Brazilian Furniture
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.
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Rosewood, Leather
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Glass, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Iron
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Fabric, Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Cane, Rosewood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Wood
1950s Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Formica, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Glass, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Fabric, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Fabric
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Mohair, Cane, Rosewood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Leather, Hardwood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Leather, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Glass, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood, Cane
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood, Glass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Cane, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Fabric, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Cane, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Fabric, Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Cane, Hardwood
1960s Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Rosewood
1950s Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Metal
