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Artedi Black Marble Glass Chrome Round Dining Table MidCentury Modern 1970s 80s
By Artedi
Located in London, GB
Beautiful black Carrara marble hexagon plinth dining table with chrome frame where the round smoked
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Marble, Carrara Marble, Steel, Chrome

Johanna Grawunder Illuminated Dining Table by for Post-Design, 2001
By Johanna Grawunder
Located in Vienna, AT
Very rare dining table (Wicked 64) by Johanna Grawunder for Post-Design Milan, 2001. Dimensions
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Superstudio 'Teso' Dining Table with Glass Top and Black Ash Base
By Superstudio
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Superstudio, dining table 'Teso', glass, lacquered ash, steel, Italy 1970s A remarkable table
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Post and Truss Dining Table in Black Nickel by Charles Hollis Jones
By Charles Hollis Jones
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful Lucite and black nickel dining table by Charles Hollis Jones from the "Post and Truss
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Nickel

Bent Dining Table Medium Black Transparent by Pulpo
Located in Geneve, CH
Bent dining table medium black transparent by Pulpo Dimensions: D130 x H74 cm. Materials: Casted
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Marble

Bent Dining Table Medium Black Smoky Grey by Pulpo
Located in Geneve, CH
Bent dining table medium black smoky grey by Pulpo Dimensions: D130 x H74 cm. Materials: casted
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Marble

Rare Henry P. Glass for “Stux” Patio or Dining Set
By Henry Glass
Located in Round Rock, TX
Incredibly rare dining or patio set designed by Henry P. Glass for Stux. The set is from the “ Stux
Category

Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets

Materials

Iron

Bent Dining Table Medium Black Transparent by Pulpo
Located in Geneve, CH
Bent dining table medium black transparent by Pulpo Dimensions: D130 x H74 cm. Materials: casted
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Marble

Bent Dining Table Medium Black Smoky Grey by Pulpo
Located in Geneve, CH
Bent dining table medium black smoky grey by Pulpo Dimensions: D130 x H74 cm. Materials: casted
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Marble

Postmodern Architectural Dining Table Black Molded Plaster Double Pedestal Base
Located in Topeka, KS
, Industrial or Southwestern, this double pedestal black stucco textured dining table is exactly what the
Category

Late 20th Century Unknown Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Glass, Plaster, Oak

Italian Mid-Century Modern Glass and Metal T69 Dining Table by Osvaldo Borsani
By Osvaldo Borsani
Located in Weesp, NL
Stylish and elegant Mid-Century Modern black lacquered cast aluminium and glass T69 dining table by
Category

Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Italian Dining Table by Pietro Costantini Black Lacquer and Geometric Inlay
By Pietro Costantini
Located in Topeka, KS
glass with a 1 ½-inch bevel. Obviously, this would make a gorgeous dining room table anywhere, but we
Category

Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Wood, Glass

Postmodern Memphis Style Iron, Glass & Plywood Dining Table, USA, 1980s
Located in Hastings, GB
Postmodern Memphis style dining table, USA, 1980s. Black powder-coated steel or Iron, seafoam
Category

Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Iron

Pietro Constantini Postmodern Dining Table
By Constantini
Located in W Allenhurst, NJ
Italian Postmodern dining table signed Pietro Constantini. Concave curved rectangle base on
Category

Late 20th Century Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Glass, Wood, Lacquer

Pietro Constantini Postmodern Dining Table
Pietro Constantini Postmodern Dining Table
No Reserve
H 29 in W 72 in D 41.5 in
Herder Dining Table Travertine Marble & Black Slate & Crystal Spain in Stock
By Meddel, Joaquín Moll
Located in VALVERDE DEL MAJANO, CL
HERDER Dining Table Travertine Marble & Black Slate & Crystal Spain In Stock. Herder is a dining
Category

2010s Spanish Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Crystal, Travertine, Marble, Slate

Afra & Tobia Scarpa 'Polygonon' Dining Table & Mario Bellini Dining Chairs
By Mario Bellini, B&B Italia, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, dining table 'Polygonon', glass, electro-coated stainless steel
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Source Dining Table by A Space
Located in Geneve, CH
The Source dining table by A Space Dimensions: D330 x W130 x H77cm Materials: Black tuff, glass
Category

2010s American Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Other

Source Dining Table by A Space
Source Dining Table by A Space
H 30.32 in W 51.19 in D 129.93 in
Round Mano Dining Table by Domkapa
Located in Geneve, CH
Round Mano dining table by Domkapa Dimensions: W 140 x D 140 x H 75 cm. Materials: Black
Category

2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Leather, Glass, Lacquer

Galaxy Round Dining Table by Masaya
By Masaya
Located in Geneve, CH
Galaxy round dining table by Masaya Dimensions: W 74 x D 74 x H 73 cm Materials: Brass Also
Category

2010s Thai Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Brass

Bent Dining Table Medium White Transparent by Pulpo
Located in Geneve, CH
glass, carrara, black nero or light green marble table top. Also available in different finishes and
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Marble

Oval Mano Dining Table by Domkapa
Located in Geneve, CH
Oval Mano dining table by Domkapa Dimensions: W 220 x D 100 x H 75 cm. Materials: Black lacquered
Category

2010s Portuguese Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Leather, Lacquer

Oval Mano Dining Table by Domkapa
Oval Mano Dining Table by Domkapa
H 29.53 in W 86.62 in D 39.38 in
Lacquered Wood & Painted Metal Dining Table, 1970s
Located in Montelabbate, PU
Table from the 1970s. Ivory lacquered solid wood legs, black painted iron sheet connecting element
Category

Vintage 1970s Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Metal

Postmodern Dining Table by Giorgio Cattelan for Cidue
By Giorgio Cattelan, Cidue
Located in Brooklyn, NY
different sized tops, making this a versatile table that works equally well as a dining table or a desk. The
Category

Late 20th Century Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Metal

VINTAGE MID CENTURY MODERN MARCEL BREUER CESCA HABITAT EXTENDING DiNING TABLE
By Marcel Breuer
Located in GB
Modern, Marcel Breuer Cesca designed for Habitat, black Ash & Chrome extending dining table Please note
Category

20th Century European Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Chrome

Arthur Espenet Carpenter Walnut & Enameled Steel Dining Table, 1987, Signed
By Arthur Espenet Carpenter
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This exquisite dining table (or monumental center table) by Arthur Espenet Carpenter, signed by the
Category

Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia Rare 'Polygonon' Dining Table
By B&B Italia, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, dining table 'Polygonon', glass, electro-coated stainless steel
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Luigi Saccardo for Arrmet Postmodern 'Ufo' Table in Metal and Glass
By Luigi Saccardo
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Luigi Saccardo for Arrmet, dining table model 'Ufo', metal and glass, Italy, 1972 This
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Metal

1980's Italian Memphis Dining Table by Sottsass Associati for Bieffeplast
By Bieffeplast, Sottsass Associati
Located in London, GB
features a robust black powder coated tubular steel frame, chrome trimmings and toughened glass top. This
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel, Chrome

Rare 'Kono' Dining Table / Desk by Lella & Massimo Vignelli for Casigliani, 1984
By Massimo and Lella Vignelli
Located in Los Angeles, CA
dining table, a desk, a center table or just as a stand-alone Post-Modern sculpture. The L-shaped
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Granite, Copper

Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia Rare Polygonon Dining Table Italy 1984
By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, B&B Italia
Located in Catania, IT
Afra & Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, 'Polygonon' model dining or meeting table, glass, electro
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Gianfranco Frattini, Capri, Dining Table, Cassina, 1985
By Cassina, Gianfranco Frattini
Located in Paris, FR
Gianfranco Frattini (1926-2004) Capri A dining table. The rectangular glass top supported on each
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Wood

Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto 'Artona' Large Dining Table in Walnut
By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Maxalto
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto, 'Artona' dining table, walnut, walnut burl, lacquered wood, brass
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Brass

Pair of Post Modern Italian Murano Glass Mushroom Table Lamps, 1980s
By Maestri Muranesi
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Pair of table lamps produced in Murano by the Masters of Murano, conical base in blown glass with
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps

Materials

Murano Glass

Customized 'Paracarro' Dining Table Bases by Giovanni Offredi for Saporiti 1970s
By Saporiti, Giovanni Offredi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This pair of customized 'Paracarro' dining table bases are originally by Giovanni Offredi for
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Concrete, Steel, Chrome

Low Table 019 by Jesper Eriksson
Located in Geneve, CH
Low table 019 by Jesper Eriksson Dimensions: D180 x W60 x H45 cm Materials: Anthracite Coal
Category

2010s English Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Other

Low Table 019 by Jesper Eriksson
Low Table 019 by Jesper Eriksson
H 17.72 in W 23.63 in D 70.87 in
Post Modern Console Table, Italy 1980s
Located in Ft Lauderdale, FL
Post Modern Console Table, Italy 1980s Console, Entry or Hall Table in Sand Blasted Glass with
Category

Vintage 1980s Console Tables

Materials

Metal

Bespoke Italian Post Modern Rose Pink Murano Glass Geometric Couture Table Lamp
By Cosulich Interiors & Antiques
Located in New York, NY
A fun modernist table / desk lamp, a contemporary organic creation entirely hand made in Italy, the
Category

2010s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps

Materials

Brass

Bespoke Italian Post Modern Rose Pink Murano Glass Geometric Couture Table Lamp
Located in New York, NY
A fun modernist table / desk lamp, a contemporary organic creation entirely hand made in Italy, the
Category

2010s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps

Materials

Brass

Afra & Tobia Scarpa Set of Dining Table with Set of Six Dialogo Chairs
By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Maxalto, B&B Italia
Located in Waalwijk, NL
an Artona dining table produced by Maxalto. Afra and Tobia Scarpa for B&B Italia, set of six
Category

Vintage 1970s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Sets

Materials

Brass

‘Halley’ Table by Vincent Martinez for Punt Mobles, Spain 1986
Located in Chicago, IL
A Spanish ‘Halley’ table designed by Vincent Martinez (b.1949) for Punt Mobles in 1986. This table
Category

Vintage 1980s Spanish Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Metal

Postmodern California Design Industrial Dinning Table Designed by Robert Josten
By Robert Josten
Located in San Diego, CA
Great design on this polished aluminum dining table, with grill top and four black enameled pipe
Category

Late 20th Century American Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Post Modern Curtis Jeré Brass and Smoked Glass Pedestal Signed 1984
By Curtis Jeré, C. Jeré Artisan House
Located in Saint Louis, MO
glamour from every angle. This sultry Post Modern pedestal features concave angled sides that float over a
Category

Vintage 1980s American Post-Modern Pedestals

Materials

Brass

Post-Modern 1980s Italian Barbini & Marianelli Black Bulbo' Lamp for Tronconi
By Tronconi, Raul Barbieri and Giorgio Marianelli
Located in St. Louis, MO
Post-Modern 1980s Italian designed table or desk Bulbo' lamp by Barbini & Marianelli for Tronconi
Category

Vintage 1980s Italian Post-Modern Table Lamps

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 90 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop Table 90 Ash by Sebastian Scherer. Dimensions: D90 x W90 x H74 cm. Materials: Ash, Aluminium
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 90 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 90 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 35.44 in
Loop Table 90 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop table 90 ash by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D 90 x W 90 x H 74 cm Materials: oak
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 90 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 90 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 35.44 in
Loop Table 240 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop table 240 ash by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D240 x W90 x H74 cm Materials: ash, aluminium
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 240 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 240 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 94.49 in
Loop Table 240 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop table 240 ash by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D 240 x W 90 x H 74 cm Materials: oak
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 240 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 240 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 94.49 in
Loop Table 200 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop table 200 Ash by Sebastian Scherer. Dimensions: D200 x W90 x H74 cm. Materials: Ash
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 200 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 200 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 78.75 in
Loop Table 200 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop table 200 walnut by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D200 x W90 x H74 cm Materials: Walnut
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 200 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 200 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 78.75 in
Loop Table 200 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop table 200 Ash by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D200 x W90 x H74 cm Materials: Oak, Aluminium
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 200 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 200 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 78.75 in
Loop Table 160 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop Table 160 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D160 x W90 x H74 cm Materials: Walnut
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 160 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 160 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 63 in
Loop Table 160 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop table 160 ash by Sebastian Scherer. Dimensions: D 160 x W 90 x H 74 cm. Materials: Oak
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 160 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 160 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 63 in
Loop Table 90 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop Table 90 walnut by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D90 x W90 x H74 cm Materials: Walnut
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 90 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 90 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 35.44 in
Loop Table 160 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop Table 160 Ash by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D160 x W90 x H74 cm Materials: Ash, Aluminium
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 160 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 160 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 63 in
Loop Table 240 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Loop table 240 walnut by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D240 x W90 x H74 cm Materials: walnut
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Aluminum

Loop Table 240 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
Loop Table 240 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 94.49 in
Steel Stand Table 240 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Steel stand table 240 Ash by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D240 x W90 x H74 cm Materials: Ash
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Steel Stand Table 240 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
Steel Stand Table 240 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 94.49 in
Steel Stand Table 200 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Steel stand table 200 ash by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D 200 x W 90 x H 74 cm Materials: Ash
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Steel Stand Table 200 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
Steel Stand Table 200 Ash by Sebastian Scherer
H 29.14 in W 35.44 in D 78.75 in
Steel Stand Table 160 Oak by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Steel stand table 160 oak by Sebastian Scherer Dimensions: D 160 x W 90 x H 74 cm Materials: Oak
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Steel Stand Table 200 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Steel stand table 200 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer. Dimensions: D200 x W90 x H74 cm. Materials
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

Steel Stand Table 240 Walnut by Sebastian Scherer
By Sebastian Scherer
Located in Geneve, CH
Steel stand table 240 walnut by Sebastian Scherer. Dimensions: D240 x W90 x H74 cm. Materials
Category

2010s German Post-Modern Dining Room Tables

Materials

Steel

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Post Modern Black Glass Dining Table For Sale on 1stDibs

At 1stDibs, there are many versions of the ideal post modern black glass dining table for your home. A post modern black glass dining table — often made from glass, metal and brass — can elevate any home. There are 52 variations of the antique or vintage post modern black glass dining table you’re looking for, while we also have 9 modern editions of this piece to choose from as well. There are many kinds of the post modern black glass dining table you’re looking for, from those produced as long ago as the 20th Century to those made as recently as the 21st Century. A post modern black glass dining table, designed in the Mid-Century Modern style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. A well-made post modern black glass dining table has long been a part of the offerings for many furniture designers and manufacturers, but those produced by Per Sundstedt, ZERO Lighting and Robert Sonneman are consistently popular.

How Much is a Post Modern Black Glass Dining Table?

A post modern black glass dining table can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price 1stDibs is $2,494, while the lowest priced sells for $475 and the highest can go for as much as $60,114.

A Close Look at post-modern Furniture

Postmodern design was a short-lived movement that manifested itself chiefly in Italy and the United States in the early 1980s. The characteristics of vintage postmodern furniture and other postmodern objects and decor for the home included loud-patterned, usually plastic surfaces; strange proportions, vibrant colors and weird angles; and a vague-at-best relationship between form and function.

ORIGINS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Emerges during the 1960s; popularity explodes during the ’80s
  • A reaction to prevailing conventions of modernism by mainly American architects
  • Architect Robert Venturi critiques modern architecture in his Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966)
  • Theorist Charles Jencks, who championed architecture filled with allusions and cultural references, writes The Language of Post-Modern Architecture (1977)
  • Italian design collective the Memphis Group, also known as Memphis Milano, meets for the first time (1980) 
  • Memphis collective debuts more than 50 objects and furnishings at Salone del Milano (1981)
  • Interest in style declines, minimalism gains steam

CHARACTERISTICS OF POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Dizzying graphic patterns and an emphasis on loud, off-the-wall colors
  • Use of plastic and laminates, glass, metal and marble; lacquered and painted wood 
  • Unconventional proportions and abundant ornamentation
  • Playful nods to Art Deco and Pop art

POSTMODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

VINTAGE POSTMODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Critics derided postmodern design as a grandstanding bid for attention and nothing of consequence. Decades later, the fact that postmodernism still has the power to provoke thoughts, along with other reactions, proves they were not entirely correct.

Postmodern design began as an architectural critique. Starting in the 1960s, a small cadre of mainly American architects began to argue that modernism, once high-minded and even noble in its goals, had become stale, stagnant and blandly corporate. Later, in Milan, a cohort of creators led by Ettore Sottsass and Alessandro Mendinia onetime mentor to Sottsass and a key figure in the Italian Radical movement — brought the discussion to bear on design.

Sottsass, an industrial designer, philosopher and provocateur, gathered a core group of young designers into a collective in 1980 they called Memphis. Members of the Memphis Group,  which would come to include Martine Bedin, Michael Graves, Marco Zanini, Shiro Kuramata, Michele de Lucchi and Matteo Thun, saw design as a means of communication, and they wanted it to shout. That it did: The first Memphis collection appeared in 1981 in Milan and broke all the modernist taboos, embracing irony, kitsch, wild ornamentation and bad taste.

Memphis works remain icons of postmodernism: the Sottsass Casablanca bookcase, with its leopard-print plastic veneer; de Lucchi’s First chair, which has been described as having the look of an electronics component; Martine Bedin’s Super lamp: a pull-toy puppy on a power-cord leash. Even though it preceded the Memphis Group’s formal launch, Sottsass’s iconic Ultrafragola mirror — in its conspicuously curved plastic shell with radical pops of pink neon — proves striking in any space and embodies many of the collective’s postmodern ideals. 

After the initial Memphis show caused an uproar, the postmodern movement within furniture and interior design quickly took off in America. (Memphis fell out of fashion when the Reagan era gave way to cool 1990’s minimalism.) The architect Robert Venturi had by then already begun a series of plywood chairs for Knoll Inc., with beefy, exaggerated silhouettes of traditional styles such as Queen Anne and Chippendale. In 1982, the new firm Swid Powell enlisted a group of top American architects, including Frank Gehry, Richard Meier, Stanley Tigerman and Venturi to create postmodern tableware in silver, ceramic and glass.

On 1stDibs, the vintage postmodern furniture collection includes chairs, coffee tables, sofas, decorative objects, table lamps and more.