Polychrome Jar Lamp
Early 20th Century German Chinoiserie Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique 18th Century Japanese Japonisme Ceramics
Porcelain
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Antique Early 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Porcelain
Porcelain
20th Century Chinese Vases
Pottery
Antique 19th Century French Louis XVI Vases
Ormolu, Bronze
Antique 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Vases
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Chinese Vases
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Chinese Furniture
Iron
Antique 19th Century Chinese Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Porcelain
Porcelain
Antique Early 19th Century Chinese Vases
Rock Crystal
Antique 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Table Lamps
Ormolu
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Qing Vases
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Chinese Table Lamps
Antique 19th Century Chinese Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Metal
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Ceramics
Porcelain
Antique 19th Century Chinese Ceramics
Porcelain
Antique Late 19th Century Chinese Chinese and East Asian Rugs
Wool, Cotton
Recent Sales
Vintage 1970s American Post-Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Late 20th Century Table Lamps
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Table Lamps
Bronze, Ormolu
Antique 18th Century and Earlier English Table Lamps
Delft
Mid-20th Century North African Tribal Table Lamps
Brass
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 19th Century Indian Table Lamps
Antique 19th Century French Table Lamps
Mid-20th Century Chinese Table Lamps
Porcelain, Wood
20th Century Chinese Table Lamps
Giltwood
Antique 18th Century and Earlier Chinese Table Lamps
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass
Antique 19th Century English Table Lamps
Finding the Right table-lamps for You
Well-crafted antique and vintage table lamps do more than provide light; the right fixture-and-table combination can add a focal point or creative element to any interior.
Proper table lamps have long been used for lighting our most intimate spaces. Perfect for lighting your nightstand or reading nook, table lamps play an integral role in styling an inviting room. In the years before electricity, lamps used oil. Today, a rewired 19th-century vintage lamp can still provide a touch of elegance for a study.
After industrial milestones such as mass production took hold in the Victorian era, various design movements sought to bring craftsmanship and innovation back to this indispensable household item. Lighting designers affiliated with Art Deco, which originated in the glamorous roaring ’20s, sought to celebrate modern life by fusing modern metals with dark woods and dazzling colors in the fixtures of the era. The geometric shapes and gilded details of vintage Art Deco table lamps provide an air of luxury and sophistication that never goes out of style.
After launching in 1934, Anglepoise lamps soon became a favorite among modernist architects and designers, who interpreted the fixture as “a machine for lighting,” just as Le Corbusier had reimagined the house as “a machine for living in.” The popular task light owed to a collaboration between a vehicle-suspension engineer by the name of George Carwardine and a West Midlands springs manufacturer, Herbert Terry & Sons.
Some mid-century modern table lamps, particularly those created by the likes of Joe Colombo and the legendary lighting artisans at Fontana Arte, bear all the provocative hallmarks associated with Space Age design. Sculptural and versatile, the Louis Poulsen table lamps of that period were revolutionary for their time and still seem innovative today.
If you are looking for something more contemporary, industrial table lamps are demonstrative of a newly chic style that isn’t afraid to pay homage to the past. They look particularly at home in any rustic loft space amid exposed brick and steel beams.
Before you buy a desk lamp or table lamp for your living room, consider your lighting needs. The Snoopy lamp, designed in 1967, or any other “banker’s lamp” (shorthand for the Emeralite desk lamps patented by H.G. McFaddin and Company), provides light at a downward angle that is perfect for writing, while the Fontana table lamp and the beloved Grasshopper lamp by Greta Magnusson-Grossman each yield a soft and even glow. Some table lamps require lampshades to be bought separately.
Whether it’s a classic antique Tiffany table lamp, a Murano glass table lamp or even a bold avant-garde fixture custom-made by a contemporary design firm, the right table lamp can completely transform a room. Find the right one for you on 1stDibs.
- What is a ginger jar lamp?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertOctober 12, 2021A ginger jar lamp pairs a lovely lampshade with an ornate Chinese spice jar to create a visually appealing lamp. The lampshades can be neutral or colorful to create a beautiful effect. Find a collection of antique and vintage table lamps on 1stDibs.
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