Large Space Age Lucite and Metal Ball Lamp, Italy, 1970s
By Stilux
Located in SAINT-OUEN, FR
Large Space age mid-century ball lamp in lucite and metal chrome attributed to the italian design
Metal, Chrome
Pair of Karl Springer Chrome and Original Purple String Shade Ball Lamps, 1980s
By Leviton, Karl Springer
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This stunning and very rare pair of iconic midcentury "Ball" lamps was designed in the 1980s by
Brass, Chrome
Mid-Century Dutch Ball Adjustable Table Lamp
Located in London, GB
Dutch adjustable ball table lamp. Holland, c1950s. Painted metal and brass, original blue
Metal, Brass
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. Light source
Metal
Mid-Century Space Age Ball Floor Lamp, 1960s
Located in Hamburg, DE
the room. The large, chrome -colored reflector ball is particularly striking on this design. The lamp
Metal
Mercury Glass Ball Form Table Lamp
By The Marbro Lamp Company
Located in New York, NY
Chic mirrored mercury glass ball form table lamp, in excellent, original, clean and working
Pewter
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
Metal, Chrome
Vintage George Kovacs Mid Century Modern Brass Stacked Ball Table Lamp
By George Kovacs
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage George Kovacs Mid Century Modern Brass Stacked Ball Table Lamp. Circa Mid 20th Century
Brass
$2,500 / set
Pair of Mid-Century Modern Brass Ball Lamps
Located in New York, NY
Painted white lamps with brass ball to the base. Measures: 30.75 H (to top of finial) x 19.5 H
Brass, Metal
$2,850Sale Price / set|25% Off
Pair of Mid-Century Brass Stacked Ball Table Lamps
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Swank pair of midcentury, Asian Modern stacked ball table lamps with a strong James Mont vibe
Brass
1970's Pair of Sleek Polished Brass Ball Lamps by Laurel Lamp Company
By Laurel Lamp Company
Located in New York, NY
1970's Sleek pair of ball lamps by Laurel lamp company. The polished brass ball lamps have
Brass
Tall Mid Century ceramic - plaster stacked ball table lamp
Located in Liberty, NY
Beautiful three ball stacked mid century ceramic lamp with a plaster style finish. measurement of
Plaster
Mid Century Hala Brown Ball Rotating Floor Lamp, 1970s
Located in ROTTERDAM, ZH
Unique mid century floor lamp with rotating pole. The ball mechanism in the base allows you to
Metal
Vintage Art Deco Mid Century Modern Acrylic Lucite Stacked Ball Table Lamps Pair
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Art Deco Mid Century Modern Acrylic Lucite & Brass Stacked Ball Table Lamps - a Pair. Circa
Brass
Vintage Mid Century Modern George Kovacs Stack Brass Ball Side Table Floor Lamp
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Vintage Mid Century Modern George Kovacs Stacked Brass Ball Side Table Floor Lamp with Round Glass
Brass
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
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 Dutch Space Age Ball Floor Lamp from Gepo, 1960s
By Gepo
Located in Hamburg, DE
Rare Space Age with a glass ball reflector. The most striking thing about this lamp is the movable
Metal
Mid-Century Modern Pair of Graduating Rock Crystal Round Ball Form Lamps
Located in Roslyn, NY
Wonderful Mid-Century Modern pair of graduating rock crystal round ball form lamps. Measures: 25
Rock Crystal
Mid-Century Dutch Space Age Ball Table Lamp from Gepo, 1960s
By Gepo
Located in Hamburg, DE
Rare Space Age table lamp with glass ball reflector. The most striking thing about this lamp is
Metal
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. Circa Late 20th
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
Brass, Chrome
Mid-Century German Space Age Big Ball Planet Table Lamp, 1970s
By Doria Leuchten Germany
Located in Hamburg, DE
otherwise. Additional information: Material: Glass, Metal Color: Silver Period: 1970s Styles: Mid-Century
Metal
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. Perfect working condition and uses a max. 60
Brass, Chrome
Mid Century/Modern/ Art Deco Rock Crystal Ball lamps pair Nickel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
. The stepped base in deco design is at 6 1/2" dia and hi=polished Nickel finish . Total ht of the lamp
Rock Crystal
Murano Stacked Ball Table Lamp
Located in Bradenton, FL
, Italy—renowned for centuries of superior glass-making--this lamp features a luxurious gold-infused glass
Murano Glass
$3,000Sale Price / set|20% Off
Pair of Rembrandt Brass Open Rib Table Lamps with Crystal Ball Centres
By Rembrandt Lamp Company
Located in Chicago, IL
Pair of vase form open rib table lamps with internal crystal spheres. Black lacquered and stepped
Crystal, Metal, Brass
Large Mid-Century Modern Brass Cylindrical Ball Table or Floor Lamp
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A simple yet sophisticated design floor lamp from the 1970s. It features a brass-clad cylindrical
Brass
Mid Century Modern Chunky Lucite Orange Rock Candy Swag Ball Table Lamp - Pair
Located in Chicago, IL
Vintage Mid Century Modern Chunky Lucite Orange Rock Candy Swag Ball Table Lamps are unique and eye
Lucite
Mid-Century Table Lamp Ball Shade and Tulip Base Belgium, 70s
Located in Bastogne, BE
Very Beautiful mid-century lamp on a gold repulsed brass base finished by a shortbread glass from
Brass
$7,280
Quartz Ball Lamp
Located in Dallas, TX
This lamp is comprised of two quartz balls stacked upon one another divided by an inch thick disk
Quartz
Mid-Century Brass "Light Ball" Table Lamp by Castiglioni for Flos, Italy 1960s
By Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos
Located in Roma, IT
Wonderful "Light Ball" table lamp in the rare golden brass version, designed by Achille and Pier
Metal, Brass
$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
Pair of Vintage Ceramic Metallic Silver Glaze Ball Lamps by Marbro, circa 1970
By The Marbro Lamp Company
Located in San Francisco, CA
Pair of vintage ceramic metallic silver glaze ball lamps by Marbro circa 1970 Gorgeous lamps
Ceramic
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
Steel, Chrome
Mid-Century Modern Pair of Very Large Table Lamps Obelisk with Ball
By James Mont
Located in Port Jervis, NY
obelisk with ball and accentuated with a large ball finials, Always optional to remove. These lamps make a
Metal, Brass
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
Metal
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. Circa 1970s
Chrome
Mid-Century Modern Vintage Glass Ball Table Lamp Burnt Orange 1940s Germany
Located in Vienna, AT
Mid-Century Modern vintage table lamp with glass base ball like and a triangle shape lamp shade in
Metal
$2,500
Paul Mayen Ball Lamp
By Paul Mayen
Located in Westport, CT
Paul Mayen Marble base brushed stainless steel white frosted Globe design lamp.
Marble, Stainless Steel
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
Pair of Mid-Century Modern Italian Brass and Murano Glass Ball Table Lamps, 70s
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Pair of large sphere lamps in satin-finished Murano glass and brass bases, Italy, 1970s.
Brass
Stilnovo Ball Lamp Italy 1960s
By Stilnovo
Located in Munich, DE
Ball lamp designed in painted black and milk glass with the original Stilnovo sticker made in Italy
Metal
Robert Sonneman "Gazing Ball" Lamp
By Robert Sonneman
Located in Highland, IN
sphere appears to be a chrome ball when off, but after activating the lamp with a simple touch, the three
Steel
$416Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Adjustasble Chrome Ball Desk Lamp
By Gino Sarfatti
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, AR
Excellent example of mid-century design this desk or reading lamp
Aluminum, Steel
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
Metal, Chrome
$448Sale Price|30% Off
Stacked Crystal Five Ball Table Lamp
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Elegant Mid-Century Modern stacking crystal five ball table lamp. Measures: 8" diameter base x
Crystal
Sculptural Italian Marble Ball Floor Lamp
Located in Atlanta, GA
Sculptural Italian marble ball floor lamp, Italy, circa 1980s. Very heavy and well made. Rewired
Marble, Metal, Brass
$743Sale Price|20% Off
Table Lamp glass ball Doria, 1960s
By Doria Leuchten Germany
Located in Bingen am Rhein, RP
table lamp with big glass ball The beautiful and rare lamp is a true design classic from the 60s
Metal, Chrome
Atomic Double Cone & Ball Table Lamp
Located in Hanover, MA
Large scale mid-century modern table lamp made from two spun aluminum cones and a large brass
Brass
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
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
Chrome
Lightolier Atomic Sputnik Ball Table Lamp
By Lightolier
Located in Palm Springs, CA
A great table lamp with its original globe shades out of a nice Palm Springs Estate. This 1970’s
Metal
Ball lamp on Pine base 1970 France
By Andre Cazenave
Located in Den Haag, NL
Very nice Ball lamp .Stone in a resin .Solid Pine round base beathiful effect when lid . One large
Epoxy Resin
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
Chrome
Vintage Murano Opaline Glass Ball Table Lamps Blue
By Alfredo Barbini
Located in Smyrna, GA
. Each ball has thick diagonal ribs and is filled with controlled bubbles. Lamps measure 23 inches from
Blown Glass
Chrome Ball Guzzini Meblo Table Lamp 1970s
By Guzzini
Located in Čelinac, BA
Meblo Guzzini Space Age Table Lamp 1970s
Chrome
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.