Porcupine Lamp
Vintage 1970s Italian Neoclassical Table Lamps
Plaster
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic, Mahogany
20th Century Taxidermy
Wood
People Also Browsed
1990s French Taxidermy
Horn
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
Early 20th Century Congolese Tribal Tribal Art
Wood
2010s American Taxidermy
Other
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Ceramic
Antique Late 19th Century English Victorian Taxidermy
Brass
2010s American Rustic Taxidermy
Animal Skin
Mid-20th Century Burkinabe Tribal Tribal Art
Wood
Mid-20th Century Congolese Tribal Masks
Wood, Paint
Late 20th Century Congolese Tribal Masks
Wood
Mid-20th Century Congolese Masks
Shell, Burlap, Wood
Mid-20th Century American Taxidermy
Other
Late 20th Century American Taxidermy
Wood
20th Century American Floor Lamps
Plaster
Mid-20th Century Congolese Masks
Copper
2010s American Taxidermy
Other
Recent Sales
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Brass, Nickel
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Metal
Vintage 1960s American Table Lamps
Antique 19th Century Belgian Table Lamps
Gold, Brass, Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Table Lamps
Vintage 1960s Italian Table Lamps
Antique 19th Century American Desks and Writing Tables
Iron
20th Century South African Anglo-Indian Table Lamps
Horn
Vintage 1980s South African Modern Floor Lamps
Bone
20th Century South African Table Lamps
Stainless Steel
20th Century South African Organic Modern Table Lamps
Walnut
Late 20th Century American Table Lamps
Granite, Brass
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.
Read More
You Don’t Need a Fictional Fairy to Get This Real Pinocchio Lamp
Warm chalet style meets cool Bauhaus functionality in Pietro Cascella’s cleverly carved creation.
Why Is Italy Such a Hotbed of Cool Design?
Patrizio Chiarparini of Brooklyn’s Duplex gallery sheds light on the lasting legacy of Italy’s postwar furniture boom.
With a High-Tech Flagship and Cool Collabs, Lladró Is Breaking the Mold for Porcelain Production
Thanks to its new leadership, the Spanish maker of figurines, busts and lighting is on a mission to update the art of porcelain for the 21st century.
Christopher Tennant’s Lamps and Dioramas Evoke Sunny Days and Seaside Locales
The former magazine editor blends elements of the Far East and America’s eastern shores, bringing wit and delight to his handmade, upcycled designs.
Paavo Tynell’s Snowflake Chandelier Warms Up Any Room
This circa 1950 piece by the legendary Finnish lighting designer spent the past several decades in a family's home in Michigan.
NASA Parachutes Inspired Lighting Designer Bec Brittain’s New Collection
In "Paraciphers," now on view at Emma Scully Gallery in New York, Brittain introduces works that were more than a decade in the making.
This Handsome Leather Pendant Light Is Crafted Using Saddle-Making Techniques
The Doma by L’Aviva Home nods to Colombia’s equestrian heritage.
Celebrate Spring Year-Round with This Lush Murano-Glass Chandelier
Hand-blown glass makes the Italian fixture glow like dew-covered leaves in the sun.