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Chinese Export Lighting

CHINESE EXPORT STYLE

Expanded trade between Europe and East Asia, starting in the 16th century, led to a booming market for exported goods, particularly furniture. This was bolstered by the establishment of the Dutch and English East India Companies at the beginning of the 17th century. From folding screens and chairs to lacquer tables and silver, Chinese Export furniture was in demand and regularly copied and imitated, leading to styles like chinoiserie and Chinese Chippendale.

The expansion of exporting that had strengthened the arts during the Ming dynasty continued into the Qing dynasty era — Chinese designers made many furniture pieces specifically for export, resulting in distinctive designs that mixed traditional techniques with forms appealing to foreign buyers. For instance, cabinetmakers in Canton (modern-day Guangzhou) were prolific in crafting hardwood furniture for export in European styles that involved the expert joinery techniques of Chinese furniture. Designs for Chinese Export porcelain, cabinets, decorative objects and other furniture were often more ornately adorned than they would be for a local audience, such as with mother-of-pearl overlays or surfaces featuring lavish pictorial scenes or gold on black motifs. Some were even commissioned by wealthy European families to be adorned with their coat of arms.

Because lacquer furniture was especially prized, and the resin used to create it was difficult to import as it would harden during the long voyage, artisans in China and Japan exported numerous lacquer pieces. Long before lacquer made its way to Japan, the Chinese treated the material differently. They used it to create smooth, glossy surfaces, but also for carving, an art that began in the 12th century and is exclusively Chinese. These pieces are called cinnabar lacquer after the powdered mercury sulfide (cinnabar) employed to produce their characteristic red hue. A popular form for export was a compact cabinet with drawers, usually displayed on a small table. Undecorated furniture built in Europe was also shipped to China to be lacquered. The international exchange of design would influence furniture into the 19th century and later, informing styles such as Art Deco and Art Nouveau.

Find a collection of antique Chinese Export tables, beds, cupboards, table lamps and more furniture on 1stDibs.

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Style: Chinese Export
Large 19th Century Rose Medallion Vase or Lamp, Ormolu Mounted
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very impressive 19th century Chinese rose medallion / canton vase / lamp, having wonderful gilded ormolu scrolling foliate Rococo style mounts with putti seated on either side. The...
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Ormolu

Large Vintage Chinese Ox-Blood Flambe Glaze Covered Vase Lamp D: 10"
Located in Richmond, CA
A large vintage Chinese porcelain ox-blood flambe glaze covered jar, electrified and made into a lamp E26 socket Overall size: H: 19", D: 10" Vase size: H: 12.5" D: 10" Lamp circa...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Hand-painted Flower Motif Porcelain Table Lamp, Qing Dynasty, China
Located in Grythyttan, SE
Hand-Painted flower motif porcelain table lamp, Qing dynasty, China, late 19th or early 20th century. This stunning cylinder-shaped table lamp has been expertly repurposed from a va...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

Chinese Gilt Bronze Mounted Rose Quartz Lamp, circa 1890
Located in Norwood, NJ
19th century antique Chinese hand-carved and polished translucent rose quartz carving of a standing Guanyin with phoenix bird, mounted on a open work bronze plinth. Mounted as a lamp...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Bronze

Pair Fine 19th Century Chinese Cloisonné Lamps
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A fine quality pair of 19th century Chinese Cloisonne enamel vases, each with wonderful myithical Dragon flying among clouds. mounted with French gilded ormolu rims and plinths. ...
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Enamel, Ormolu

Japanese Vase with Black Background in the Style of Chinese Famille Verte
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Japanese Vase with Black Background in the Style of Chinese Famille Verte. Well decorated with woman in a garden. No chips, cracks or repairs, drilled for electricity 21" h to socke...
Category

20th Century Japanese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Chinese Gilt Bronze Mounted Rose Quartz Lamp, circa 1890
Located in Norwood, NJ
19th century antique Chinese hand-carved and polished translucent rose quartz carving of a standing Guanyin with phoenix bird, mounted on a carved green quartz plinth. Mounted as a l...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Quartz, Bronze

Pair of Antique Chinese Porcelain Lamps
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Pair of early 20th Century Chinese porcelain vases custom mounted on lucite bases. Each vase decorated with a perched birds of paradise and colorful vegetation on a brown ground. Wi...
Category

1920s Chinese Vintage Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

Pair of Chinese Black and Floral Motif Table Lamps
Located in Queens, NY
Pair of Chinese black ceramic table lamps made from baluster-shaped vases decorated with birds amid blooming florals in pinks, yellows, and blues, and wooden bases with brass hardwar...
Category

20th Century Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Ceramic

Pair Chinese blue and white Ginger jar vases / lamps, C19th.
Located in Brighton, Sussex
An unusual pair of late 19th Century Chinese blue and white ginger jar lamps. Each with hand painted motif decoration to the gro...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Vintage Pair of Chinese Abacus Lamps
By ABCO
Located in San Francisco, CA
Wonderful pair of mid century Chinese Abacus Lamps made in Honk Kong.
Category

1970s Hong Kong Vintage Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Wood

Antique Chinese Carved Green 'Jadeite' Quartz Lamp
Located in Norwood, NJ
A Chinese carved stone lamp mounted on a carved rosewood base. The carved stone is often referred to as Jadeite or Quartz but is in fact from the fluorite family. This lamp base was ...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Quartz

Chinese Porcelain Hat Stand Table Lamp
Located in Baltimore, MD
This is a colorful antique Chinese porcelain hat stand, depicting a group of women in a traditional Chinese setting, converted into an eleg...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Rosewood, Linen, Porcelain

Early 20th Century Chinese Carved Green Jadeite Quartz Lamp
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
A relatively large Chinese carved stone lamp mounted on a stepped brass and a carved wood base. The carved stone is often referred to as Jadeite or Quartz but is in fact from the flu...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Quartz

Oriental Porcelain Famille Vert Cylinder Vase Mounted as a Lamp, 20th Century
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
An oriental porcelain Famille vert cylindrical Vase mounted as a lamp 20th century. Decorated with cartouches on both sides, with flowering branches, all on a yellow ground ...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Vintage Chinese Porcelain Nanking Crackle Glaze Famille Rose Vase Lamp 20c
Located in Richmond, CA
A vintage Chinese porcelain ovoid jar vase with Nanking style crackle glaze and decorated in famille rose with warrior figures in a battle scene, electrified and turned into a lamp o...
Category

Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Famille Noir Vase as Table Lamp
Located in WEST PALM BEACH, FL
This is a very decorative Famille Noir vase with colorful flowers and leaves painted overall on a black background, situated on pierced rosewood base, electrified and converted to a ...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Large Carved Jadeite 'flourite' Lamp
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia
The stone bodies of this type of interior illuminated lamp are often referred to as quartz, jadeite or even jade but are in fact of the fluorite family, a softer sone more easily car...
Category

1930s Southeast Asian Vintage Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Quartz

Pair of Chinese Red & White Peking Glass Vases, Now as Lamps
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Pair of Chinese Red and White Peking Glass Vases, Now as Lamps  China 20th Century  This elegant pair of Chinese red and white Peking glass vases, now converted into lamps, beautifu...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Glass, Wood

19th Century Qing Period Blue and White Chinese Export Hat Stand, Now as a Lamp
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
19th Century Qing Period Blue and White Chinese Export Hat Stand, Now as a Lamp China, 19th Century Lamped in the 20th century 19th-century Qing Period Blue and White Chinese Expor...
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain, Wood

Lámpara oriental
Located in VALÈNCIA, ES
Lámpara oriental Circa 1.960, realizada en cerámica esmaltada policromada, con tapa y base de madera.
Category

1960s Hong Kong Vintage Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Ceramic, Bakelite

Asian Export Ceramic Rabbit lamps
Located in Denton, TX
Beautiful Chinese export ceramic rabbits mounted on a scrolled wooden base with adjustable shade height. The rabbit is the symbol of kindness and hope. Originally the rabbits were a ...
Category

Late 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

Pair Antique 19c Chinese Blue & White Prunus Blossom Vase Table Lamps Early 20c
Located in Richmond, CA
A matching pair of antique 19c Chinese blue and white vase of elongated barrel form, hand painted with sprays of prunus blossoms in reserve on cobalt blue ground, drilled four charac...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Chinese Style Black Iron Filigree Table Lamp
Located in Queens, NY
Asian Chinese style (19/20th Century) tall black iron filigree design tiered table lamp on a round base. Ships without a shade
Category

19th Century Unknown Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Iron, Wrought Iron

Vintage Chinese White Porcelain Jar Table Lamp
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Chinese table lamp made from a white porcelain urn painted with a floral red roses design around mounted on a brown wooden base and fi...
Category

Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Wood Chinese Table Lamp, with Hand Carved Butterfly Decoration Pa, China 1880
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
This is a table lamps in wood, handcarved. With butterfly decor pattern. It has been made in china circa 1880. Brown color. Rond Shape.   USA PLUG A...
Category

1880s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Wood

Pair Antique Chinese Famille Rose Rouleau Figural Vase Table Lamps Early 20c ROC
Located in Richmond, CA
A matching mirror pair of antique Chinese early 20th century famille rose figural rouleau vase turned into lamps. The finely painted decorations depict a scene of a general looking u...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Fine Antique Chinese 19c Relief Carved Celadon Porcelain Vase Table Lamp 20c
Located in Richmond, CA
A fine 19c Chinese relief carved celadon glaze handled vase, decorated with scrolling vines, lappets and borders, with faux ring handles to neck, and "S...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Pair of 20th Century Canton Enamel Mandarin & Bird Motif Vases, Now as Lamps
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Pair of 20th Century Canton Enamel Mandarin & Bird Motif Vases, Now as Lamps An exquisite Pair of 20th Century Canton Enamel Mandarin & Bird Motif Vases, now transformed into lamp...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Copper

Oriental Porcelain Celadon Glazed Painted Vase Mounted as a Lamp 20th Century
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
An oriental porcelain Celadon-Glazed painted Vase mounted as a lamp 20th century. Of meiping form painted with flowering branches of peonies and poem inscription, on turned wood stand...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Celadon

Chinese Export Barley Twist Lacquer Decorated Floor Lamp
Located in Palm Beach, FL
A made for the English market, Chinese export carved to a barley twist floor lamp, once probably a torchiere. Lacquered in black and burnished with gold Asian motifs. Classic, chic a...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Paint

19th Century Exceptional Sang de Boeuf Ox Blood Table Lamp, Decorative Handles
Located in Lomita, CA
The intricately carved handles, or ears of this oxblood lamp cause it to stand out from the field of other lamps of this type. This piece is a 19th century sang de boeuf "Oxblood", r...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Copper

Pair Chinese Export Turquoise/ White Famille-Verte Floral Vases Now as Lamps
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Pair Chinese Export Turquoise/ White Famille-Verte Floral Vases now as Lamps Each one of square form, finely decorated with intricate turquoise enameled necks, the sides hand paint...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain, Wood

Chinese Porcelain Reticulated Octagonal Pink and Green Table Lamp
Located in Queens, NY
Chinese porcelain table lamp comprised of a porcelain vase with eight reticulated sides in green with pink porcelain edges and a motif of Chinese vases filled with flowers on each si...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

Pair of Chinese Modern Brass Lamps
Located in Houston, TX
Pair of Chinese Modern Brass Lamps. A great pair of well detailed Chinese modern or Asian modern brass table lamps This versatile pair of Hollywood ...
Category

1940s Chinese Vintage Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

Antique Chinese Famille Rose Multi-Colored Porcelain Vase Table Lamp
Located in Queens, NY
Antique Chinese table lamp made from an 18th century porcelain vase mounted with wood and brass hardware as a lamp, with a famille rose intr...
Category

18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

lamp table abacus suanpan chinese calculator 13 rods 2 heaven 5 earth beads
Located in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK
CHINESE, HARDWOOD, ABACUS OR SUANPAN WITH 13 RODS, TWO HEAVEN BEADS & FIVE EARTH BEADS UPCYCLED INTO A TABLE LAMP, 16½“ HIGH Fun and engaging, interactive table lamp that can also be used as calculating tool As well as providing light, this table lamp can be used as a calculation tool by sliding the counters along the rods. In addition to the basic functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, the abacus can calculate square and cubic roots. Each bead in the upper deck...
Category

1880s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Hardwood, Beads

Large Chinese Double Gourd Ceramic Lamp
Located in London, GB
Large Chinese Double Gourd Ceramic Lamp on wooden base 20th Century. In good condition commensurate of age. Shade not included
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Ceramic

Antique 19th Century Chinese Mirror Black Porcelain Jar Lamp
Located in Lambertville, NJ
A stunning antique Chinese porcelain 19th century jar, as a lamp. The porcelain jar is in a Mirror black glaze, which is a very dark The Lamp measures 27 inches to the top of the sha...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

19th Century Parcel Gilt and Ebonized Weighted Tea Canister Dual Lights Lamp
Located in Germantown, MD
A 19th Century Parcel Gilt and Ebonized Weighted Tea Canister mounted as Table Lamp with Original finish. Measures 34" in height to the tip of the finial. Canister is 18" tall. New...
Category

Mid-19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Metal

Large Chinoiserie Faux Cinnabar Lacquer Vase Lamp
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
A large Chinoiserie faux Cinnabar lacquer vase lamp Mid 20th century. Baluster-shaped vase cast in plaster in great detail  Shaped panels depic...
Category

Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Pottery

Chinese Cloisonné vase/ lamp, circa 1880
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very good quality 19th Century Chinese Cloisonné vase / lamp. Having wonderful bold colour classical motif and floral decoratio...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Enamel

Antique Chinese Blue And White Porcelain Vase As Lamp
Located in Norwood, NJ
Chinese 19th century porcelain blue and white vase converted as a lamp. Hand painted with Chinese figures in a courtyard setting with a light celadon ground and decorated with applie...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain, Wood

Chinese Sang Du Boeuf vase / lamp, 1860
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very decorative early 19th Century Chinese Export, Sang Du Boeuf porcelain vase with wonderful French gilded ormolu Rococo style collar and base. Batch 83 63435 DNKZZ
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Ormolu

Sang De Boeuf, Ormolu Mounted Vase, by Rookwood 1936, Now as a Lamp, Dark Glaze
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Sang de Boeuf, Ormolu Mounted Vase, by Rookwood Pottery 1936, now as a Lamp, Light Glaze Beautiful glazed vase raised on four ormolu elegant paw feet, attributed to E.F. Caldwell (O...
Category

1930s American Vintage Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Ormolu

2 Exclusive Table Lamps Chinese Woman and Man on a Pillow Brass
Located in Boven Leeuwen, NL
Very exclusive table lamps made of brass, and they are hand painted. A woman and a man sitting in the lotus position holding their "umbrella". High qu...
Category

Late 20th Century Unknown Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

Antique Chinese Hand Painted Porcelain Vase Lamp
Located in North Salem, NY
Very attractive one of a kind 19th century hand-painted Chinese porcelain vase lamp with double hung socket on turned shaped wood base. Ci...
Category

Early 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Antique Chinese Famille Rose & Bird Design Porcelain Vase Table Lamp
Located in Queens, NY
Antique Chinese table lamp made from an 18th century porcelain vase mounted with wood and brass hardware as a lamp, with a multi-colored fam...
Category

18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

Antique Chinese Famille Rose Multi-Colored Porcelain Vase Table Lamp
Located in Queens, NY
Antique Chinese table lamp made from an 18th century porcelain vase mounted with wood and brass hardware as a lamp, with a famille rose intr...
Category

18th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Brass

Pair of Chinese Blue Tole Palm Tree and Man Table Lamps
Located in Queens, NY
Pair of Chinese light blue tole table lamps depicting a man holding a fan sitting in the shade of a palm tree. (PRICED AS Pair)(Companion lamps: NWL2012) On...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Metal, Brass

Antique Chinese Orange and White Cartouche Porcelain Table Lamp
Located in Queens, NY
"Antique Chinese (Early 20th Century) table lamp made from a round, luster ceramic vase with an orange and gold hexagonal patterned ground against two white cartouches depicting natu...
Category

20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Metal, Brass

Large Chinese Blue Grey Pottery Table Lamps
Located in Sheffield, MA
Highly decorative over-size stunning blue and white Asian style ginger jar lamp featuring a blue and white body with Chinese characters and decorative fish details. Including blue Be...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Asian Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Ceramic

19th Century Chinese Bronze Urn as Lamp
Located in Norwood, NJ
19th century Chinese bronze urn as lamp. Decorated with florals and dragon in high relief. Surmounted by two handles depicting phoenix...
Category

Late 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Bronze

19th C, Chinese, Champleve Cloisonne Vase Mounted as a Table Lamp
Located in New York, NY
Charming champleve cloisonné bronze base, enameled table lamp, in very good, original, clean and working condition. The lamp has a vase form body, with unusual and intriguing Chinese...
Category

19th Century American Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Porcelain Ormolu Mounted Chinese Lamp
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
A porcelain ormolu-mounted Chinese export style vase Now mounted as a lamp Early 20th century, probably Samson The vase is in the form of a meiping In the Chinese export famil...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Chinese Sang Du Boeuf vase / lamp, 1860
Located in Brighton, Sussex
A very decorative early 19th Century Chinese Export, Sang Du Boeuf porcelain vase with wonderful French gilded ormolu Rococo style collar and base. Batch 83 63435 DNKZZ
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Ormolu

19th Century Chinese Famille Rose Gilt Metal Mounted Vase as Table Lamp
Located in WEST PALM BEACH, FL
This is a lovely Chinese Famille Rose vase decorated with a centralized scene depicting Classic Chinese figures and floral motif, electrified as a lamp and ensconced in ornate gilt m...
Category

1860s Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Metal

Asian Pictorial Blue and White, With 8 Figures, Table Lamp
Located in Ottawa, Ontario
An Asian pictorial blue and white table lamp, the lamp is done in a typical blue on white background, there are eight different figures around the baluster shaped base, there are bat...
Category

Early 20th Century Central Asian Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Pair Rare Antique Chinese Porcelain Zhadou Lamps, Famille Rose, 1875-1908
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Just in, this Rare Pair of massive Antique Chinese Zhadou Lamps With Famille Rose Design.. This pair is called Zhadou, these are traditional vessels with a bulbous body and flare...
Category

Early 19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Porcelain

Chinese Off-White and Figurative Scene Porcelain Urn Table Lamp
Located in Queens, NY
"Antique Chinese (Late 19th Century) table lamp made from an off-white, urn-shaped, porcelain vase depicting a joyful scene of gift-bearing children greeting elders in a pastoral Set...
Category

19th Century Chinese Antique Chinese Export Lighting

Materials

Metal, Brass

Chinese Export lighting for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Chinese Export lighting for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage lighting created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include lighting, asian art and furniture, decorative objects and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with ceramic, porcelain and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Chinese Export lighting made in a specific country, there are Asia, East Asia, and China pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original lighting, popular names associated with this style include The Marbro Lamp Company, CANTON FAMILLE ROSE, Capodimonte, and Chapman Manufacturing Company. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for lighting differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $200 and tops out at $24,680 while the average work can sell for $2,406.

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