Hermes Bird Ashtray

Many antique, new and vintage ashtrays have taken on an entirely new purpose in today’s homes.

Ashtrays were once near-universal tabletop accessories. While these formerly ubiquitous objects were associated with smoking, drinking, gambling and other vices, well-designed and interesting large vintage ashtrays are candy dishes, coasters or cocktail garnish receptacles in today’s interiors. But don’t discount the ashtray’s initial function — amid your carefully curated coastal chic California decor, for example, a stone ashtray can help you manage the ashes that accumulate while you’re burning your morning incense.

Hand-painted porcelain ashtrays — the collection of which on 1stDibs includes visually striking vintage Hermes ashtrays and change trays — can introduce pops of color on any surface in your space. Old glass ashtrays, which are quite popular and easily found in free-form, organic shapes, can be a purely decorative final touch when styling a coffee table, whether you’ve filled it with wrapped lemon-drop candies or not.

In the postwar years, the democratization of luxury led to an explosion in the number of well-designed ashtrays, and there are many mid-century modern ashtrays to choose from on 1stDibs. (It’s no coincidence that sculptor Isamu Noguchi devised his “Dymaxion” version, which he hoped would make him rich, in 1945. Alas, it turned out to be too difficult to mass-produce.) The design collection of the Museum of Modern Art includes ashtrays by Carlo Scarpa (Murano glass, 1950–59); Achille Castiglioni (stainless steel with spring-like inserts, 1970); Masayuki Kurokawa (rubber and steel, 1973) and more. Smoking declined in popularity in the 1970s and ’80s, after the surgeon general’s warning began appearing on cigarette packs, but designers were still crafting ashtrays through the end of the century (especially outside the United States).

On 1stDibs, browse a collection of decorative vintage ashtrays that includes everything from modern and minimalist cigar ashtrays to outwardly ornate Art Deco ashtrays that evoke the opulence and elegance of the 1920s.