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.
Silver Dipped Bronze Sculptural Flower Candle Stick Holder, Brazil 1990s
Located in Miami, FL
Brazilian modern silver dipped bronze candle holder with flowers on vines. Signed by unknown artist, 1990s.
Silver, Bronze
$492Sale Price|20% Off
Zanini de Zanine Escora Gold Candleholder
By Zanini de Zanine
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautifully sculptural candleholder by Zanini de Zanine. Regarded as one of the most renowned forces in art and design, Zanini de Zanine creates pieces that bring a strong presence i...
Steel
Monumental Pair of 1960s Brass Candelabras by Madame Journel
Located in Rio De Janeiro, BR
Monumental Pair of 1960s Brass Candelabras by Madame Journel, Rio de Janeiro Striking in both scale and elegance, this rare pair of twelve-light candelabras was crafted in Rio de J...
Brass
$1,320 / item
Dark Bronze Candleholder by FAKASAKA Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Dark bronze candleholder by FAKASAKA Design Dimensions: W 9 x D 6 x H 33 cm Materials: Dark bronze.
Bronze
$1,893 / item
Candlestick in Polished Bronze by FAKASAKA Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Candlestick in Polished Bronze by FAKASAKA Design Dimensions: W 20 x D 19 x H 30.5 cm Materials: Polished bronze.
Bronze
$1,893 / item
Candlestick in Dark Bronze by Fakasaka Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Candlestick in dark bronze by FAKASAKA Design Dimensions: W 20 x D 19 x H 30.5 cm Materials: dark bronze.
Bronze
Long Candleholder in Polished Bronze by FAKASAKA Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Long candleholder in Polished bronze by FAKASAKA Design Dimensions: W 8 x D 8 x H 41 cm Materials: Polished bronze.
Bronze
Set of 2 Long Candleholders in Polished Bronze by FAKASAKA Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of 2 long candleholders in polished bronze by FAKASAKA Design Dimensions: W 8 x D 8 x H 41 cm Materials: Polished bronze.
Bronze
$2,583 / item
Candleholder in Polished Bronze by FAKASAKA Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Candleholder in Polished Bronze by FAKASAKA Design Dimensions: W 13.5 x D 13.5 x H 41.5 cm Materials: Polished bronze.
Bronze
$1,730 / item
Dark Bronze Candleholder by Fakasaka Design
Located in Geneve, CH
Dark bronze candleholder by FAKASAKA Design. Dimensions: W 9.5 x D 5.5 x H 29.5 cm. Materials: dark bronze.
Bronze
Bronze Candleholder by Evan Jensen
By Evan Jensen
Located in Long Island City, NY
Evan Jensen, bronze candlestick in Art Deco style. Sweden. Designed circa 1930. Stamped on the bottom: Evan Jensen Kobenhavn Bronze 320. Measures: Height 16.5 cm, diameter 12.5 cm.
Bronze
$1,280 / set
H 9 in W 3 in D 4 in
1990s Pair Postmodern Memphis Industrial R W Stoller Brutalist Candle Holders
By Ettore Sottsass
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
Very rare, likely one of a Kind pair of Hand -Forged Brutalist Post Modern Candler Holders by famed American Sculptor R. W. Stoller. Signed and dated These stunning Matisse lime ab...
Aluminum
Luna Handmade Blown Glass Candleholder Designed by Aldo Cibic
By Aldo Cibic
Located in Milan, IT
Luna is a handmade transparent candle stick in mouth blown glass designed by Aldo Cibic, it is available in three different sizes. This piece is a timeless object whose curvy Silhoue...
Blown Glass
Noguchi Style Sculptural Hard Wood Studio Candleholders, 1960s
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Miami, FL
A pair of sculptural candleholders. Done in an organic style, seemingly identical, with subtle but noticeable differences that can only be achieved by a master sculptor. Tallest is 1...
Wood
Swedish Bauhaus Era Candleholder in Bronze by Oskar Olsson
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A heavy candlestick holder executed in solid bronze. For a regular sized candle. Signed/marked Oskar Olsson, 1935. Made in Sweden possibly by Skultuna. Measurements: H: 24 cm, Diam...
Bronze
$155 / item
H 8.67 in W 2.76 in D 2.76 in
Constantin I Candleholder in Solid Oak and Brass Minimalist Design with Circles
By Agustina Bottoni
Located in Milan, Lombardy
Constantin 1 is a simple but charming candleholder with a geometric shape with circles. The body is in solid oak wood. The cylinder in natural brass on the top is the place where to put a 18 mm candle. In the same collection 3 different models of candlesticks in wood...
Oak
Knot candlesticks, brutalist design, bronze, Italy, 1970
Located in BARCELONA, ES
Beautiful brutalist candlestick in the shape of a knot, designed and produced in italy in the 1970s. Bronze candlestick. Magnificent decorative object that will bring a real design t...
Bronze
Pair of Bronze Verdigris Art Nouveau Sculptural Candle Holders
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Pair of vintage candle holders features cast bronze construction with striking floral stems and bases supporting conical candle holders with flared out rims. The stems are sculpted a...
Bronze
$4,091
H 11.03 in W 4.73 in D 3.15 in
1998 Oscar Tusquets Blanca Driade Surrealistic Design Bronze 2 Candleholders
By Oscar Tusquets Blanca
Located in Brescia, IT
"Salvador" Candleholders Oscar Tusquets Blanca Driade-Follies Italy, 1998 Rare Pair of CandleHolder Green Patina on Bronze Original 1998 Excellent condiction
Metal
$642
H 9.06 in W 8.27 in D 2.96 in
Metallslöjden Gusum, modernist brass candelabra candlestick, Sweden, 1960s
By Metallslojden Gusum
Located in Forserum, SE
A sculptural mid-century modern candelabra produced by the renowned Swedish metal workshop Metallslöjden Gusum. Featuring a clean geometric structure with three candleholders and a s...
Brass
$176 / item
H 8.67 in W 2.76 in D 2.76 in
Constantin III a Candleholder in Walnut and Brass Minimalist Design with Circles
By Agustina Bottoni
Located in Milan, Lombardy
Constantin III is a simple but charming candleholder with a geometric shape with rhombus. The body is in solid Canaletto walnut with natural finishing, emphasizing the wooden veins. The cylinder in natural brass on the top is the place where to put an 18 mm candle. In the same collection 3 different models of candlesticks in wood or in marble. A perfect set for a present. Constantin collection owes its name to its inspirer. It is in fact the modern art of Constantin Brancusi that has guided the designer’s hand to conceive candelabra, bookends, containers and centre pieces...
Oak
Lava Candleholder, Volcanic Stone and Brass
By Ana Saldaña, Caterina Moretti
Located in Zapopan, Jalisco
Volcanic stone is a witness to the power of nature: hand-polished by craftsmen with a millenary tradition, its unruly nature is transformed into a sensi...
Stone, Brass
Modernist Quartz Crystal and Green Apophyllite Hurricane Candleholders
Located in New York, NY
These powerfully scaled and materially exquisite Modernist Quartz Crystal and Green Apophyllite Hurricane Candleholders originate from Brazil during the latter half of the 20th Centu...
Quartz
Brazilian Modern Bronze Candle Stick Holder, 1950s
Located in Miami, FL
Mid-Century Brazilian modern bronze candle stick holder with rising sun design. Unsigned.
Bronze