Midcentury Modern Brass Candlesticks

Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern American 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.

Postwar American architects and designers were animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist “International Style” architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the ’30s 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, respectively, pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair. George Nelson and his design team created Bubble lamp shades using a new translucent polymer skin. Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were re-purposed: the Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs that used surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests. The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by legendary manufacturer Knoll, a chief influence 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.

As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century 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, blonde-wood furniture — and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.

As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.

Vintage, new and antique candlesticks and candleholders do not simply infuse a dining room with a soft, warm glow. They also add dimension, conjure drama and draw attention to a table or mantel. Despite their practical origins, today, decorative candlesticks and their holders elevate spaces by matching interiors or adding color and bold shapes.

For those who enjoy the rich pageantry of the Old Masters, candlesticks in the Baroque and Rococo styles offer intricacy and opulence. The design of Baroque candlesticks — thanks to the influence of the Catholic Church — often boasted complex shapes and featured biblical figures. While bronze candlestick holders have a long history dating back to the ancient world, many 17th-century candlesticks were made of luxurious silver. Armed with a disposable income and a desire to show off their status, the newly emerging middle class acquired candlestick holders as intricate art pieces, beautiful and opulent in their own right.

The Art Deco movement of the early 20th century saw candlesticks designed with simplicity and symmetry in mind. Art Deco candlesticks boast all manner of forms, ranging from sleek curves to bodies of ribbed crystal or bronze that take the shape of animals.

While some 20th-century-era candlesticks are akin to statues in their grandeur, these decorative items became especially fashionable in the mid-20th century for atmospherically illuminating dinner tables. Mid-century modern candlesticks frequently epitomize the streamlined functionality that we’ve come to associate with the era.

Find a comprehensive collection of vintage, new and antique candlesticks on 1stDibs.