Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
BRUTALIST STYLE
The design of brutalist furniture encompasses that which is crafted, hewn and worked by hand — an aesthetic rebuke (or, at least, a counterpoint) to furniture that is created using 21st-century materials and technology. Lately, the word “brutalist” has been adopted by the realms of furniture design and the decorative arts to refer to chairs, cabinets, tables and accessory pieces such as mirror frames and lighting that are made of rougher, deeply textured metals and other materials that are the visual and palpable antithesis of the sleek, smooth and suave.
ORIGINS OF BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGN
- Brutalism emerged during the mid-20th century
- Term coined by architecture critic Reyner Banham
- Originated in the United Kingdom
- Brutalist architecture gained popularity in the United States beginning in the early 1960s
- Inaugural brutalist projects include Unité d'habitation and the city of Chandigarh, India, both of which owe to influential architect Charles-Édouard “Le Corbusier” Jeanneret
- Le Corbusier’s cousin, Pierre Jeanneret, designed hundreds of chairs, tables, cabinets and lamps for Chandigarh
- Informed by the Bauhaus, constructivism, modernism and the International Style; part of mid-century modernism
- Contrasted starkly with Beaux Arts style
CHARACTERISTICS OF BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGN
- Use of industrial materials — tubular steel, concrete, glass, granite
- Prioritizes functionalism, minimalism and utilization of negative space
- Spare silhouettes, pronounced geometric shapes
- Stripped-down, natural look; rugged textures, modular construction
- Interiors featuring airy visual flow and reliance on neutral palettes
BRUTALIST FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
VINTAGE BRUTALIST FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The term brutalism — which derives from the French word brut, meaning “raw” — was coined by architecture critic Reyner Banham to describe an architectural style that emerged in the 1950s featuring monumental buildings, usually made of unornamented concrete, whose design was meant to project an air of strength and solidity.
Le Corbusier essentially created the brutalist style; its best-known iterations in the United States are the Whitney Museum of American Art, which was designed by Marcel Breuer, and Paul Rudolph's Yale Art and Architecture Building. The severe style might have been the most criticized architectural movement of the 20th century, even if it was an honest attempt to celebrate the beauty of raw material. But while the brutalist government buildings in Washington, D.C., seemingly bask in their un-beauty, brutalist interior design and decor is much more lyrical, at times taking on a whimsical, romantic quality that its exterior counterparts lack.
Paul Evans is Exhibit A for brutalist furniture design. His Sculpture Front cabinets laced with high-relief patinated steel mounts have become collector's items nonpareil, while the chairs, coffee table and dining table in his later Cityscape series and Sculpted Bronze series for Directional Furniture are perhaps the most expressive, attention-grabbing pieces in American modern design. Other exemplary brutalist designers are Silas Seandel, the idiosyncratic New York furniture designer and sculptor whose works in metal — in particular his tables — have a kind of brawny lyricism, and Curtis Jere, a nom-de-trade for the California team of Curtis Freiler and Jerry Fels, the bold makers of expressive scorched and sheared copper and brass mirror frames and wall-mounted sculptures.
Brutalist furniture and sculptures remain popular with interior designers and can lend unique, eccentric, human notes to an art and design collection in any home.
Find authentic vintage brutalist chairs, coffee tables, decorative objects and other furniture on 1stDibs.
to
6
2
2
6
1
1
1
200
161
83
68
50
49
27
25
25
21
19
12
11
10
8
5
5
1
8
7
6
7
1
8
7
1
Height
to
Width
to
8
7
8
7
1
Style: Brutalist
Clock perforated D018 Cast Brass, Gold coloured, Handmade in Spain
Located in Benahavis, AN
The decorative Perforated Clock was created by David Marshall, it is made of sand cast brass.
Handmade, mounted and finished in our foundry and workshop in Spain from recycled materi...
Category
2010s Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
1960s by Lorenzo Burchiellaro Metal Figure Table Clock
Located in Brescia, IT
Lorenzo Burchiellaro
1960s.
Metal table clock
Perfect working order.
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Metal
Sun Clock D003 handmade in cast brass & aluminium
Located in Benahavis, AN
The Sun Clock was created by David Marshall, from sand cast aluminium and brass.
We use recycled materials all our pieces are handmade, mounted and finished in our foundry and works...
Category
2010s Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
DO16 Square Clock, Gold and aluminium coloured, Solid cast Brass & Aluminium
Located in Benahavis, AN
The decorative Clock was created by David Marshall, it is made of sand cast brass.
Handmade, mounted and finished in our foundry and workshop in Spain from recycled materials.
Cert...
Category
2010s Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
DO12 Perforated Clock, Gold coloured, Solid cast Brass Handmade
Located in Benahavis, AN
The decorative Clock was created by David Marshall, it is made of sand cast brass.
Handmade, mounted and finished in our foundry and workshop in Spain from recycled materials.
Cert...
Category
Early 2000s Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
Puzzle Table Clock D021 Solid Brass and Aluminum Handmade in Spain
Located in Benahavis, AN
The decorative Table Clock was created by David Marshall, it is made of sand cast aluminum and sand cast brass.
Handmade, mounted and finished in our foundry and workshop in Spain fr...
Category
2010s Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
Zig Zag Clock Cast Aluminium and Brass Brutalist Style by David Marshall
Located in Benahavis, AN
The clock was created by David Marshall, from sand cast aluminium and brass.
We use recycled materials all our pieces are handmade, mounted and finished in our foundry and workshop ...
Category
2010s Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
Vintage David Marshall Brutalist Brass and Aluminum 17.75" Tabletop Wing Clock
Located in Cincinnati, OH
This vintage brutalist brass and aluminum tabletop clock was made in Spain by Scottish sculptor David Marshall. The sand-cast battery-operated clock has a thick, asymmetrical brass ...
Category
Late 20th Century Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
Related Items
Cris G Brass and Walnut Clock
Located in NEW YORK, NY
The Cris G is a handmade clock that combines emotive aesthetic with strong impact. The design incorporates contrasting materials, such as brass, walnut ...
Category
2010s Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
Vintage Tiffany and Co. Square Brass Desk Clock, 1970s
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Handsome 8 day, Swiss jeweled Tiffany and Co. square desk clock in patinated brass with stepped dial frame and two-tiered base. Face pivots between f...
Category
1970s American Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
$1,430 Sale Price
24% Off
H 4.5 in W 6.5 in D 2.5 in
Vintage German Wall Clock in Brass
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A pocket watch shaped quartz (batteri-operated) wall clock featuring solid brass frame, Roman numerals and a sunburst dial in silver enamel. Manufacture...
Category
1970s German Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
Midcentury Lorenzo Burchiellaro vase, Italy 1970
Located in Piacenza, Italy
Rare centerpiece designed by Lorenzo Burchiellaro for friend's family.
Elegant squared metal sculpture with glamorous brass details.
It's publis...
Category
1970s Italian Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Metal
Wall Clock Leather Brass, 1960s
Located in Hausmannstätten, AT
A wall clock made of leather and brass manufactured in midcentury, circa 1960.
The clock hangs with golden toned cords on a brass knob.
A removable key is used for winding the move...
Category
1960s Italian Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
George Nelson Mid Century Ball Clock in Brass and Wood
Located in Weesp, NL
Interestingly, while nearly all of the designs that came out of George’s studio were attributed to him, many were actually designed by him and his team. Some were even designed solely by someone else working at the studio.
Nelson famously recounted the story of how the Ball Clock came to life in an interview decades after it’s release:
“It was one of the really funny evenings. Noguchi came by, Bucky Fuller came by, and here was Irving, and here was I, and Noguchi - who can’t keep his hands off anything - he saw we were working on clocks and started making doodles. Then Bucky sort of brushed Isamu aside. He said, ‘This is a good way to do a clock’ and made some utterly absurd thing. Everybody was taking a crack at this, pushing each other aside and making scribbles. At some point we left – we were suddenly all tired, and we’d had a little bit too much to drink – and the next morning I came back, and here was this roll of paper, and Irving and I looked at it, and somewhere in this roll, there was a ball clock. I don’t know to this day who cooked it up.”
Nevertheless, whoever it was that came up with George Nelson’s designs, it’s almost certain that they would never have come to fruition if it wasn’t for George’s vision and forward-thinking approach.
Can you tell me more about his clocks?
George’s clocks were one of his most impressive bodies of work. In total, he and his team designed over 130 clocks in just three decades.
While it is widely accepted that Irving Harper was the lead designer for the Howard Miller Clock Company at George Nelson Associates, the collection arose after two insightful observations from George: one, that people no longer used the numbers to tell the time; and two, that since most people now used their wristwatch to tell the time, interior clocks were now free to become more decorative in nature.
The clocks were designed and released in batches of 8 and were initially only given numbers for names. The Sunflower Clock was simply ‘Clock 2261’, the Flock of Butterflies Clock was 'Clock 2226’, and so on.
The Ball was the first clock designed by George and his team and it was followed shortly after by the Star, Sunburst, Spindle, Asterisk, Turbine, Flock of Butterflies, Eye and others. The clocks were purposefully abstract and were designed to complement the modernist furniture emerging at the time.
As well as wall clocks, George’s studio also produced a series of desk clocks during that time, most notably the bubble-shaped Night Desk...
Category
1950s American Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
Travel Alarm Clock by Junghans, circa 1960s
Located in Wien, AT
Travel alarm clock by Junghans, circa 1960s.
Original condition.
Brass with dark faux leather cover.
Still working.
Measures: open height 8cm, wide 7cm, deep 8cm
Closed height 3...
Category
1960s German Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
Rare German 1960s Brass Junghans Max Bill Wall Clock 322/0350 in brass
Located in Krefeld, DE
Wall clock design by Max Bill for Junghans in 1960s. Brass metal case. Electric movement is in good working condition. At the back side maybe from the owner or clockmake a repair not...
Category
1960s German Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
$1,140
H 11.82 in W 11.82 in D 1.19 in
Vintage Mid Century Modern Handmade Solid Wood Clock with Gold Color
Located in Seattle, WA
The vintage handmade clock features a square wooden frame with a rich, dark brown finish, showcasing a smooth, polished surface with visible wood grain. The clock face is crafted fro...
Category
1970s Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Metal
Bakelite Industrial Wall Clock by Pragotron, 1960s
Located in Praha, CZ
Vintage round bakelite and glass wall clock, made by Pragotron in former Czechoslovakia in the 1960's. Converted to battery.
Category
Mid-20th Century Czech Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Glass, Bakelite
Floating Frames Mantel clock Aluminium
Located in Eindhoven, NL
Kiki van Eijk designed Floating frames as a collection of handmade objects in anodized aluminium wire. Each piece is meticulously handmade in her workshop; no two items are alike.
...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum
1960s Omega 8-Day Solid Brass Gold Gilt Desk Clock Ref. 5550
By Omega
Located in Krefeld, DE
Beautiful solid brass gold gilt desk clock by Omega from the 1960's. The clock comes with the original and good working 8-day movement, the dial is signed with Omega. Backside the Re...
Category
1960s German Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Brass
$708 Sale Price
34% Off
H 1.97 in W 3.55 in D 3.55 in
Previously Available Items
Brutalist table clock in aluminium & bronze by David Marshall
Located in STRASBOURG, FR
Table clock by David Marshall, aluminum and bronze
In good condition, signed, functional, small parts of the hands are missing but do not impede reading.
Category
1980s American Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Bronze
Sun Clock D003 handmade in cast brass & aluminium
Located in Benahavis, AN
The Sun Clock was created by David Marshall, from sand cast aluminium and brass.
We use recycled materials all our pieces are handmade, mounted and finished in our foundry and works...
Category
2010s Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
Brutalist Clock by David Marshall, 1970s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Sculpted brutalist clock in bronze and cast aluminum by Artist David Marshall.
Marshall settled in Spain in the mid 1960s, opening a workshop in Malaga in 1969 where he produced scu...
Category
1970s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Bronze
Surrealist mixed metal table clock by David Marshall for Art3, Spain circa 1970
Located in View Park, CA
An incredibly rare brutalist / surrealist clock in bronze and aluminum by David Marshall for Art3, Spain circa 1970. From the Moroccan estate of a private collector. “Melting” edges ...
Category
20th Century Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Bronze
H 8.25 in W 8 in D 3 in
Brutalist Clock by David Marshall, 1970s
Located in Leuven, Vlaams Gewest
Sculpted brutalist clock in bronze and cast aluminum by Artist David Marshall.
Marshall settled in Spain in the mid 1960s, opening a workshop in Malaga in 1969 where he produced s...
Category
1970s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Bronze
Brutalist Table Clock in Brown Stained Ceramic, 1970s
Located in Hilversum, NL
Rectangular shaped Brutalist table clock in brown stained ceramic. This unique 'bluntly' shaped table clock in its typical 1970s style is the perfect eye catcher in any eclectic inte...
Category
1970s Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Ceramic
Brutalist Aluminium and Brass Decorative Clock by David Marshall, circa 1980s
Located in London, GB
An aluminium and brass brutalist style decorative table clock by David Marshall, circa 1980s. The piece is weighty and wonderfully tactile with the maker's mark impressed on the fron...
Category
1980s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
H 7.09 in W 7.09 in L 7.09 in
Aluminium and Brass Brutalist Style Decorative Clock by David Marshall
Located in London, GB
An aluminium and brass brutalist style decorative clock by David Marshall (circa 1980s). The piece is weighty and wonderfully tactile with the maker's mark impressed lightly at 12 o'...
Category
Late 20th Century Spanish Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Aluminum, Brass
H 16.54 in W 5.12 in D 3.75 in
1970 Enlightening Clock with Parrot Fernandez or Duval Brasseur for Honore
Located in Paris, FR
Clock decorated with an agate plate with parrot, gilded brass circa 1970, good condition.
Category
1970s French Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Agate, Brass
H 28.75 in W 22.84 in D 11.82 in
Brutalist Table Clock in Brown Stained Ceramic, 1970s
Located in Hilversum, NL
Rectangular shaped Brutalist table clock in brown stained ceramic. This unique 'bluntly' shaped table clock in its typical 1970s style is the perfect eye catcher in any eclectic inte...
Category
1970s Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Materials
Ceramic
Sculptural Clock by David Marshall
Located in New York, NY
Brutalist clock of cast bronze and cast aluminum by Scottish/Spanish/American artist David Marshall (b. 1943), executed, circa 1970. Marshall settled in Spain in the mid-1960s, openi...
Category
1970s Spanish Vintage Brutalist Table Clocks and Desk Clocks
Brutalist table clocks and desk clocks for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Brutalist table clocks and desk clocks for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage table clocks and desk clocks created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, lighting and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, brass and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Brutalist table clocks and desk clocks made in a specific country, there are Europe, Spain, and France pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original table clocks and desk clocks, popular names associated with this style include David Marshall, and Lorenzo Burchiellaro. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for table clocks and desk clocks differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $439 and tops out at $10,243 while the average work can sell for $1,616.
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Antique Desk Thermometer
Kienzle Table Clock
Strut Clock
Art Deco Table And Mantel Clock
Mid Century Modern Lucite Clocks
Vintage Clock West Germany
Tripod Clock
Viennese Enamel Clock
Bellows Table
George Nelson Desk Clock
Alarm Clock 1930
Christofle Clock
Gold Atmos Clock
Vintage Alarm Clock Germany
Analog Clock
Flip Clocks
Smiths Art Deco Clock
Vintage Digital Clock