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.
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Leather, Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Marble
Mid-20th Century American Colonial Brazilian Furniture
Tin
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Leather, Hardwood
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Leather, Wood, Rosewood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Leather, Wood
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Wood, Velvet
15th Century and Earlier Antique Brazilian Furniture
Quartz, Tourmaline
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Marble
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Wood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Wood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Imbuia
1960s Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Leather
Mid-20th Century Futurist Brazilian Furniture
Paper
2010s Arts and Crafts Brazilian Furniture
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Metal, Copper
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Leather
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Furniture
Agate
1970s Post-Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Faux Leather, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Organic Modern Brazilian Furniture
Paper
Mid-20th Century Kinetic Brazilian Furniture
Acrylic
2010s Brazilian Furniture
Brass
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Fabric, Wood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Mohair, Wood
1980s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Animal Skin
2010s Futurist Brazilian Furniture
Brass
1960s Brutalist Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Leather, Wood
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Jacaranda
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Metal
Mid-20th Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Animal Skin
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Furniture
Paper
Early 20th Century Tribal Brazilian Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Cowhide, Hardwood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Furniture
Paper
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Wood
2010s Rustic Brazilian Furniture
Wool
15th Century and Earlier Antique Brazilian Furniture
Amethyst
20th Century Brazilian Furniture
Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Organic Modern Brazilian Furniture
Paper
15th Century and Earlier Antique Brazilian Furniture
Amethyst
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Cane, Rosewood
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Wood
2010s Rustic Brazilian Furniture
Wool
1950s Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Glass, Rosewood
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Furniture
Paper
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Furniture
Onyx, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Brazilian Furniture
Glass, Paper
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Furniture
Iron
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Furniture
Jacaranda, Leather
21st Century and Contemporary Organic Modern Brazilian Furniture
Paper
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Furniture
Marble, Onyx
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Furniture
Onyx, Marble