The Bauhaus was a progressive German art and design school founded by the architect Walter Gropius that operated from 1919 to 1933. Authentic Bauhaus furniture — sofas, dining chairs, tables and more — and the school’s followers married industrial and natural materials in simple, geometric forms. The goal of the Bauhaus was to erase the distinction between art and craft while embracing the use of new technologies and materials.
ORIGINS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN
BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGNERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
AUTHENTIC BAUHAUS FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The name Bauhaus is derived from the German verb bauen, “to build.” Under the school’s innovative curriculum, students were taught the fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, as well as practical skills like carpentry and metalworking.
The school moved from Weimar in 1925 to the city of Dessau, where it enjoyed its heyday under Gropius, then Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The period from 1932 to 1933 when it operated in Berlin under Mies was its final chapter. Despite its brief existence, the Bauhaus has had an enduring impact on art and design in the United States and elsewhere, and is regarded by many as the 20th century’s chief crucible of modernism.
The faculty roster at the Bauhaus reads like a who’s who of modernist creative genius — it included such artists as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and László Moholy-Nagy along with architects and designers like Mies and Marcel Breuer, who became known for his muscular brutalist-style concrete buildings in the postwar years. In 1925, while he was head of the Bauhaus carpentry workshop, Breuer gave form to his signature innovation: the use of lightweight tubular-steel frames for chairs, side tables and sofas — a technique soon adopted by Mies and others. Breuer’s Cesca chair was the first-ever tubular steel frame chair with a caned seat to be mass produced, while the inspiration for his legendary Wassily chair, a timeless design and part of the collection crafted to furnish the Dessau school, was the bike he rode around campus.
Bauhaus design style reflects the tenets by which these creators worked: simplicity, clarity and function. They disdained superfluous ornament in favor of precise construction. Seating pieces such as side chairs, armchairs or club chairs for example, were made with tubular metal or molded plywood frames, and upholstery was made from leather or cane. Above all, designs in the Bauhaus style offer aesthetic flexibility. They can be the elements of a wholly spare, minimalist space, the quiet foundation of an environment in which color and pattern come from one’s own collection of art and artifacts.
Today, from textiles to typefaces, architecture, furniture and decorative objects for the home, Bauhaus creations continue to have an outsize influence on modern design.
Find a collection of authentic Bauhaus furniture on 1stDibs.
1920's German Bauhaus Ceramic Teapot by Margarete Heymann for Häel Werkstat
By Margarete Heymann
Located in New York, NY
Bauhaus design hand painted ceramic teapot by renowned artist Margarete Heymann, c. 1920's. Germany. Stamped with workshop hallmark on bottom. Margarete Heymann was born in August ...
Ceramic
Wilhelm Wagenfeld Original Bauhaus Glass Teapot
Located in Sharon, CT
Classic original Schott Jeana Wagenfeld Teapot signed.
Glass
Christian Wagner Bauhaus German Copper & Rattan Kettle Rein Kupfer, circa 1930s
Located in Landau an der Isar, Bayern
Wonderful patinated copper and woven rattan Bauhaus kettle or teapot designed by Christian Wagner for Rein Kupfer, Germany circa 1920s. This European made teapot is very much in the ...
Copper
Copper TeaPot, Austria, circa 1900
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
This Item is a teapot. It has been made in Austria circa 1900. With a wood and Brass handle.
Copper, Brass
Eva Zeisel Schramberg Tea Pot German Modernist
By Eva Zeisel
Located in Sharon, CT
Extremely rare and important example of the young Eva Zeisel's early work for the German Majolica Factory Schramberg.
Ceramic
Bauhaus Hutschenreuther Selb Silver-clad Tea and Coffee Set
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Bauhaus Hutschenreuther Selb (Bavaria) Silver-clad tea and coffee set. Incredible design: silver plated thermal insulators lined with felt covering the pots. Sold as a set. Dimens...
Silver, Silver Plate
Hayno Focken Brass Teapot with Lid, circa 1930
By Hayno Focken
Located in San Francisco, CA
Hayno Focken (Germany, 1905-1968) rare brass teapot with lid, circa 1930 Extremely rare handmade teapot by noted metalworker Hayno Focken. Dimensions approximately 8" diameter at the body x 8" high + handle. Hayno Focken completed an apprenticeship with Professor Karl Muller...
Brass
Continental Silver Demitasse Tea / Coffee Set by Hugo Böhm in Bauhaus Style
Mandarin Tea Pot
By Casarialto
Located in Milan, IT
Crafted entirely by hand of mouth-blown transparent glass, this elegant teapot boasts a striking texture of parallel lines that run vertically on its curvaceous body, accentuating it...
Glass
$1,278
H 11.5 in W 10 in D 5.5 in
"Nanna" Michael Graves by Leonardo 1996 Post modern Design Glass Teapot
Located in Brescia, IT
"Nanna" Teapot Prod. Leonardo Designer Michael Graves Italy, 1996 Blown glass and stell details New with original box Perfect condiction. Rare object for so beautiful home
Blown Glass
$176Sale Price|20% Off
H 3 in W 5.25 in D 3 in
Wilhelm Wagenfeld Bauhaus Salt and Pepper Shakers New in Box 1950s
Located in San Diego, CA
Wilhelm Wagenfeld glass and stainless steel salt and Pepper Shakers, 1952. Produced by WMF of Germany. Selected for the MoMA Good Design Exhibition and part of their permanent colle...
Stainless Steel
Japanese Silver Plated 5-Piece Coffee or Tea Set
Located in North Miami, FL
Japanese silver plated 5-piece coffee or tea set Dimensions: Serving tray, 26.5 wide, 14.5 deep, 1 inch tall Larger coffee pot, 11.75 inches tall, 12.5 deep, 5.5 wide Smaller tea...
Silver Plate
$360Sale Price|25% Off
H 5.5 in W 8.5 in D 6.5 in
Chinese Enamelware Teapot with Twin Dragons, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Tea drinking has been an integral part of Chinese culture for centuries, resulting in a wide range of social customs and material traditions. In addition to tea leaves, water, and heat, the art of drinking tea (chayi) calls for a variety of teaware and utensils - both practical and decorative. This rounded teapot...
Brass
Art Deco Spanish Silver Coffee and Tea Set
Located in London, GB
Art Deco Spanish silver coffee and tea set Spanish, c. 1930 Tray: height 3cm, width 56cm, depth 35cm Milk jug: height 10cm, width 13cm, depth 8cm ...
Silver
Antique Japanese Kettle with Iron Tetsubin : Calabash Design 1930s
Located in Paris, FR
This kettle was made in 1930s, Showa era. And the design is with Calabashes. The iron kettles like this item are called 'Tetsubin' in Japan. It can be pu...
Iron
Antique George III Quality Copper Kettle
Located in Suffolk, GB
Antique George III quality copper kettle having a quality antique George III copper kettle with a shaped handle and spout lift of lid Measures: ...
Copper
$290
H 9.5 in W 10.25 in D 5 in
Art Deco Bauhaus Hutschenreuther Coffee Pot Hammered WMF Metal Cozy 1.4 Liter
By Hutschenreuther, WMF Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Art Deco Bauhaus Hutschenreuther coffee pot hammered WMF metal cozy this handsome vintage coffee pot marked Hutschenreuther Bavaria Germany is s...
Metal
Vintage Stoneware Teapot
Located in AIGNAN, FR
Stoneware teapot from the 1960s. With its modern shape and mineral hue, it will be perfect in a natural, refined and delicate decoration. Very good condition. Dimensions: ...
Sandstone
$9,750 / set
H 1.5 in W 22.5 in D 14.75 in
Modernist Sterling Silver and Rosewood Coffee or Tea Set with Tray
Located in Cincinnati, OH
This elegant matched seven-piece Modernist coffee or tea set is made of sterling silver and rosewood. The set includes a coffee pot, tea pot, pitcher, cream jug, and covered sugar bo...
Sterling Silver
Fine Porcelain Tea and Coffee Set
Located in Antwerp, BE
The beautiful set comprised of a tea or coffee pot, a cream jug and a sugar bowl with lid and twelve cups and saucers, each piece with gilded borders; Portuguese exquisite Porcelain,...
Porcelain
Sold
H 5.52 in W 11.42 in D 7.88 in
Wilhelm Wagenfeld for Jenaer Glas. Teapot with strainer and creamer, 1930s.
Located in København, Copenhagen
Wilhelm Wagenfeld for Jenaer Glas Teapot with strainer and creamer, 1930s. Bauhaus-inspired teapot with integrated strainer together with matching creamer. Produced in heat-resistant...
Glass
Wilhelm Wagenfeld for Jenaer Glas. Bauhaus-inspired tea set in glass, 1930s
Located in København, Copenhagen
Wilhelm Wagenfeld for Jenaer Glas Tea set, 1930s. Bauhaus-inspired tea set consisting of 6 teacups (H. 4 cm, Ø 13 cm), 6 saucers (Ø 15 cm) and 6 plates (Ø 17 cm). Produced in heat-r...
Glass
Wilhelm Wagenfeld Tea Set For Jenaer Glasswerke Circa 1930s
Located in Gloucester, GB
Wilhelm Wagenfeld Tea Set For Jenaer Glasswerke Circa 1930s - The set comprises of 2 saucers, 1 cup and 1 teapot - Designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld - Produced by Jenaer Glasswerke - German ~ 1930s - Cup measures 12cm wide - Saucers measures 16cm and 20cm wide - Teapot measures 29cm wide x 15cm x 15cm tall Wilhelm Wagenfeld Wilhelm Wagenfeld completed an apprenticeship at the design office of the Bremen silverware factory of Koch & Bergfeld during the First World War. In addition, he attended the local applied arts school from 1916 to 1919. Between 1919 and 1922, he received a scholarship to the State Design Academy of Hanau/Main and trained to become a silversmith. In 1923, he set up a workshop at the Barkenhoff in Worpswede with Bernhard Hoetger and Heinrich Vogeler. This is also the year that he began studying at the State Bauhaus in Weimar. During this time, Wagenfeld designed works such as his famous Bauhaus lamp in 1924. After the dissolution of the Bauhaus Weimar on 1 April 1925, he became a member of the German Werkbund and accepted the position of assistant to Richard Winkelmayer, the head of the metal workshop at the State Academy of Crafts and Architecture in Weimar. In 1928, he took over the direction of these metal workshops. He and many of the other teachers at the academy were fired in 1930 at the insistence of the NSDAP party, which was represented in the Thuringian Landtag. Starting in 1930, this was followed by freelance work and a commission from the Thuringian Economics Ministry to supervise independent glassblowers. In addition, he was asked to begin teaching at the State Art Academy Grunewaldstrasse in Berlin-Schöneberg in 1931 and began working as a freelance employee of the Jena Schott...
Glass
Walter Gropius Tea Set Rosenthal Germany TAC Porcelain 1969
Located in Basel, BS
Tea set series ‚TAC’ designed by the Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius for Rosenthal in Germany, introduced in 1969 and produced in 1984. Gropius was asked to to join The Architects Co...
Porcelain
Sold
H 5 in W 4 in D 6.5 in
Rare Ilonka Karasz Tea Pot by Paye & Baker Mfg. Co, 1928 'MOMA Collection'
Located in Montréal, QC
Ilonka Karasz tea pot by Paye & Baker Mfg. Co. 1928. Part of the Museum of Modern Art Collection. CREATOR: Ilonka Karrass for Paye and Baker Karas...
Walnut
Oliver Hemming 5-Piece Tea / Coffee Service, Bauhaus, Art Deco Style
By Oliver Bosa
Located in Buffalo, NY
Oliver Hemming 5-piece tea / coffee service, Bauhaus, Art Deco style... stunning set, tea pot, tea kettle, creamer and sugar, Award winning British desi...
Stainless Steel
Wilhelm Wagenfeld Schott Jena Original Bauhaus Glass Tee Set
Located in Hamburg, DE
Wilhelm Wagenfeld original Bauhaus glass tee set all items signed / Stamped Schott Jena 1 no teapot with Lid 1 no tea strainer 1 no milk pot 1 no sugar po...
Glass
Bauhaus Tea Egg by Christian Dell
Located in Vlimmeren, BE
This tea egg was designed by Christian Dell for Bauhaus in 1924. These six silver-plated tea infusers were produced in Germany in the 1930s. They are a little different from the 1s...
Eva Zeisel Schramberger Majolikafabrik 'Gobelin 8' Tea Service
By Eva Zeisel
Located in Chicago, IL
Important Zeisel design. Consisting of a teapot, sugar and creamer, six cups, three saucers and six dessert plates. Measurements are for the tea pot: 5.25"; height x 9.5"; length x 6...
Rosenthal TAC 1 Gropius Tea & Dessert Set
Located in Litchfield, CT
Circa 1970s, this stunning modernist tea and dessert set was designed by Walter Gropius and Louis McMillan. Amusingly enough, Gropius is responsib...