Set of 6 Chairs by Joaquim Tenreiro, 1947, Midcentury Design
About the Item
- Creator:Joaquim Tenreiro (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 34.26 in (87 cm)Width: 17.52 in (44.5 cm)Depth: 19.69 in (50 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Two of the chairs have missing sticks in the backs that will be replaced by our restoration team. The set remains in original condition. The restoration costs are included.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:
Joaquim Tenreiro
The Portugese-born furniture designer Joaquim Tenreiro was a pioneer of modernism in Brazil, where his work paved the way for the successes of such mid-20th-century design greats as Sergio Rodrigues, Jorge Zalszupin, and Lina Bo Bardi, an Italian-Brazilian architect whose futuristic São Paulo buildings are only part of her legacy.
Tenreiro’s vintage tables, chairs and storage cabinets are known for their simplicity of line and an elegance that is enhanced by the use of richly grained South American hardwoods such as jacaranda and imbuia.
Tenreiro’s father and grandfather were both master woodworkers, under whom he trained in the craft. He had artistic leanings and in the late 1920s enrolled as a university student at the School of Arts and Crafts in Rio de Janeiro, where he joined a group of upstart modernists protesting the staid, retrograde curriculum at the college. At the time, Brazil was culturally mired in a 19th-century mindset that was reflected in an upper-class preference for academic painting and reproduction furnishings in antique European styles. But the progressive spirit that Tenreiro and his colleagues fostered slowly gained force.
With the terms “lightness” and “functionality” as his bywords, Tenreiro opened a furniture-design business in 1943, where one of his first clients was the legendary architect Oscar Niemeyer. The arrival of Brazil’s first democratically elected government, in 1945, lent modernism official sanction, which culminated in the construction of the new capital, Brasília. Tenreiro eventually stepped away from design in the late 1960s to devote his time to sculpture and painting.
To appreciate how revolutionary Tenreiro’s work seemed, one must imagine the heavy, ornately carved, deeply varnished furniture that was the standard for top-end Brazilian interior design in the 1930s. Tenreiro’s chairs and sofas employed slender, softly angular frames that were only lightly stained to highlight the grains of the local woods. He preferred chairs and chaises with caned seats and backrests that “breathe” in the tropical climate, and as a carpenter and joiner he wanted to show off the beauty of Brazilian wood.
Two versions of a three-legged side chair introduced in 1947 serve as a veritable manifesto for a new age in Brazilian design: Using the stack-lamination technique, Tenreiro bonded together a gently contoured seat made of alternating layers of different-colored native woods to produce a magnificent stripe effect. These chairs, like all Tenreiro works, demonstrate the enduring power of simple design and superb construction — with a teaspoon of flair.
Find vintage Joaquim Tenreiro furniture on 1stDibs.
Bossa Furniture
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: sao paulo , Brazil
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Set of Six Rosewood Estrutural Chairs by Joaquim Tenreiro. Mid Century, BrazilBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYTo compose light seats, Tenreiro used thin wooden sticks in some of his chairs. One of these pieces, which became well known, was the Structural Chair...Category
Vintage 1940s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsRosewood, Leather
- Set of Eight Dining Chairs by Joaquim Tenreiro, Rosewood and Cane, 1950s, BrazilBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYThis set of eight chairs was designed by Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992) in the 1950s. These breathtaking chairs are made of solid rosewood, with slatted backs and cane seats. As wit...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Rosewood
- Set of Eight Dining Chairs by Joaquim Tenreiro, Solid Wood and Cane, 1950sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYThis set of eight exquisitely crafted Cane chairs in Amendoim Wood, designed by Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992) in the 1960s, is a gorgeous example of his mastery of technical and const...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Hardwood
- Set of Four Dining Chairs by Joaquim Tenreiro, Rosewood and Cane, circa 1960By Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYThese exquisitely crafted dining chairs designed in the 1950s by Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992), known as the “father” of Brazilian modernism, are co...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsRosewood, Cane
- Joaquim Tenreiro Dining Chairs, Solid Wood and Fabric, MidCentury, Brazil, 1950sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYAvailable in eight units, this set of dining chairs was designed by Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992) in the 1950s. Much like Tenreiro's other creations, this sense of lightness transcend...Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Curva Chair by Joaquim Tenreiro, 1960s, Brazilian Midcentury DesignBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYThis exquisitely crafted rosewood curved chair with stick back designed by Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992) in 1961/1962 evokes a refined coexistence of traditional values and modern aes...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Rosewood
- Set of 4 Curva Dining Chairs by Joaquim TenreiroBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in Soho, London, GBSet of 4 Curva dining chairs by Joaquim Tenreiro manufactured by Tenreiro Movèis & Decorações (circa 1960). The set can be split and ...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood, Cane
- Set of 12 "U" Chairs by Joaquim TenreiroBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in London, GBProbably one of the most iconic creations my Joaquim Tenreiro, this set of 12 "U" dining chairs is made in "Perobinha do Campo", a wood widely used by Tenreiro throughout his career....Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Hardwood
- Set of 4 chairs by Joaquim TenreiroBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYSet of four (4) chairs with slatted seat in pau marfim (ivory wood). Designed by Joaquim Tenreiro, Brazil, 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Chairs
MaterialsWood
- Brazilian Modern 4 Chair Set in Hardwood & Cane, Joaquim Tenreiro, Brazil, 1950sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYAvailable today, this Mid-Century Modern chair set made in Brazilian rosewood and caning designed by Joaquim Tenreiro in Brazil during the fifties is ...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Hardwood
- Pair of Curva chair by Joaquim Tenreiro, Mid-Century Modern-Vintage 60'By Joaquim TenreiroLocated in Houston, TXIntroducing the exquisite Brazilian modern 'curva' chairs, expertly crafted by the renowned artisan Joaquim Tenreiro in the vibrant era of the 1960s in Brazil. With their timeless ap...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Hardwood
- Brazilian Modern 10 Chair Set in Hardwood & Beige Leather Joaquim Tenreiro 1960sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYAvailable today, this magnificent Mid-Century Modern ten dining chair set n hardwood & beige leather by Joaquim Tenreiro in the sixties is the find of the year! Each chair features a solid Rosewood structure upholstered in beige leather. The legs and the backrest are delicately curved and the square seat is very comfortable. The wood work is absolutely stunning, characteristically of Joaquim Tenreiro. The set was designed specifically for Bloch Editors, a publishing & broadcasting Brazilian conglomerate. Sergio Rodrigues and Joaquim Tenreiro were both hired to design Modern furniture for the Bloch’s headquarters in Sao Paulo and these chairs belonged to the salons as is shown in the vintage publications...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Hardwood