Chotka Lamp
Early 20th Century Austrian Table Lamps
Bronze
Recent Sales
Early 20th Century Austrian Islamic Table Lamps
Marble, Bronze
Antique Early 1900s Austrian Islamic Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 20th Century Austrian Islamic Table Lamps
Bronze
Early 20th Century Austrian Moorish Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
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Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Figurative Sculptures
Limestone
Antique 19th Century Unknown Empire Cabinets
Mahogany
Antique 18th Century German Other Decorative Boxes
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Animal Sculptures
Crystal, Gold Plate, Brass
Antique 19th Century Chinese Beds and Bed Frames
Gold Leaf
Antique 19th Century Swiss Neoclassical Decorative Boxes
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Animal Sculptures
Porcelain
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Roman Figurative Scul...
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Animal Sculptures
Sterling Silver
19th Century Still-life Paintings
Oil
Antique Late 19th Century French Louis XIV Jewelry Boxes
Brass, Bronze
Antique 15th Century and Earlier French Gothic Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Mexican Natural Specimens
Other
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Animal Sculptures
Gold Plate
Antique 19th Century English Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brass, Ormolu
Antique Early 19th Century Russian Neoclassical Vases
Metal, Ormolu
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.
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