Pair of Mid Century Modern Sculptural Glass Ball with Chrome Diffuser 1970 C1970
By Laurel Lamp Company
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Fantastic pair of C1970s table lamps with large blown glass ball which encompasses a diffuser type element in the center thats tapered and reflects the light from above. Original sha...
Metal, Chrome
Vintage Mid Century Modern George Kovacs Spiral Chrome Ball Table Lamps - a Pair
By George Kovacs
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Mid Century Modern George Kovacs Spiral Chrome Eyeball Table Lamps on Black Laminate Bases - a Pair. Circa Mid 20th Century. Measurements: 31" H x 12" W x 12" D. Base: 10" Di...
Chrome
Vintage Mid Century Modern George Kovacs Stacked Ball Chrome Gunmetal Table Lamp
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Mid Century Modern George Kovacs Stacked Ball Chrome Gunmetal Table Lamp.
Chrome
Vintage Mid Century Modern Chrome Ball & Column George Kovacs Style Table Lamp
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Mid Century Modern Chrome Ball & Column George Kovacs Style Table Lamp w/ Brass Plated Accents.
Brass, Chrome
Vintage Adjustable Chrome Ball Desk Lamp, Mid-Century Modern, 1960s
By Gino Sarfatti
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, AR
Excellent example of mid-century design this desk or reading lamp
Aluminum, Steel
$2,640Sale Price|40% Off
Mid-century Chrome "Ball Line" Lamp by Charles Hollis Jones, 1965, Pair
By Charles Hollis Jones
Located in Van Nuys, CA
pair of chrome-plated steel floor reading lamps from the Ball Line, designed in 1965 by Charles Hollis Jones. The Lamp features an actual armature that extends out 16" from the cente...
Steel, Chrome
Vintage Mid Century Modern Chrome Ball Space Age 3 Light Table Lamp - a Pair
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Mid Century Modern Chrome Ball Space Age 3 Light Table Lamp After Robert Sonneman - a Pair.
Chrome
Mid-Century Modern Chrome and Brass Ball Table Lamp Paul Evans Style
By Paul Evans
Located in Miami, FL
Mid-Century Modern chrome and brass ball table lamp.
Brass, Chrome
Kovacs Chrome Stacked Ball Table Lamp
By George Kovacs
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A stacked ball caterpillar styled chrome table lamp with a high gloss black barrel shade. Sitting on a satin black base and having a black matching socket shaft designed and manufact...
Metal, Chrome
Mid Century Modern Chrome Stacked Ball Table Lamp in the Kovacs' Style. C 1970s
By George Kovacs
Located in Miami, FL
Vintage Mid Century Modern Chrome Stacked Ball Table Lamp in the George Kovacs' Style.
Chrome
Chrome Ball Lamp Attributed to Kovacs
By George Kovacs
Located in New York, NY
Stacked chrome ball table lamp, attributed to Kovacs Lighting. Clean original, working condition. Lamp shows minor cosmetic wear, normal and consistent with age, shade not included. ...
Chrome
8 Light Chrome Ball Table Lamp
By Robert Sonneman
Located in New York, NY
Post Modern Art Deco Revival decorative table lamp. The three way switch enables three distinct light combinations. Bright chrome arms, and ball base, mounted on disk form black base...
Chrome
$597Sale Price|40% Off
Mid-century Stacked Graduating Crystal Ball Table Lamps w/ Chrome Base, Pair
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Pair of mid-century modern stacking crystal graduating three ball table lamps with chrome base.
Crystal
Van Teal Mid-Century Modern 2 Light Chrome Ball Floor Lamp Silver Black Shade 80
By Van Teal
Located in Miami, FL
Van Teal tall Mid-Century Modern ball chrome floor lamp 2 lights with custom silver and black shade.
Metal, Chrome
Three Chrome Ball Floor Lamp by Raymor
By Raymor
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A floor lamp bye Raymor consisting of three chrome ball light and black painted metal base. Newly rewired.
Chrome, Metal
Chrome and Glass Ball Lamp by Jere
By Curtis Jeré
Located in New York, NY
Rare chrome and glass table lamp by Jere, signed, and dated 1971. The lamp is triangular in form with a large glass ball globe top, it is in very fine original and working condition....
Chrome
$396Sale Price|20% Off
Midcentury Chrome Ball Lamp Attributed to Kovacs
By Kovacs
Located in Esperance, NY
Midcentury chrome ball lamp attributed to Kovacs.
Chrome
Mid-Century German Space Age Big Ball Planet Chrome and Glass Floor Lamp, 1960s
By Doria Leuchten Germany
Located in Hamburg, DE
Mid-Century German Space Age Big Ball Planet Chrome and Glass Floor Lamp from Doria Leuchten, 1960s Imposing floor lamp from the German manufacturer Doria.
Metal
Chrome Ball Guzzini Meblo Table Lamp 1970s
By Guzzini
Located in Čelinac, BA
Meblo Guzzini Space Age Table Lamp 1970s
Chrome
Mid-Century Modern Lamp by Mutual Sunset Lamp Company
By Mutual Sunset Lamp Co.
Located in Dallas, TX
A Mid-Century Modern lamp with round, black base and a zigzag chrome support and a chrome eye-ball light shade.
Chrome
Mid-Century Space Age Ball Floor Lamp, 1960s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Rare Space Age Sticking lamp. Standing lamp with an imposing diffuser ball in orange.
Metal
Mid-Century Space Age Ball Floor Lamp, 1960s
Located in Hamburg, DE
The large, chrome -colored reflector ball is particularly striking on this design.
Metal
$780Sale Price|20% Off
1960s George Kovacs Stacked Chrome Ball Floor Lamp
By George Kovacs
Located in Esperance, NY
1960s George Kovacs Stacked chrome ball floor lamp.
Chrome
Chrome Stacked Ball Table Lamp c. 1970's
By George Kovacs
Located in New York, NY
Classic chrome stacked ball table lamp by George Kovacs, circa 1970's. This example is in very good original, clean and working condition, showing only light cosmetic wear, normal a...
Chrome
Angelo Lelli Style Adjustable Chrome Desk Lamp with Chrome Ball Shade
By Angelo Lelii
Located in Bainbridge, NY
Angelo Lelli style adjustable magnetic chrome reading lamp, bedside lamp with chrome swivel eyeball shade. 1960's. Featuring a black magnetic bar arm, 5D chrome ball shade adjusting ...
Chrome, Magnets, Metal
$1,104Sale Price|40% Off
Mid Century Anglepoise Chrome Desk Lamp By Prescolite
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mid Century Desk lamp By Prescolite plated in chrome with a two-ball joint Anglepoise brass neck.
Chrome
Mid Century Modern Stacked Lucite and Chrome Skyscraper Floor Lamps - a Pair
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Mid Century Modern Stacked Lucite and Chrome Skyscraper Floor Lamps - a Pair.
Chrome
Modernist Chromed Steel Floor Lamp by Jim Bindman for Rainbow Lamp Co
By Rainbow Lamp Company 1
Located in Buffalo, NY
Modernist chromed steel floor lamp by Jim Bindman for Rainbow Lamp Co. Silver ball dimmer switch. Sleek, simple, elegant design, fit seamlessly into any environment.
Chrome, Steel
Mid-Century Chrome "Moon Light" Table Lamp, circa 1970s
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
Mid-Century chrome "Moon Light" table lamp, circa 1970s.
Chrome
Chrome Ball Adjustable Floor Lamp with Black Base and Stems
By Robert Sonneman
Located in New York, NY
Three light ball top floor lamp, each ball fixture will adjust in position to direct the light, and each has its own on/off switch. Classic 1970s black and chrome floor lamp. Each sh...
Chrome, Steel
Florian Schulz Double Ball Chrome Arc Floor Lamp, Height Adjustable, 1970
By Florian Schulz
Located in Rijssen, NL
An exceptional, rare to find giant double ball floor lamp by Florian Schulz, Germany, 1970. This lamp is adjustable and can be pivoted in multiple positions, it is being designed for...
Metal, Chrome
Sonneman Table Lamp Chrome & Lucite Mid Century Modern Space Age
By Robert Sonneman
Located in Lake Worth, FL
1960s-70s Mid Century Modern curved lucite and chrome ball table lamp.
Chrome
Robert Sonneman "Orbiter" Leather And Chrome Mid Century Modern Floor Lamp
By Robert Sonneman
Located in Keego Harbor, MI
The "Orbiter" a vintage mid century modern chrome ball lamp designed by Robert Sonneman in 1970.
Chrome
$299Sale Price|48% Off
Mid-Century Modern Table Lamp, Aluminum & Chrome, Italy, 1970s Design
Located in Albano Laziale, Rome/Lazio
A fun lamp suitable for small spaces or to put an accent light on an object. The chrome ball is attached with a magnet making it possible to direct the light in any direction. Can be...
Aluminum, Chrome
A Chrome Plated "Ball Line" Floor Lamp, Charles Hollis Jones, 1960s
By Charles Hollis Jones
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This is a handsome chrome plated floor lamp designed by Charles Hollis Jones. Originally commissioned for Lucille Ball in the 1960s, this sleek chrome plated lamp is weighted at the ...
Chrome
$1,480Sale Price|20% Off
Fun Large Panton Style Ball Globe Floor Lamp with Chrome Base
By Verner Panton
Located in Pemberton, NJ
Fun Panton style large globe floor lamp. Oversized plastic globe sits on lovely chrome base. Adds tremendous pop appeal to any room.
Chrome
$995Sale Price|50% Off
Mid-Century Modern Arched Table Lamp in Steel & Chrome, USA
By Lightolier, Stilnovo, Reggiani
Located in St- Leonard, Quebec
Elegant, bold, solid, well-made counterweight table lamp with an arched horizontal stem landing on a half bell shade. The height setting steel mechanism is easy to operate and ver...
Steel, Chrome
Mid-Century German Space Age Big Ball Planet Table Lamp, 1970s
By Doria Leuchten Germany
Located in Hamburg, DE
This large Planet table lamp was produced by the German manufacturer Doria Leuchten. The impressive table lamp comes with a large glass diffuser and chrome base. It is equipped with ...
Metal
Large Diameter Ball Globe Shade 360 Degree Adjustable Floor Lamp Chrome Base
By Robert Sonneman
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Large Diameter Ball Globe Shade 360 Degree Adjustable Floor Lamp Chrome Base MINT!
Chrome
Dutch Chrome Floor Lamp from Gepo, Double Eye-Ball, K & H Norway
By Gepo
Located in Buffalo, NY
This chrome floor lamp was designed during the 1960s, and manufactured in the Netherlands by Gepo.K & H Norway.. It is made from chrome lucite adjuster details,,, features two indep...
Chrome
Pair of Mid-Century Modern Stacked Ball Table Lamps with New RH Shades
By George Kovacs
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Fabulous high quality pair of stacked ball, which are literally true stacked balls since they are all separate pieces from one another. Good weight and in very good vintage condition...
Steel, Chrome
Sculptural Mid Century Ceramic Lamps in White and Chrome Glaze
By Bitossi
Located in Atlanta, GA
Pair of Sculptural Mid Century Ceramic Lamps in White and Chrome Glaze, attributed to Bitossi, unsigned, Italy, circa 1970s.
Metal
$2,700Sale Price|40% Off
Mid-Century Modern Chrome Blond Maple Stacked Torchiere Floor Lamp
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Unique Stacked Aluminum tube and hand-shaped Blond maple torchiere floor lamp with a crystal ball detail along the top. The lamp features a Maple wood base with a series of four alum...
Wood
Doria Big Ball Table Lamp, Hand-Blown Glass, Chrome Base, 1970
By Doria Leuchten Germany
Located in Ludwigslust, DE
A Big Ball table lamp in the rare version with an extra large glass body. The hand-blown glass diffuser shows no signs of damage and has the typical bubbles in the glass which additi...
Glass
Pair of Karl Springer Chrome and Original Purple String Shade Ball Lamps, 1980s
By Karl Springer, Leviton
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This stunning and very rare pair of iconic midcentury "Ball" lamps was designed in the 1980s by illustrious American designer Karl Springer. This pair features two hemispheres of pol...
Brass, Chrome
Space Age Three Light Chrome Ball Shade Floor Lamp by Koch & Lowy c. 1970's
By Koch & Lowy
Located in New York, NY
Iconic Space Age, Post Modern, Mid Century floor lamp, having three adjustable ball form shades, each with a on/off switch, attached to a vertical pole, mounted on a disk form base. ...
Chrome
Pair of Mid-Century Modern Cork and Chrome Table Lamps of Bottle Form
By Laurel
Located in Nantucket, MA
Large pair of MCM cork table lamps of bottle-form, the cork body is set on a circular chrome foot and topped with a bell-form cone neck, also in chrome. Large harps with ball finials...
Chrome, Stainless Steel
Mid-Century German Space Age Glass and Chrome Table Lamp, 1960s
Located in Hamburg, DE
Impressive Space Age table or floor lamp with a hand-blown glass ball. What is particularly striking about this lamp is the contrast between the organic design language of the glass...
Metal
Mid-Century Modern Modernist Chrome and Ebonized Wood Vintage Pole Floor Lamp
By Milo Baughman
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Chrome and Ebonized Wood Floor Lamp, circa 1950s. Item features sleek modernist lines, double sockets, and an ebonized sold wood on raised ball form feet. Shade not included
Chrome
$1,439Sale Price|20% Off
Mid Century Modern Gray Glass Table Lamp, 20th Century
Located in Lisbon, PT
An Italian mid century modern table lamp features a round gray glass ball with a chromed metal spiral wrapped around it.
Metal, Chrome
Mid-Century Space Age Globe Floor Lamp, Chrome & Plastic, 1960s Design
Located in Hamburg, DE
Rare Space Age floor lamp with height-adjustable ball. A small but impressive object. A luminous ball on a pole. The large diffuser ball can move up and down the shaft of light. The...
Metal
$4,659Sale Price|20% Off
Mid-Century Chrome and Wood "Tiburón" Desk Lamp by Grin Luz, 1960s
By Luis Pérez de la Oliva
Located in Lisboa, PT
This exceptional desk lamp—unofficially dubbed the Tiburón (Spanish for "shark")—was designed by Luis Pérez de la Oliva for Grin Luz in the 1960s and stands among the most coveted pi...
Wood
Robert Sonneman "Gazing Ball" Lamp
By Robert Sonneman
Located in Highland, IN
A rare and important design by famous lighting designer Robert Sonneman, this wildly innovative table lamp uses one-way mirror and touch-lamp technology to create a striking minimali...
Steel
French 1950s Chrome and Glass Ball Table Lamp in the manner of Jacques Adnet
By Jacques Adnet
Located in London, England
Well-portioned chromed brass table lamp, with spherical glass detail, very much in the manner of Jacques Adnet. French 1950s. Now rewired for UK usage. Lovely original condition wi...
Brass
Art Deco Streamlined Chrome Uplight w/ Glass Ball and Bronze Base
Located in New York, NY
With elegant proportions and vertical presence, this lamp is highly characteristic of the design motifs and materials of the Art Deco era, and will style beautifully in a wide array ...
Bronze, Chrome
$3,643Sale Price|20% Off
Black Lacquer Glass Table Lamp, 20th Century, Mid Century Modern
Located in Lisbon, PT
An Italian mid century modern black lacquer refinished table lamp features a round gray glass ball with a chromed metal spiral wrapped around it.
Brass
$1,800 / set
Pair Stacked Crystal Glass Ball Table Lamps
Located in New York, NY
Pair of finely crafted crystal glass table lamps measuring 26 1/2 by 7 by 5 inches with chrome plated hardware. Apparently unsigned and in excellent condition.
Art Glass
Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by celebrated manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
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.
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
There are many lessons to be learned from the lofts, apartments and townhouses of architects and decorators in Manhattan and beyond.
Having created extravagant homes for reality TV’s biggest stars, the designer is stepping into the spotlight with his first book.
The Louisiana-born and -bred architect talks to 1stdibs about the art of making timeless places that matter.
The Palm Springs interior decorator developed a mid-century style that defined the vacation homes of celebrities and other notables, including Bob Hope and Lucille Ball.
The houses from this New York studio cloak modernist tendencies within what are often more traditional trappings.
In the market for a fantastic fixture from the 1940s, ’50s or ’60s? Here are some names to know.