Chinese Lamp with a Plique-A-Jour Shade
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
Chines lamp with a plique-a-jour shade, circa 1900. Ovid shaped plique-a jour cloisonné shade with pierced wood cover and imitation carved coral finial on a wood turned baluster stem...
Bronze
Gilt Bronze Mounted Chinese Canton Famille Rose Porcelain Lamps
Located in London, GB
These elegant lamps are crafted from Chinese Canton famille rose porcelain and mounted with French gilt bronze (ormolu). The lamps feature beautiful vase-form porcelain bodies, which...
Ormolu, Bronze
Pair of Vintage Chinese Fish Scale Porcelain Table Lamps with Wood Bases
Located in Southampton, NJ
Elegant pair of vintage porcelain table lamps featuring a classic Chinese fish scale relief pattern across the ceramic bodies.
Porcelain, Wood
19th Century Chinese Nyonya Ware Porcelain Vase Mounted as a Lamp
Located in Atlanta, GA
Chinese, 19th century. A Peranakan porcelain or Nyonya ware vase decorated with flowers and a flying bird. Approx: 17.5" H x 4.25" W (vase measures 8.25" H). Please note: This has...
Porcelain
Antique Chinese Black Cloisonné Table Lamp with Floral Motif, China, circa 1890
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
Offered is a stunning, 19th century cloisonné table lamp with a floral and bird motif. Rested upon decorative wooden stand. US PLUG ADAPTATOR WILL BE FURNISHED FOR FREE TO THE US BU...
Brass
19th Century Pair Chinese Rose Medallion Vases / Lamps
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A wonderful quality and unusual colour pair of 19th Century Chinese Rose medallion porcelain vases / lamps. Having this rare yellow ground with the classical Cantonese floral decorat...
Porcelain
Shiwan Pottery Oil Lamps Late Qing Dynasty or Earlier, South Chinese, Two-Pieces
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
The smaller bearing a Chinese export stamp saying permission and character.
Pottery
Chinese Porcelain Lamp with Bird Decoration, 20th Century, Marked
Located in NANTES, FR
**Chinese Porcelain Lamp with Bird Decoration, 20th Century, Marked – The base of this porcelain lamp is made of wood. It dates from the 1960s–1970s. The lamp is sold without the ...
Wood, Porcelain
Chinese 19th Century Blue and White crackleware vases / lamps
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A good quality pair of late 19th Century Chinese export Blue and White crackleware vases / lamps.
Porcelain
19th Century Chinese Famille Rose Crackleware Vase / Lamp
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very impressive and decorative 19th Century Chinese Famille Rose crackelware vase / lamp. Having classical motif bronzed decoration, leaf and berry handles. Hand painted scenes dep...
Porcelain
$1,069Sale Price|20% Off
Chinese Elm and Rattan Coffee Table, Side, Lamp, Late 20th Century
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is a Chinese elm and rattan coffee table, a side table dating to the late 20th century. Attractive biscuit hues to the Chinese elm The woven rattan top in good order through...
Elm
Pair C19th Powder Blue Chinese vases / lamps with ormolu mounts.
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A fine quality and impressive pair of 19th Century Chinese Powder Blue lidded vases, with wonderful gilded ormolu coller and bases. The gilded decoration to the whole depicting scrol...
Ormolu
Early 20th-Century Chinese Cloisonné Table Lamp, Floral Motifs, Brass Accents
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
Early 20th-Century Chinese Cloisonné Table Lamp, Floral Motifs, Brass Accents This exquisite early 20th-century Chinese cloisonné table lamp is a stunning example of traditional ena...
Brass
Large Pair of 19th Chinese Yellow and Green Ground Vases/ lamps
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A large, good quality pair of 19th century Chinese green and yellow ground vases, each with classical motif decoration, scrolling flowers, leaves and a serpent wrapped around the nec...
Porcelain
Late Qing Dynasty Chinese Silver-Mounted Jade Opium Lamp
Located in North Palm Beach, FL
This Chinese Export opium lamp is an exceptional example of late Qing Dynasty craftsmanship, dating to the late 19th century, circa 1870–1900.
Jade, Sterling Silver
19th Century Pair of Imari Porcelaine Lamp Mounted Gilt Bronze
By Imari Porcelain
Located in Marseille, FR
19th century pair of porcelain lamp from Imari. Frame gilt bronze decorations of metal polychrome flowers.
Porcelain
An Exceptional Edward I. Farmer Jade and Coral Clock Garniture with Lamps
By Edward Farmer
Located in Long Island City, NY, NY
An Exceptional Edward I. Farmer Jade and Red Coral Clock Garniture with Matching Lamps, Circa 1930 A remarkably rare three-piece garniture by the celebrated New York dealer and desi...
Coral, Jade, Bronze
Antique Chinese Orange and White Cartouche Porcelain Table Lamp
Located in Queens, NY
"Antique Chinese (Early 20th Century) table lamp made from a round, luster ceramic vase with an orange and gold hexagonal patterned ground against two white cartouches depicting natu...
Metal, Brass
Expanded trade between Europe and East Asia, starting in the 16th century, led to a booming market for exported goods, particularly furniture. This was bolstered by the establishment of the Dutch and English East India Companies at the beginning of the 17th century. From folding screens and chairs to lacquer tables and silver, Chinese Export furniture was in demand and regularly copied and imitated, leading to styles like chinoiserie and Chinese Chippendale.
The expansion of exporting that had strengthened the arts during the Ming dynasty continued into the Qing dynasty era — Chinese designers made many furniture pieces specifically for export, resulting in distinctive designs that mixed traditional techniques with forms appealing to foreign buyers. For instance, cabinetmakers in Canton (modern-day Guangzhou) were prolific in crafting hardwood furniture for export in European styles that involved the expert joinery techniques of Chinese furniture. Designs for Chinese Export porcelain, cabinets, decorative objects and other furniture were often more ornately adorned than they would be for a local audience, such as with mother-of-pearl overlays or surfaces featuring lavish pictorial scenes or gold on black motifs. Some were even commissioned by wealthy European families to be adorned with their coat of arms.
Because lacquer furniture was especially prized, and the resin used to create it was difficult to import as it would harden during the long voyage, artisans in China and Japan exported numerous lacquer pieces. Long before lacquer made its way to Japan, the Chinese treated the material differently. They used it to create smooth, glossy surfaces, but also for carving, an art that began in the 12th century and is exclusively Chinese. These pieces are called cinnabar lacquer after the powdered mercury sulfide (cinnabar) employed to produce their characteristic red hue. A popular form for export was a compact cabinet with drawers, usually displayed on a small table. Undecorated furniture built in Europe was also shipped to China to be lacquered. The international exchange of design would influence furniture into the 19th century and later, informing styles such as Art Deco and Art Nouveau.
Find a collection of antique Chinese Export tables, beds, cupboards, table lamps and more furniture on 1stDibs.
Antique table lamps became a category of their own once electricity moved light off the wall and onto furniture. The form split quickly: task-driven designs like the Anglepoise on one side, decorative ceramic and glass on the other.
Styles to Know
Base material shapes the light as much as the shade does: ceramic and glass diffuse a softer glow, while brass and metal read more directional. Layer the look with a mid-century modern floor lamp for ambient light, or set a pair on a mid-century modern nightstand for a bedroom.
How to Choose the Right Vintage Table Lamp
Buying individually rather than as a pair allows more flexibility when mixing eras across a room. For those shopping by name rather than by shape, the history of the Anglepoise lamp is worth a read. Each piece comes from a vetted 1stDibs seller, with era, designer and condition detailed, and the 1stDibs Promise stands behind every purchase.