Tiffany Peony
20th Century American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Bronze
Recent Sales
20th Century American Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique Early 1900s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique Early 1900s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Antique 19th Century American Table Lamps
Vintage 1910s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Vintage 1910s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Antique Early 1900s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Antique Early 1900s American Art Nouveau Floor Lamps
20th Century American Table Lamps
Bronze
20th Century American Table Lamps
Bronze
20th Century American Table Lamps
Bronze
20th Century Table Lamps
Bronze
Antique Early 1900s American Art Nouveau Table Lamps
Early 20th Century American Table Lamps
Bronze
Early 20th Century American Chandeliers and Pendants
Bronze
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Picture Frames
Animal Skin
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Night Stands
Crystal
Vintage 1940s French Art Deco Wall Lights and Sconces
Iron
20th Century American Books
Paper
Early 20th Century Persian American Craftsman Persian Rugs
Wool
17th Century Old Masters Paintings
Copper
Antique 19th Century British Jugendstil Candle Sconces
Brass
Vintage 1930s Swedish Art Deco Armchairs
Mahogany
Vintage 1930s French Art Deco Armchairs
Wood, Mahogany
20th Century German Art Nouveau Animal Sculptures
Bronze
Vintage 1960s Italian Posters
Antique Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Mantel Clocks
Bronze
2010s American Art Deco Wall Lights and Sconces
Wrought Iron
Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Chandeliers and Pendants
Crystal, Ormolu
Mid-20th Century English Art Deco Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
Antique Late 17th Century Dutch Maps
Paper
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
This 1950s Paavo Tynell Chandelier Got a Glow-Up
Commissioned for the lakeside villa of a Finnish industrialist, it illuminated visits with dignitaries.
These Designer Light Fixtures Are Total Scene Stealers
Across New York, there’s no shortage of statement lighting on view.
My Father Was Obsessed with This French Art Deco Tiger Lamp
The 1920s design is a thrilling combination of saturated colors, ancient motifs and modern aesthetics.
Hans Bergström’s Monumental Chandeliers Are Made for Grand Spaces
Designed by a giant of Swedish lighting, the large-scale fixtures bring major drama.
This Paavo Tynell Chandelier Is a Radiant Bouquet
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Ettore Sottsass Captures a Shooting Star in This Rare 1970s Floor Lamp
Before founding the Memphis Group, Sottsass bent the rules of lighting design with the wonderfully wavy Cometa.
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.