Calla Kogl

While little has been written about German furniture designer Hans Kögl, his work speaks for itself.

Kögl drew frequently on natural forms such as wheat sheafs, florentine flowers and wisteria in designing sculptural lighting fixtures, tables and various decorative objects. His better known work was manufactured in Germany and Italy during the 1970s and 1980s, although some pieces date back to the 1950s.

Kögl’s vintage gilt metal lamps and sophisticated table bases capture nature in a way that is beyond simple lifelike imitation — the handcrafted works’ copper and gold-plated leaves and other flora, free and elegant, demand a double-take to fully appreciate the designer’s profound attention to detail.

Some of Kögl’s 1970s-era textured palm tree floor lamps, which are playful and striking and bear the hallmarks of the Hollywood Regency style, stand over six feet tall. And when coupled with his unique glass-topped coffee tables, which also draw heavily on organic forms in their decorative gilt leaf bases, the fixtures can help bring the outdoors into a living room in a manner that feels simultaneously luxurious and provocative.

Collectors and enthusiasts of early 20th century furniture will find much appeal in Kögl’s sconces and chandeliers for Maison Jansen.

The first international decorating firm, Maison Jansen was founded in 1880 by Dutchman Jean-Henri Jansen. The firm was extraordinarily versatile — its artisans created cane-backed Rococo dining chairs as often as they were making Louis XV–style tables for their diverse range of clients. Kögl worked as a designer for Maison Jansen in its later years.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Hans Kögl lighting, tables and mirrors.

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.