'Emily II' Pendant Lamp in White Semi Matte for Moss Objects
By Moss Objects, Daniel Becker
Located in Glendale, CA
'Emily II' Pendant Lamp in White Semi Matte for Moss Objects Created in Berlin by award-winning lighting designer Daniel Becker for Moss Objects and handmade to order in Germany usi...
Metal
$3,450 / item
Gino Sarfatti Model No. 2065 Wall Lamp for Astep
By Gino Sarfatti, Flos, Astep
Located in Glendale, CA
Gino Sarfatti model no. 2065 wall lamp for Astep. Designed in 1950, this is an authorized Astep/Flos re-edition by Alessandro Sarfatti, grandson of Gino Sarfatti, who applies his g...
Steel
Gino Sarfatti wall lamp model 3 Arteluce Italy 1950
By Gino Sarfatti, Arteluce
Located in Roosendaal, Noord Brabant
In 1951, he first began to work with plexi-glass. Gino Sarfatti was the first to design a lamp that uses halogen bulbs back in 1971.
Metal, Aluminum, Chrome
Frisbi 850 Pendant Lamp by Achille Castiglioni for Flos, 1970s, Italy
By Achille Castiglioni, Flos
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Frisbi 850 Pendant Lamp by Achille Castiglioni for Flos, 1970s, Italy Minimal design Very high quality. Fully functional. Lamps are in very good vintage condition. Wear consistent ...
Metal
'Emily I' Pendant Lamp in White Semi Matte for Moss Objects
By Moss Objects, Daniel Becker
Located in Glendale, CA
'Emily I' Pendant Lamp in White Semi Matte for Moss Objects Created in Berlin by award-winning lighting designer Daniel Becker for Moss Objects and handmade to order in Germany usin...
Metal
1950s French Lamp Brass Wall Sconce after Mathieu Matégot
By Mathieu Matégot
Located in Chula Vista, CA
For your consideration, an European wall sconce after Mathieu Matégot. Unmarked. Brass trim, expanded metal steel painted in black and plexiglass shield. France circa the 1950s. Dim...
Brass, Steel
Midcentury Round Stilux Ceiling Lamp Italian Design Red White, 1950s
By Stilux
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Midcentury round Stilux ceiling lamp Italian design red white 1950s plexiglass cup red. Measures: Only light height cm.25, diameter cm.28.
Metal
Extraordinary Italian Design Fiberglass XL Pendant Lamp, 1960s, Italy
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Extraordinary Italian design fiberglass XL pendant lamp, 1960s, Italy This lamp works with E27 light bulb. Measures: Height: 90 cm Diameter and height of shade: 55 cm and 20...
Brass
Sunburst Round Wall or Ceiling Mounted Lamp, Kaiser, 1950s
By Kaiser
Located in Antwerp, BE
Beautiful fifties sunburst ceiling light with brass accents also to use as a wall lamp. We can offer a set of two ceiling lights, price per piece. Both Lights in a good original Vint...
Metal, Brass
Midcentury Ceiling Lamp with Glass Stones Brass Frame Vereinigten Werkstätten
Located in München, DE
Mid-Century Modern ceiling lamp with glass stones and brass frame.
Crystal, Brass
$471Sale Price / set|20% Off
Pair of Midcentury Design Plastic Wall Lamps, 1970s
Located in Praha, CZ
- Around 1970s - Perfect original condition jr.
Plexiglass, Plastic
Two very rare original Italian 1960s wall lamps with glass and mirror components
By Barovier&Toso
Located in München, DE
Two very rare original 1960s wall lamps like Barovier & Toso. Made in Italy. Beautiful, elegant Italian design. The lamp consists of a tinted round mirror with an attached wall brack...
Mirror, Murano Glass, Plexiglass
Ceiling Lamp by Gianemilio, Pietro and Anna Monti for Kartell, 1960s, Italy
By Kartell, G.P.A. Monti
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Ceiling Lamp by Gianemilio, Pietro and Anna Monti for Kartell, 1960s, Italy Plexiglass cover and black metal body. Lampshade is in very good vintage condition. This lamp works wit...
Metal
French 1950s Counterbalance Swing-Arm Wall Lamp by Lunel
By Arlus
Located in Hanover, MA
1950's French wall mounted swing arm lamp with counterbalance pulley mechanism for raising and lowering the shade. The arm swings 170 degrees. In excellent original condition. Shad...
Brass
Exceptional Hard Plastic Ceiling Lamp by Rudolf Dörfler, 1960s, Switzerland
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Exceptional Hard plastic ceiling lamp by Rudolf Dörfler, 1960s, Switzerland Sculptural minimal design very elegant rare ceiling lamp . It is very ideal and suitable for all liv...
Plexiglass
$1,323Sale Price / set|20% Off
Pair of Midcentury Wall Lamps in style of Svea Winkler, Italy, 1970s
By Svea Winkler
Located in Praha, CZ
- very nice style of lighting - marked - rare type
Metal
Model 'Cabrio' Flush Mount Ceiling Lamp for Lamperti, 1960s, Italy
By Lamperti
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Model 'Cabrio' Flush Mount Ceiling Lamp for Lamperti, 1960s, Italy Lampshade is in very good vintage condition. This lamp works with E27 light bulbs. Wired and suitable to use wit...
Metal
$2,741Sale Price|20% Off
Angelo Lelli Lelii Ceiling Lamp from the 50's
By Angelo Lelii
Located in bari, IT
Arredoluce ceiling chandelier, c. 1955 production, very rare model by Angelo Lelli (Lelii). Italian designer-entrepreneur Angelo Lelli--also spelled "Lelii" as some of his signatu...
Metal, Brass
Memphis Design Wall Lamp attr. to Ettore Sottsass – Stylish Illumination
By Memphis Group, Ettore Sottsass
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
This extraordinary eclectic wall lamp, attributed to the Memphis Design movement, embodies a striking blend of modernist aesthetics and playful design. The lamp features a distinctiv...
Metal
$1,276Sale Price|20% Off
Large Wall Lamp With Textured Diffuser and Teak Frame by Kontakt-Werkstätten
Located in Mortsel, BE
Introducing the Large Wall Lamp with Textured Diffuser and Teak Frame, a remarkable piece crafted by Kontakt-Werkstätten in Germany. This wall lamp stands out with its generous width...
Plexiglass, Teak
Hard Plastic Wall or Ceiling Lamp by Rudolf Dörfler, 1960s, Switzerland
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Exceptional hard plastic wall or ceiling lamp by Rudolf Dörfler, 1960s, Switzerland Sculptural minimal design very elegant rare ceiling lamp flush mount. It is very ideal and s...
Plexiglass
Jacques Biny, in the Style of Double Walled Wall Lamp, circa 1950
By Jacques Biny
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Jacques Biny (in the style of) double walled wall lamp in gilded brass, reflector in perforated metal and plexiglass, circa 1950.
Metal, Brass
Brass and Acrylic Glass Pendant Lamp by Tito Agnoli for O-Luce, Italy, 1960s
By O-Luce, Tito Agnoli
Located in Hagenbach, DE
This exceptional pendant lamp is a sophisticated example of mid-century Italian design, created by the renowned designer Tito Agnoli for the esteemed lighting manufacturer Oluce in t...
Brass
$1,049Sale Price|20% Off
Plafo wall lamp by Uno and Osten Kristiansson for Luxus, Sweden 1960s
By Luxus Vittsjö, Östen Kristiansson, Uno Kristiansson
Located in ECHT, NL
This minimalist design lamp was designd by Uno and Östen Kristiansson for the Swedish company Luxus in the 1960s. The natural teak frame holds the round white opaline plastic shade. ...
Plexiglass, Teak
$893Sale Price|57% Off
Wall Lamp Sculpture Pistillo Studio Tetrarch for Valenti 1970 Silver Round
By Studio Tetrarch
Located in Palermo, Sicily
Wall lamp sculpture Pistillo Studio Tetrarch for Valenti 1970 silver round 1-light bulb E27 max 150 watt.
Plexiglass
Space Age XL Ceiling Lamp by Emanuele Ponzio for Guzzini, 1960s, Italy
By Guzzini, Emanuele Ponzio
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Italian Rare XXL Pop Art Space Age Ceiling Lamp by Emanuele Ponzio for Guzzini , 1960s, Italy Model: "Alicante" Lampshade is in very good vintage condition. This lamp works with 3x...
Plexiglass
Studio BBPR for Arteluce: Large 3-Light Ceiling Lamp in Iron and Perspex, 1960s
Located in Palermo, IT
This impressive Mid-Century Modern ceiling flush mount is an authentic piece of Italian design history, produced by the prestigious manufacturer Arteluce during the 1960s/70s.
Iron, Sheet Metal
Rare Model 205 Pink Conical Pendant Lamp from Evenblij, The Netherlands 1960's
Located in Steenwijk, NL
This rare and very elegant pendant lamp, model 205, was made by the Dutch company Evenblij in the 1960's. It has a pink metal conical perforated shade provided with a clear plexiglas...
Metal
Set of Two Midcentury Wall Lamps or Sconces by Hanns Hoffmann-Lederer, 1960s
By Heinz Hecht, Hanns Hoffmann-Lederer
Located in Munich, DE
Set of two exceptional and elegant Mid-Century Modern wall lamps or sconces. Designed probably by Hanns Hoffmann-Lederer for Heinz Hecht, 1960s, Germany.
Brass
Glass Stones Cylinder Design Lux Pendant Lamp by Palwa, 1960s, Germany
By Palwa
Located in Hagenbach, DE
Cylinder design Lux pendant lamp with glass stones by Palwa, 1960s, Germany. It is very ideal and suitable for all living areas. Lamp is in good condition. No damage, no cra...
Brass
Pair of Midcentury Wall Lamps, Emil Stejnar, Rupert Nikoll, 1950s
By Emil Stejnar, Rupert Nikoll
Located in Praha, CZ
- Very nice style of lighting.
Brass
Pair of double wall lamps in perspex, brass and lacquered metal, Ed.Lunel 1960
By Royal Lumière, Maison Lunel
Located in Paris, FR
Pair of double wall lamps in perspex, brass and black-lacquered metal, designed by Royal Lumière and published by Maison Lunel.
Metal, Brass
A FREE-FORM FLOOR LAMP MODEL J1 by JOSEPH-ANDRE MOTTE for DISDEROT, France 1950
By Joseph-André Motte
Located in PARIS, FR
This is a rare, early and authentic, vintage piece of the iconic "J1" floorlamp designed in 1958 by Joseph-André Motte, produced by Disderot. This piece is an early edition, in its b...
Brass
Midcentury Italian Plexi Glass Table Lamp
Located in Vilnius, LT
Italian table lamp is made of plated metal and transparent plexi glass. The lamp base is very heavy and stabile. This table lamp is perfect for office table lighting.
Metal
Scandinavian Table Lamp from KLK, 1960s
Located in Oslo, NO
Wonderful and decorative table lamp with a brass base and shades in plexiglass. Designed and made in Sweden in the late 1960s by KLK. The lamp is fully working and in good vintage co...
Brass
Unavailable|$496 / set
Pair of bedside lamps in plexiglass
Located in Nivelles, BE
Pair of 50's plexiglass bedside table lamps in good condition, modular configuration thanks to rotating central elements. B22 brass sockets. 14cm diameter mauve/purple shade.
Plexiglass
Unavailable|$1,772
Stilnovo Skyscrapers Plexiglass Lamp from the 1960s
By Stilnovo
Located in Parma, IT
Floor or table lamp attributed to Stilnovo, 1960s. Curved bicolor methacrylate structure with lateral cuts. Metal base and original electrical system.
Metal
Unavailable|$1,772
Pair of Plexiglass Table Lamps, Italy, 1970
Located in Fossano, IT
Very nice table lamps made by plexi slabs fixed together by apposite metal frame and screws , the layout of the plates makes the lamp original in both design and light effect Itali...
Metal
Unavailable|$1,772
1970s "Cyclade" Plexiglass Table Lamp by Danielle Quarante
By Danielle Quarante
Located in Janvry, Essonne
A plexiglass table lamp with a brown frame and a white shade, two lights in the shade, designed by Danielle Quarante and edited by Dire, circa 1970.
Plexiglass
Unavailable|$2,659
Romeo Rega, Rare Flower in Plexi Table Lamp
By Romeo Rega
Located in Morbio Inferiore, CH
Rare table lamp in perfect condition Brown chocolate plexi hat Rare single base with plexiglass flowers inside.
Metal
20th Century French Turtle Table Lamp 1980s Made of Black Plexiglas and Brass
Located in Berlin, DE
20th century French turtle table lamp from the 1980s made of black plexiglas and brass.
Brass
Unavailable|$2,127
Romeo Rega Vintage Acrylic, Plexiglass and Brass Table Lamp, 1960s
By Romeo Rega
Located in Catania, IT
Vintage condition for this table lamp designed by Romeo Rega during the 1960s and made from acrylic, plexiglass and brass.
Brass
Angelo Lelli Attributed Brass and Plexiglass Floor Lamp, Arredoluce, Italy 1950s
By Angelo Lelii, Arredoluce
Located in Aix En Provence, FR
A brass and plexiglass floor lamp with 2 fabric lampshades attributed to Angelo Lelli by Arredoluce in Italy in 1950s. A ball joint system allow to move the second brass arm with th...
Brass, Metal
Unavailable|$7,519
Centre Lamp Sculpture in Brass Chrome and Plexiglass
Located in London, GB
Centre lamp sculpture in brass chrome and plexiglass, circa 1970, France. Measures: Height 74 cm, width 69 cm.
Brass, Chrome, Metal
Unavailable|$2,098
Vintage Molded White Plexiglass Lamp Designed by Neal Small, Circa 1965
By Neal Small Design Studio
Located in Long Island City, NY
Vintage Molded White Plexiglass Lamp Designed by Neal Small, Circa 1965. Produced by Neal Small Designs Inc., New York, NY, the lamp is designed around soft waterfall edge details. T...
Lucite, Plexiglass
Lucite Table Lamp in Extra Clear Plexiglass and Nickelled Brass 1970s Style
Located in Rome, IT
Table lamp in Lucite extra-clear plexi style 1970s?. Body and lampshade of this lamp are in shining plexiglass. Giant sphere at the centre and details are in nickel-plated brass. ...
Brass
Ib Fabiansen attributed triangle teak and plexiglass table or bed lamp, 1960s
Located in Maastricht, NL
A triangle shaped table lamp with a beautiful combination of teak, brass and plexiglass. The lamp is attributed to Ib Fabiansen. Fabiansen designed unit furniture for Bang and Olufse...
Brass
Unavailable|$886
Felice Lamp Antonio Botta 1970 Plexiglass
By Felice Antonio Botta
Located in Napoli, NA
Beautiful by design By felice antonio botta New burgundy lampshade
Plexiglass
Unavailable|$945
Plexiglass Lamp by Felice Antonio Botta
By Felice Antonio Botta
Located in Napoli, NA
Vintage plexiglass base lamp
Plexiglass
Unavailable|$4,077
Tito Agnoli Mid-Century Table Lamp by O-Luce, Italy, 1960
By Tito Agnoli, O-Luce
Located in Brussels, BE
Rarely offered, this beautiful plexi desk lamp in very good condition, no words anymore, enjoy the pictures. The wiring is completely checked and okay for the US, only one E27 large...
Chrome
Unavailable|$531
White Plexi Floor Light by Harco Loor, the Netherlands
By Harco Loor 1
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Plastic floor light with curled wire inside the lucite tube. The lamp does not have a switch, but we can add one if prefered.
Plastic, Plexiglass
Fabrizio Cocchia e Gianfranco Fini Ascissa table lamp for New Lamp, Italy, 1970
By New Lamp, Gianfranco Fini and Fabrizio Cocchia
Located in Milano, IT
Ascissa steel table lamp manufactured by New Lamp, designed by Gianfranco Fini e Fabrizio Cocca in 1970. The final satin metacrilato spreads the light. The three parallelepipeds are...
Steel
Unavailable|$790
Mid-Century Cascade Brass and Plexiglass Pendant Lamp
Located in Ljubljana, SI
The lamp socket is designed for standard E27 light-bulb (not included) but also takes your standard E26 size (tested). All free of charge. Works with 220v as well as 110v. Total heig...
Brass
Unavailable|$2,127
Brass Floor Lamp, circa 1960
Located in Megeve, FR
An Italian brass and metal floor lamp with five light rods and four brass and plexiglass rods. The design seems to be a flowers' bouquet.
Metal, Brass
Unavailable|$2,925
70's Italian Floor Lamp - Giuseppe Calonaci
By Giuseppe Calonaci
Located in Antwerpen, BE
A rare sculptural floor/table lamp, made in 1971 by Italian artist Giuseppe Calonaci. The lamp consists of a plexiglass base holding several curved aluminium sheets. The position of ...
Aluminum
Unavailable|$1,506
1970s Luxus Table Lamp
By Luxus of Sweden
Located in Tystberga, SE
A large contemporary design table lamp made by a Swedish Manufacturing company Luxus in the 1970s. Round base issuing a columnar stem fitted with opal plexi inserts concealed by silv...
Metal
Unavailable|$2,481
Pair of L-Shaped Lamps Vintage
Located in PARIS, FR
Pair of L-shaped handmade table lamps, made of composite fibre panels painted yellow and Plexiglas. The neon lights inside offer a soft and diffuse light. LED lights included. In ...
Plexiglass, Plywood
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.
Arguably the world’s most ubiquitous man-made material, plastic has impacted nearly every industry. In contemporary spaces, new and vintage plastic furniture is quite popular and its use pairs well with a range of design styles.
From the Italian lighting artisans at Fontana Arte to venturesome Scandinavian modernists such as Verner Panton, who created groundbreaking interiors as much as he did seating — see his revolutionary Panton chair — to contemporary multidisciplinary artists like Faye Toogood, furniture designers have been pushing the boundaries of plastic forever.
When The Graduate's Mr. McGuire proclaimed, “There’s a great future in plastics,” it was more than a laugh line. The iconic quote is an allusion both to society’s reliance on and its love affair with plastic. Before the material became an integral part of our lives — used in everything from clothing to storage to beauty and beyond — people relied on earthly elements for manufacturing, a process as time-consuming as it was costly.
Soon after American inventor John Wesley Hyatt created celluloid, which could mimic luxury products like tortoiseshell and ivory, production hit fever pitch, and the floodgates opened for others to explore plastic’s full potential. The material altered the history of design — mid-century modern legends Charles and Ray Eames, Joe Colombo and Eero Saarinen regularly experimented with plastics in the development of tables and chairs, and today plastic furnishings and decorative objects are seen as often indoors as they are outside.
Find vintage plastic lounge chairs, outdoor furniture, lighting and more on 1stDibs.
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.