Measured Time Clock

A sculptor, painter, ceramicist and furniture and lighting designer, Isamu Noguchi was one of the most prolific and protean creative forces of the 20th century and a key figure in the development of organic modernism. Noguchi’s sculptures and designs — his chairs and tables as well as his timeless Akari lamp and other lighting fixtures — share a common spirit: one of lyrical abstraction, tempo and flow and harmonious balance.

Noguchi was born in Los Angeles to an American mother and Japanese father, and spent most of his childhood in Japan. He returned to the United States at age 13, went to high school in Indiana and enrolled at Columbia University to study medicine. At the same time, he took night courses in sculpture. 

Within three months, Noguchi left college to pursue art full time. Noguchi was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927 and traveled to Paris to work under Constantin Brancusi. It marked a turning point. Inspired by Brancusi, Noguchi embraced abstraction and began to sculpt in the expressive, rhythmic style that would be the hallmark of his work.

Once back in New York, Noguchi was introduced to design by what would become a lifelong collaboration creating sets for choreographer Martha Graham. His first industrial designs were in Bakelite: the sleek Measured Time kitchen timer created circa 1932, and his famed Zenith Radio Nurse intercom, from 1937. 

Ten years later, Herman Miller introduced Noguchi’s now-iconic glass-topped coffee table with an articulated wooden base. His washi paper and bamboo Akari light sculptures, handmade in Japan, debuted in 1951. In the late 1950s, Noguchi designed for Knoll, creating such pieces as his dynamic Cyclone table and rocking stool.

For collectors, Noguchi’s furniture and lighting designs remain his most accessible work — they have the same power and presence that Noguchi brought to his art.

Find vintage Isamu Noguchi floor lamps, table lamps, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.

Whether you’re working on-site or giving your home office the makeover it deserves, a new, vintage or antique table clock or desk clock is a decorative touch that blends ornament and functionality. Who says that a unique desk clock isn’t a meaningful addition to your home office or library? And who says you don’t need a cool clock anymore?

While our means for telling time have evolved from pocket watches to wristwatches and finally to our digital phones, there is likely still a place for a table clock or desk clock in your life, even if it isn’t a modern desk clock.

Antique and vintage clocks appeal to our penchant for nostalgia, whisking us back in time to the 18th and 19th centuries, when clockmakers were busying themselves with designs for objects such as mantel clocks, then ornate pieces that were typically displayed on top of a fireplace. Tabletop clocks and desk clocks are variations on the carriage clock, a small, portable timepiece outfitted with a hinged carrying handle that garnered popularity as the growth of rail travel took shape.

Clocks make great collectibles. More than one mantel clock in your home library is going to elevate the space where your carefully curated stacks of books live, while a well-designed small decorative desk clock can be a fun way to express your personal style. Amid your inkwell, porcelain paperweights and other desk accessories, a desk or table clock designed during the Art Deco or Louis XVI eras, for example, is going to stand out in your workspace as a striking accent.

Since new, vintage and antique tabletop and desk clocks are not as common in today’s interiors, these objects will make a statement in yours. Find a spectacular clock on 1stDibs now.