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← JournalGuide · 1950s–1980sMid-century and modern makersFrom Swedish stoneware to Californian oak, the best modern lighting stripped away ornament and kept the maker’s hand. Often the only record of who made a piece is a small sticker or stamp.Quondam Redux · Guide by periodIn this guideSimple formsSwedish clay and glassWood, rattan and wickerCast brass from ViennaWhat we look forView photographInterDesign oak globe lamps, a pair, 1970s, designed by Bill Curry · From our archive.Simple forms.Mid-century designers cut objects back to what they needed. In 1955 the silversmith Marion Anderson Noyes designed a serpentine candlestick for Towle in pliable sterling silver: a single curving line you can bend to suit the table. Pairs are held by the Brooklyn Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.In California, Bill Curry went further. His oak globe lamps, made by interDesign in the 1970s, turned the bare bulb into part of the design and set aside the familiar base, bulb and shade. Ours kept their original interDesign stickers.Swedish clay and glass.Arnold Wiig founded Syco Keramik in 1945 at Torskholmen, on the coast north of Gothenburg, and the firm became best known for its round “pot that breathes”. Our 1960s Syco lamp, glazed burgundy over abstract relief, still carries its paper sticker, with “Nya Syco” embossed beneath.Höganäs Keramik made our pair of black stoneware oil lamps in the 1980s: two glossy spheres with brass wick holders, stamped on the unglazed base. Bergdala’s Ice chambersticks, from the same decade, remake the old handled candleholder in solid glass.View photographSyco red ceramic table lamp, Sweden, 1960s · From our archive.Wood, rattan and wicker.Oak, teak, rattan and wicker became popular indoors in the 1960s, left uncovered. A Danish-style scissor lamp in our archive extends on an oak accordion arm and swivels on a ball joint; a pair of rattan lamps stands on footed teak bases under woven bell shades. Neither hides its materials or how it works.Cast brass from Vienna.In Vienna, the ceramicist Walter Bosse, mentored by Josef Hoffmann at the Wiener Werkstätte, turned to cast brass. From the 1950s he and Herta Baller made small brass animals with dark patina and gilt details. A pair of their dancing mice, each made to hold a slender candle, is in our collection now.What we look for.Stickers and stampsMaker stickers and stamped bases are often the only record of who made a modern piece. We photograph them and leave them in place.Designer and makerNoyes designed for Towle; Curry designed for interDesign. A designer and a manufacturer are different credits, and we give both.Original wiringMany of these lamps still have their first cords and switches. We say whether a lamp’s wiring is original, updated or new.Honest wearOak and teak darken, brass takes on patina and rattan loses the odd reed. We show it and describe it.
From this periodIn our archive.Looking for something like these? We can search for a piece from this period.Marion Anderson Noyes serpentine candlesticksDesigned 1955 · SilverSold · ArchiveSource something like this →: Marion Anderson Noyes serpentine candlesticksSyco red ceramic table lamp1960s · CeramicSold · ArchiveSource something like this →: Syco red ceramic table lampInterDesign oak globe lamps, a pair1970s · WoodSold · ArchiveSource something like this →: InterDesign oak globe lamps, a pairRequest sourcing →Explore the Archive →
More from the journalKeep reading.Notes from this periodLighting historyWhy a chamberstick has a handleA chamberstick was made to carry a candle to bed. Bergdala’s 1980s Ice chambersticks keep its handle, in solid glass.More guidesGuide · 20th centuryMurano and Venetian glassGlassmakers on Murano have worked color into glass for more than seven centuries. Learning to see their techniques is the first step to knowing what you’re looking at, and what you’re not.Guide · 1950s–1970sMid-century design classicsAfter the war, lighting became a showcase for designers. Japanese paper, Italian marble and new plastics produced lamps that are still made, and widely copied, today.Guide · 1970s–1990sPostmodern and high-tech lampsBy the 1980s designers were pulling in opposite directions. Memphis made lamps loud and playful, high-tech designers made them as slim as engineering allowed, and decorators brought back classical columns and urns.
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