Carlo Nason Cactus

A mid-century modern reference for today’s Murano glassmakers, Carlo Nason influenced the current tradition of glassmaking on an island renowned for it for hundreds of years. Celebrated for their exceptional designs, Nason’s lighting fixtures are sought after by collectors worldwide.

Learning to design and craft pieces from the family vetreria — rather than partaking in any formal training — Nason was working with the maestros at his family’s company furnace, V. Nason & C., attached to their family home by the time he was 11 years old. Although his roots are in Murano glassmaking, he took inspiration from the clean lines and natural colors of the Japanese metal vases he had seen in his youth at Milanese fairs.

Wanting to produce modern glass lamps, Nason worked with his family friend Gianni Mazzega of Mazzega Murano. For his Cascata chandelier (Italian for “waterfall”), which debuted in the 1960s, Nason achieved the effect of cascading water through an inverted pyramid of hanging glass plates, each individually mouth-blown and suspended from a chrome-plated frame for a dazzling, Art Deco–styled display.

The 1970s and 1980s were productive and creative years for Nason as the sole and independent designer at Mazzega Murano. His prolific career has also seen him design for other lighting manufacturers like I TRE, Murano Due and Kalmar.

After a mere four years as a glassmaker, Carlo Nason had his creations displayed at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York. The credit for the artisan’s pieces that were included in “Glass 1959” went to his family’s company, but the designs were all authored by Carlo.

Stepping away from the traditional, vibrant Murano stylings, Nason kept true to his inspiration, working with modern and simple forms that are relatively free of color. Nason told Palainco in a rare 2019 interview that his emotions inspired the shapes. And his legacy includes fixtures that are irreplicable and unreproducible, too — Nason made lighting pieces with multiple layers of glass that would be too costly or difficult to recreate today, and some designs were made with processes and materials now unavailable or banned in the glassmaking world.

Find an array of vintage Carlo Nason table lamps, floor lamps, decorative objects and more on 1stDibs.

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.