Paraffin Lamp

Choose from an assortment of styles, material and more with respect to the paraffin lamp you’re looking for at 1stDibs. A paraffin lamp — often made from metal, glass and brass — can elevate any home. Find 60 options for an antique or vintage paraffin lamp now, or shop our selection of 13 modern versions for a more contemporary example of this long-cherished piece. You’ve searched high and low for the perfect paraffin lamp — we have versions that date back to the 19th Century alongside those produced as recently as the 21st Century are available. A paraffin lamp, designed in the mid-century modern, Victorian or Scandinavian Modern style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. You’ll likely find more than one paraffin lamp that is appealing in its simplicity, but Hans-Agne Jakobsson, Kaiser Idell and Kaiser Leuchten produced versions that are worth a look.

The average selling price for a paraffin lamp at 1stDibs is $865, while they’re typically $65 on the low end and $7,226 for the highest priced.

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.