Carved Balustrade Lamps
Antique 19th Century French Baroque Table Lamps
Wood
Mid-20th Century Neoclassical Table Lamps
Marble
Late 20th Century North American Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s Italian Table Lamps
Beech
Vintage 1950s Italian Table Lamps
Beech
Antique 18th Century Italian Other Architectural Elements
Wood
People Also Browsed
2010s American Flush Mount
Brass
Antique 1860s Italian Neoclassical Screens and Room Dividers
Canvas, Paint
Late 20th Century Tudor Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 1820s Chinese Table Lamps
Porcelain
Early 20th Century French Doors and Gates
Wood, Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Marble, Chrome
Antique Mid-19th Century Austrian Paintings
Paint, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Steel
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Table Lamps
Marble, Brass, Metal
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Blown Glass
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Table Lamps
Porcelain
Vintage 1920s Czech Art Deco Table Lamps
Crystal, Bronze
Vintage 1980s American Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Late 20th Century American Table Lamps
Slag Glass
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Recent Sales
Antique 18th Century Swiss Baroque Balustrades and Fixtures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary English Table Lamps
Antique Late 19th Century French Balustrades and Fixtures
Cast Stone
20th Century American Art Deco Table Lamps
Mid-20th Century Japanese Table Lamps
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary English Table Lamps
Antique 19th Century French Table Lamps
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Marble
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis Philippe Table Lamps
Marble
20th Century American Bohemian Table Lamps
Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Table Lamps
Plaster
Antique 18th Century Italian Table Lamps
Carrara Marble
Antique 19th Century French Table Lamps
Early 20th Century Unknown Rustic Table Lamps
Late 20th Century North American Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1970s American Arts and Crafts Table Lamps
Antique 18th Century and Earlier Architectural Elements
Antique 1880s English Table Lamps
Pine
20th Century American Bohemian Table Lamps
Wood
Early 20th Century French Table Lamps
Oak
20th Century French Table Lamps
Marble
20th Century American Table Lamps
Wood
Antique 19th Century Chinese Table Lamps
Pottery
Antique 19th Century French Table Lamps
Wood, Paint
Early 20th Century Portuguese Floor Lamps
Antique 1830s Danish Neoclassical Side Tables
Antique Mid-19th Century French Empire Center Tables
Marble
Finding the Right table-lamps for You
Well-crafted antique and vintage table lamps do more than provide light; the right fixture-and-table combination can add a focal point or creative element to any interior.
Proper table lamps have long been used for lighting our most intimate spaces. Perfect for lighting your nightstand or reading nook, table lamps play an integral role in styling an inviting room. In the years before electricity, lamps used oil. Today, a rewired 19th-century vintage lamp can still provide a touch of elegance for a study.
After industrial milestones such as mass production took hold in the Victorian era, various design movements sought to bring craftsmanship and innovation back to this indispensable household item. Lighting designers affiliated with Art Deco, which originated in the glamorous roaring ’20s, sought to celebrate modern life by fusing modern metals with dark woods and dazzling colors in the fixtures of the era. The geometric shapes and gilded details of vintage Art Deco table lamps provide an air of luxury and sophistication that never goes out of style.
After launching in 1934, Anglepoise lamps soon became a favorite among modernist architects and designers, who interpreted the fixture as “a machine for lighting,” just as Le Corbusier had reimagined the house as “a machine for living in.” The popular task light owed to a collaboration between a vehicle-suspension engineer by the name of George Carwardine and a West Midlands springs manufacturer, Herbert Terry & Sons.
Some mid-century modern table lamps, particularly those created by the likes of Joe Colombo and the legendary lighting artisans at Fontana Arte, bear all the provocative hallmarks associated with Space Age design. Sculptural and versatile, the Louis Poulsen table lamps of that period were revolutionary for their time and still seem innovative today.
If you are looking for something more contemporary, industrial table lamps are demonstrative of a newly chic style that isn’t afraid to pay homage to the past. They look particularly at home in any rustic loft space amid exposed brick and steel beams.
Before you buy a desk lamp or table lamp for your living room, consider your lighting needs. The Snoopy lamp, designed in 1967, or any other “banker’s lamp” (shorthand for the Emeralite desk lamps patented by H.G. McFaddin and Company), provides light at a downward angle that is perfect for writing, while the Fontana table lamp and the beloved Grasshopper lamp by Greta Magnusson-Grossman each yield a soft and even glow. Some table lamps require lampshades to be bought separately.
Whether it’s a classic antique Tiffany table lamp, a Murano glass table lamp or even a bold avant-garde fixture custom-made by a contemporary design firm, the right table lamp can completely transform a room. Find the right one for you on 1stDibs.
Read More
You Don’t Need a Fictional Fairy to Get This Real Pinocchio Lamp
Warm chalet style meets cool Bauhaus functionality in Pietro Cascella’s cleverly carved creation.
Why Is Italy Such a Hotbed of Cool Design?
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
With a High-Tech Flagship and Cool Collabs, Lladró Is Breaking the Mold for Porcelain Production
Thanks to its new leadership, the Spanish maker of figurines, busts and lighting is on a mission to update the art of porcelain for the 21st century.
Christopher Tennant’s Lamps and Dioramas Evoke Sunny Days and Seaside Locales
The former magazine editor blends elements of the Far East and America’s eastern shores, bringing wit and delight to his handmade, upcycled designs.
Paavo Tynell’s Snowflake Chandelier Warms Up Any Room
This circa 1950 piece by the legendary Finnish lighting designer spent the past several decades in a family's home in Michigan.
NASA Parachutes Inspired Lighting Designer Bec Brittain’s New Collection
In "Paraciphers," now on view at Emma Scully Gallery in New York, Brittain introduces works that were more than a decade in the making.
This Handsome Leather Pendant Light Is Crafted Using Saddle-Making Techniques
The Doma by L’Aviva Home nods to Colombia’s equestrian heritage.
Celebrate Spring Year-Round with This Lush Murano-Glass Chandelier
Hand-blown glass makes the Italian fixture glow like dew-covered leaves in the sun.