Brazilian Primitive
Vintage 1950s Brazilian International Style Animal Sculptures
Wood
Late 20th Century Brazilian Primitive Mounted Objects
Steel
2010s North American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Stone
2010s Brazilian Minimalist Side Tables
Stone, Marble
2010s Brazilian Minimalist Side Tables
Marble, Stone
2010s Italian Modern Console Tables
Stone, Metal
2010s Brazilian Primitive Pottery
Ceramic, Pottery
2010s Brazilian Primitive Animal Sculptures
Wood, Hardwood
Antique 18th Century Brazilian Baroque Religious Items
Cedar
Antique 1750s Brazilian Baroque Religious Items
Cedar
2010s Brazilian Minimalist Side Tables
Marble
Antique Late 17th Century Brazilian Baroque Religious Items
Cedar
Antique Late 17th Century Brazilian Baroque Religious Items
Cedar
Antique Late 18th Century Brazilian Baroque Religious Items
Cedar
Antique Mid-19th Century Brazilian Folk Art Religious Items
Cedar
2010s Brazilian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Wood
2010s Brazilian Modern Table Lamps
Wood
2010s Italian Organic Modern Side Tables
Stone, Steel
2010s Australian Dining Room Chairs
Rattan, Walnut
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1990s Brazilian Post-Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble
2010s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Stools
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chaise Longues
Fabric, Hardwood
2010s American Modern Stools
Bronze
2010s Dutch Modern Side Tables
Travertine
2010s American Flush Mount
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Chandeliers and Pendants
Brass
2010s American Console Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary British Organic Modern Wall Lights and Sco...
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Organic Modern Center Tables
Travertine
Vintage 1970s French Sectional Sofas
Fabric
Antique 1890s Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Dining Room Tables
Marble, Onyx, Statuary Marble, Brass
2010s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel, Iron
2010s British Scandinavian Modern Ottomans and Poufs
Mohair, Velvet, Oak
21st Century and Contemporary Swedish Mid-Century Modern Table Lamps
Textile
Recent Sales
Antique Early 19th Century Brazilian Primitive Tribal Art
Wood
Antique Late 19th Century Brazilian Primitive Stools
Wood
Antique Late 18th Century Brazilian Cabinets
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Floor Lamps
Straw, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Table Lamps
Straw, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Modern Chandeliers and Pendants
Metal
Antique Late 19th Century Brazilian Primitive Chairs
Wood
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Brazilian Primitive Natural Specimens
Quartz, Rock Crystal
Antique Early 19th Century Brazilian Primitive Figurative Sculptures
Wood
2010s Brazilian Other Side Tables
Quartz, Metal
2010s Brazilian Other Side Tables
Quartz, Metal
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Brutalist Benches
Leather, Wood
Late 20th Century Brazilian Primitive Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Brutalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Metal, Copper
2010s Brazilian Primitive Animal Sculptures
Wood, Hardwood
20th Century Ethiopian Primitive Mounted Objects
Brass
1990s American Modern Contemporary Art
Vintage 1950s Modern Drawings
Paper
Vintage 1970s Brazilian International Style Animal Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Tableware
Clay
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Planters, Cachepots and Jardinières
Clay
2010s Brazilian Organic Modern Side Tables
Stone, Metal
20th Century Brazilian Stools
Wood
Antique 19th Century British Victorian Side Tables
Walnut
Late 20th Century Brazilian Paintings
Board
Late 20th Century Brazilian Paintings
Board
20th Century Brazilian Console Tables
Antique 19th Century Brazilian Cabinets
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Cabinets
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Primitive Animal Sculptures
Wood
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Platters and Serveware
Rosewood, Teak
Brazilian Primitive For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Brazilian Primitive?
On the Origins of Brazil
More often than not, vintage mid-century Brazilian furniture designs, with their gleaming wood, soft leathers and inviting shapes, share a sensuous, unique quality that distinguishes them from the more rectilinear output of American and Scandinavian makers of the same era.
Commencing in the 1940s and '50s, a group of architects and designers transformed the local cultural landscape in Brazil, merging the modernist vernacular popular in Europe and the United States with the South American country's traditional techniques and indigenous materials.
Key mid-century influencers on Brazilian furniture design include natives Oscar Niemeyer, Sergio Rodrigues and José Zanine Caldas as well as such European immigrants as Joaquim Tenreiro, Jean Gillon and Jorge Zalszupin. These creators frequently collaborated; for instance, Niemeyer, an internationally acclaimed architect, commissioned many of them to furnish his residential and institutional buildings.
The popularity of Brazilian modern furniture has made household names of these designers and other greats. Their particular brand of modernism is characterized by an émigré point of view (some were Lithuanian, German, Polish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, and Italian), a preference for highly figured indigenous Brazilian woods, a reverence for nature as an inspiration and an atelier or small-production mentality.
Hallmarks of Brazilian mid-century design include smooth, sculptural forms and the use of native woods like rosewood, jacaranda and pequi. The work of designers today exhibits many of the same qualities, though with a marked interest in exploring new materials (witness the Campana Brothers' stuffed-animal chairs) and an emphasis on looking inward rather than to other countries for inspiration.
Find a collection of vintage Brazilian furniture on 1stDibs that includes chairs, sofas, tables and more.