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.
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Jacaranda
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Cane, Hardwood
Mid-19th Century Mid-Century Modern Antique Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
Mid-19th Century Rustic Antique Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
19th Century Mid-Century Modern Antique Brazilian Furniture
Leather, Hardwood
19th Century Spanish Colonial Antique Brazilian Furniture
Brass
Mid-19th Century Folk Art Antique Brazilian Furniture
Cedar
1890s Art Nouveau Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
Late 19th Century Other Antique Brazilian Furniture
Other
1880s Mid-Century Modern Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
19th Century Rustic Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
19th Century Rustic Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
Early 1800s Baroque Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
Early 1800s Baroque Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
19th Century Mid-Century Modern Antique Brazilian Furniture
Rosewood
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
19th Century Spanish Colonial Antique Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood
Mid-19th Century Baroque Antique Brazilian Furniture
Mahogany, Rosewood
19th Century Country Antique Brazilian Furniture
Walnut
19th Century Aesthetic Movement Antique Brazilian Furniture
Glass, Wood, Paper
Late 19th Century Romantic Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
Late 19th Century Chinoiserie Antique Brazilian Furniture
Porcelain
Mid-19th Century Folk Art Antique Brazilian Furniture
Silver
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Clay
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
19th Century Rustic Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood, Hardwood
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
Early 19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
19th Century Biedermeier Antique Brazilian Furniture
Ormolu
18th Century Spanish Colonial Antique Brazilian Furniture
Canvas
Early 1800s Qing Antique Brazilian Furniture
Elm
19th Century Spanish Colonial Antique Brazilian Furniture
Tin
19th Century Spanish Colonial Antique Brazilian Furniture
Silver
17th Century Spanish Colonial Antique Brazilian Furniture
Gesso, Hardwood
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Brass
Mid-20th Century Rustic Brazilian Furniture
Wood, Rattan
1810s American Empire Antique Brazilian Furniture
Cane, Pine, Paint
19th Century Rustic Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Brass
20th Century Louis XVI Brazilian Furniture
Upholstery, Cane, Walnut
1880s Mid-Century Modern Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
1880s Mid-Century Modern Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood
Mid-19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Silver
Late 19th Century Modern Antique Brazilian Furniture
Paper
19th Century Native American Antique Brazilian Furniture
Clay
19th Century Native American Antique Brazilian Furniture
Clay
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Silver
19th Century Native American Antique Brazilian Furniture
Clay
Mid-19th Century Mid-Century Modern Antique Brazilian Furniture
Linen, Wood
19th Century Rustic Antique Brazilian Furniture
Wood, Hardwood
Late 19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
19th Century Antique Brazilian Furniture
Hardwood, Wood