Brazilian Desks
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.
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Desks
Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Hardwood
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Desks
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Desks
Wood, Faux Leather
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Post-Modern Brazilian Desks
Stone
2010s Minimalist Brazilian Desks
Wood
2010s Modern Brazilian Desks
Metal
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Chrome, Nickel
2010s Modern Brazilian Desks
Metal
2010s Modern Brazilian Desks
Metal
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Metal
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
18th Century Other Antique Brazilian Desks
Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Brass
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
1960s Vintage Brazilian Desks
Wood
1920s Art Deco Vintage Brazilian Desks
Wood
1950s Space Age Vintage Brazilian Desks
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Desks
Metal
Early 20th Century Moorish Brazilian Desks
Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Glass, Teak
1950s Vintage Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
1960s Scandinavian Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Teak
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Chrome
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Leather, Rosewood
20th Century Brazilian Desks
Leather
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Desks
Leather, Imbuia
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Steel
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Metal
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
1760s Rococo Antique Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
Late 20th Century Brazilian Desks
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Desks
Rosewood
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