lacquer finish. This bar stool is sturdy and will last forever...
Leather, Wood
$1,107 / set
H 5.52 in W 4.73 in D 6.3 in
Pair of Italian Mid-Century Design Wall Lights Stilnovo Style Brass Opaline
By Stilnovo, Gino Sarfatti
Located in Bochum, NRW
Mid-century design wall lights in the style of Stilnovo. A stylish combination of brass & opaline glass! These wall lights look amazing when lit and are a superb example of the famou...
Brass
$556 / item
H 5.52 in W 4.73 in D 6.3 in
Italian Sconces Stilnovo Style, Brass and 12 cm Diam Glass, Mid-Century Design
By Gino Sarfatti, Stilnovo
Located in Bochum, NRW
Mid-century design wall lights in the style of Stilnovo. Dimensions: 12 cm width Backplate: 7.5 cm diameter (on request 10 cm available) A stylish combination of brass & opaline...
Brass
$435 / item
H 3.54 in W 14.37 in D 7.67 in
ENA Handmade Embossed, Adjustable Brass Art - Picture Artisanal Wall Sconce
Located in İstiklal, TR
ENA Brass Casting Picture Wall Sconce is meticulously crafted from solid brass, offering both durability and timeless appeal. Its surface is adorned with hand-applied, intricate patt...
Brass
LUread FS Sconces 'Black' by Lumfardo Luminaires
By Lumfardo Luminaires
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A foldable and swing version of our original Lumfardo Luminaires LUread Sconces with a foldable and swingable articulated arm to allow for more variance in light direction. Made from...
Aluminum, Brass
Carl Auböck Model #4223 'Hand' Brass Paperweight
By Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Glendale, CA
Carl Auböck Model #4223 'Hand' Brass Paperweight Designed in the 1950s, this incredibly clean and refined Viennese paperweight is hand fabricated in polished brass by Werkstätte Car...
Brass
$2,480 / set
H 5.91 in W 4.73 in D 12.21 in
Pair of 1950s Italian Brass Sconces with Opaline Glass Globes
Located in Rome, IT
Pair of mid-century wall lights, Italy, 1950s. Each sconce features a bent brass arm that projects from a round brass wall plate and ends with a spherical opaline glass globe. Brass ...
Brass
Vico Magistretti 'Atollo' Opaline Glass Table Lamp for Oluce
By Oluce, Vico Magistretti
Located in Glendale, CA
Vico Magistretti 'Atollo' opaline glass table lamp for Oluce. Originally designed in 1977, this iconic re-edition is still crafted by Oluce in Italy using many of the original manu...
Metal
$3,387 / item
H 12.6 in W 28.35 in D 36.23 in
Nido, Flush Mount Brass and Glass Chandelier 8 Arms, Low Ceiling Best, Free Ship
By Stilnovo, Silvio Piattelli
Located in Tavarnelle val di Pesa, Florence
This chandelier is specifically designed for low ceilings, with a height of only 13 inches (32 cm). The arms and shade holders are made of brass, while the central part is made of me...
Metal, Brass
Colorful Sputnik Chandelier in the Style of Stilnovo
By Stilnovo
Located in Vienna, AT
Large and colorful Sputnik chandelier in the style of Stilnovo, Arredoluce from the 1950s. Brass construction with sixteen arms and E14 porcelain sockets inside the colored cone.
Brass
$2,267Sale Price / item|40% Off
W 108.27 in L 143.71 in
9'x12' Handmade Moroccan Design Rug. 100% Natural Wool. Custom Options Available
Located in Spring Valley, NY
Elevate your living space with the exquisite charm of this new modern hand-knotted Moroccan Berber Beni Ourain design rug, crafted with precision and care from 100% wool. Combining t...
Wool
$649Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 11.82 in W 13.78 in D 9.85 in
Sconce 2 Arms clear and amber Murano Glass, handmade Lampshades by Multiforme
By Multiforme
Located in Trebaseleghe, IT
Coco sconce with 2 arms in clear and amber Murano glass with amber colour handmade lampshades by Multiforme. The Murano glass Coco collection takes inspiration from Coco Chanel, the...
Blown Glass, Art Glass, Murano Glass
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by celebrated manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.
Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.
Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat.
Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.
As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.
There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation.
With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.
The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale on 1stDibs.
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
There are many lessons to be learned from the lofts, apartments and townhouses of architects and decorators in Manhattan and beyond.
Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.
The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.
The Palm Springs interior decorator developed a mid-century style that defined the vacation homes of celebrities and other notables, including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.
The houses from this New York studio cloak modernist tendencies within what are often more traditional trappings.
In the market for a fantastic fixture from the 1940s, ’50s or ’60s? Here are some names to know.