Along with architect Alvar Aalto, the designer Tapio Wirkkala was Finland’s leading contributor to the Scandinavian interpretation of modernism in the mid-20th century. Prolific and innovative, Wirkkala excelled in a wide range of fields, including glass, furniture, porcelain, jewelry and tableware. The hallmark of his talent was an ability to impart a craft aesthetic based on natural forms — leaves, ice, bubbles, birds — to industrially produced designs.
A native of Helsinki, Wirkkala studied at the national School of Applied Arts and took up a career in graphic design. After serving in the Finnish army during World War II, he joined the glassmaking firm Iittala, an association that would continue to the end of his life. Wirkkala learned every aspect of glassmaking in keeping with his belief that an artist-designer should be involved in all stages of production. His best-known works for Iittala are vases and drinking vessels that resemble either carved ice or icicles. In 1956, Wirkkala began a long relationship with the porcelain maker Rosenthal, for whom he designed elegant table pieces, such as the Finlandia coffee service and the biomorphic Pollo vases.
House Beautiful magazine declared Wirkkala’s Leaf platter the “most beautiful object” of 1951. (The acclaim led to his brief employment stint with industrial designer Raymond Loewy in New York.) That platter was one of the first designs Wirkkala made using laminated sheets of plywood sanded to a smooth surface that resembles an abstract leaf. It would go on to become a motif in many Wirkkala furniture pieces — most notably in inlaid coffee tables for Asko — and in a sense these are the works most emblematic of his personal aesthetic.
Wirkkala was a traditionalist in many ways, but he had a modernist’s practical approach, incorporating his leaf-like spirals into simple, functional objects. That is the core attraction of Wirkkala’s designs: They stand out with a striking, sculptural energy yet blend in as part of a warm and comfortable decor.
Find vintage Tapio Wirkkala furniture on 1stDibs.
Tapio Wirkkala Rhytmic Veneer Wall Relief Model 9018, Asko 1950s
By Tapio Wirkkala, Asko
Located in Helsinki, FI
A rare version of the Tapio Wirkkala rhythmic veneer coffee table turned into wall hanging. The model is 9018, and aka Angel Wings due to the symmetric wing resembling rhytmic lines ...
Birch
A Rare Tapio Wirkkala Rhythmic Veneer Coffee Table Model 9018, Asko 1950s
By Tapio Wirkkala, Asko
Located in Helsinki, FI
A rare version of the Tapio Wirkkala rhythmic veneer coffee table model 9018, aka "Angel Wings" due to the symmetric wong resembling rhythmic lines on top. The legs are detachable an...
Aluminum
$22,400Sale Price|20% Off
Tapio Wirkkala Coffee Table
By Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Designed for Asko, Finland in 1958. These tables are highly sought after and regarded as Tapio Wirkkala's most important production furniture. Made from hand-sculpted solid el...
Elm
Exotic Wood Coffee Table by Tapio Wirkkala
By Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Toronto, Ontario
A very exciting coffee table in rare woods by Tapio Wirkkala for Asko, circa 1958. This example has a taller base than most which is very well suited for the display of small obje...
Metal
$5,626Sale Price|30% Off
Wonderful Rythmic Veneer Coffee Table by Tapio Wirkkala
By Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Munich, DE
Rarest variation of this table. Very rare size ands unusual wood legs. Branded Asko stamp.
Wood
Rare Tapio Wirkkala Coffee Table for Asko
By Tapio Wirkkala
Located in Toronto, Ontario
A great example of Tapio Wirkkala's iconic coffee table for Asko Finland. This piece has two leaf motif decorations on the tabletop. Branded Asko.
Metal
Italian Brass Swan Coffee Table, 1950s
Located in Antwerp, BE
A chic and elegant 1950s Italian brass swan coffee table with swan head legs and original glass. Well-made and heavy. Dimensions base: Wid...
Metal, Brass, Bronze
Palafitte Coffee Table, in oak wood, by Debonademeo for Medulum
By Debonademeo
Located in Meolo, Venezia
The Palafitte collection, inspired by Venice, the floating city, takes its cue from the urban system of wooden poles submerged in water, supporting the city’s structures. This design...
Oak, Wood
Palafitte Coffee Table, in oak wood, by Debonademeo for Medulum
By Debonademeo
Located in Meolo, Venezia
The Palafitte collection, inspired by Venice, the floating city, takes its cue from the urban system of wooden poles submerged in water, supporting the city’s structures. This design...
Walnut, Wood
Bakelite, Brass and Iron 1950s Side Tables
Located in Isle Sur La Sorgue, Vaucluse
Chic set of three low tables with tubular iron bases, laquered in black paint and ending in brass sabots. The tabletops are black bakelite, with brass surrounds. Heavy, very nice ...
Brass, Iron
$2,296Sale Price|41% Off
H 17.13 in W 23.82 in D 47.64 in
Very Rare Maison Charles Directoire Coffee Table
By Maison Charles
Located in Munich, DE
Very rare pieces of furniture in very good condition. Steel and brass. we can offer a few different pieces of the directoire range.
Metal
Danish Rosewood Coffee Table by Severin Hansen Jr., 1960
By Severin Hansen Jr., Nils Thorsson
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
A vintage Mid-Century Modern Danish low sofa table or coffee table in restored Rosewood, in good condition. Designed by Severin Hansen Jr. with a lateral tile insert and blue tile surround by Nils Thorsson, Royal Copenhagen. Wear consistent with age and use, circa 1960, Denmark, Scandinavia. Nils Johan Thorvald Thorsson was a Swedish designer and ceramic artist born in 1898, in Esloev, Sweden and passed away in 1975. At the age of thirteen, Thorsson finished his apprenticeship at the Alumina Factory in Copenhagen, after that he went to study at the Royal Danish Academy. Later on, Thorsson was the artistic director of Alumina which he held for forty-one years where he lead a team of well-known, talented designers which included Bethe Breyen, Kari Christensen, as well as others. Severin Hansen was born in 1897 Denmark and passed away in 1964 Denmark...
Rosewood, Ceramic
Solid Reclaimed Teak Wood Coffee Table, Modern Organic
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
Crafted from solid teak wood, this coffee table showcases timeless craftsmanship and natural beauty. The thick, rectangular tabletop highlights teak’s rich grain and warm tones, maki...
Wood, Teak
Ico Parisi Style Mid-Century Coffee Table, Italy, 1950s
By Ico Parisi
Located in Vienna, AT
A beautiful and extraordinary modernist coffee table with a lovely shape and exquisite details, including small conical brass feet. Made of wood with a top made of blackened glass. M...
Glass, Wood
Large Iron & Stone Coffee Table - France, 1950s
Located in Isle Sur La Sorgue, Vaucluse
Unusually wide and long coffee table with an iron and cast-iron base, with traces of beige paint. Comblanchien (Bourgogne) stone top.
$1,125
H 16.34 in W 39.38 in D 14.97 in
Italian Midcentury Octagonal Coffee Table in Mahogany Veneer with Brass Details
By Ico Parisi
Located in Morazzone, Varese
Italian Midcentury Octagonal Coffee Table in Mahogany Veneer with Brass Details Octagonal design coffee table from the Italian mid-century, Made in Italy in the 1960s. Made of a sol...
Metal, Brass
Ceramic Coffee Table
By Juliette Belarti
Located in Antwerp, BE
Ceramic abstract 1950s coffee table. Signed Belarti. The table has a black metal base and the top of the table has ceramic tiles with a beautiful abstract pattern, characteristic of...
Metal
$3,224Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 11.82 in W 37.01 in D 37.01 in
“Fit Table” Travertine Marble Coffee Table by Aparentment
By Josep Vila Capdevila
Located in Terrassa, Catalonia
The Fit Coffee Table is a sculptural centerpiece crafted from solid travertine. Composed of five precisely cut stone elements, its design explores balance, proportion, and structural...
Marble, Travertine
Laminated Plywood and Iron Low Table by Tapio Wirkkala
By Tapio Wirkkala, Asko
Located in Dronten, NL
Coffee table, limited edition of 60 pieces, by Tapio Wirkkala for Asko. Marked with engraved bronze plaque: Tapio Wirkkala, Asko, made in Finland, 19/60.
Steel