Brass light fixtures first gained popularity in the Victorian era, reappearing during the Edwardian era, the modernist ’30s and again among the Mad Men–style interiors of the ’60s. Today, brass is back in the proverbial spotlight.

The placement of lighting can have a dramatic effect on the ambience of a room, so Kalmar Werkstätten designed its Hase table lamp (top) with a leather grip for easy repositioning. The Helios lamp (center) by American design studio Workstead functions as both a light source and an objet d’art. Lastly, architect David Chipperfield reinterpreted the classic desk light to create the Chipperfield w102 lamp (bottom) in collaboration with Wästberg.