Chair in Solid Brazilian Hardwood
View Similar Items
Chair in Solid Brazilian Hardwood
About the Item
- Creator:Joaquim Tenreiro (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 33.5 in (85.09 cm)Width: 19 in (48.26 cm)Depth: 19 in (48.26 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1954
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: CH8661stDibs: LU877110136173
Joaquim Tenreiro
The Portugese-born furniture designer Joaquim Tenreiro was a pioneer of modernism in Brazil, where his work paved the way for the successes of such mid-20th-century design greats as Sergio Rodrigues, Jorge Zalszupin, and Lina Bo Bardi, an Italian-Brazilian architect whose futuristic São Paulo buildings are only part of her legacy.
Tenreiro’s vintage tables, chairs and storage cabinets are known for their simplicity of line and an elegance that is enhanced by the use of richly grained South American hardwoods such as jacaranda and imbuia.
Tenreiro’s father and grandfather were both master woodworkers, under whom he trained in the craft. He had artistic leanings and in the late 1920s enrolled as a university student at the School of Arts and Crafts in Rio de Janeiro, where he joined a group of upstart modernists protesting the staid, retrograde curriculum at the college. At the time, Brazil was culturally mired in a 19th-century mindset that was reflected in an upper-class preference for academic painting and reproduction furnishings in antique European styles. But the progressive spirit that Tenreiro and his colleagues fostered slowly gained force.
With the terms “lightness” and “functionality” as his bywords, Tenreiro opened a furniture-design business in 1943, where one of his first clients was the legendary architect Oscar Niemeyer. The arrival of Brazil’s first democratically elected government, in 1945, lent modernism official sanction, which culminated in the construction of the new capital, Brasília. Tenreiro eventually stepped away from design in the late 1960s to devote his time to sculpture and painting.
To appreciate how revolutionary Tenreiro’s work seemed, one must imagine the heavy, ornately carved, deeply varnished furniture that was the standard for top-end Brazilian interior design in the 1930s. Tenreiro’s chairs and sofas employed slender, softly angular frames that were only lightly stained to highlight the grains of the local woods. He preferred chairs and chaises with caned seats and backrests that “breathe” in the tropical climate, and as a carpenter and joiner he wanted to show off the beauty of Brazilian wood.
Two versions of a three-legged side chair introduced in 1947 serve as a veritable manifesto for a new age in Brazilian design: Using the stack-lamination technique, Tenreiro bonded together a gently contoured seat made of alternating layers of different-colored native woods to produce a magnificent stripe effect. These chairs, like all Tenreiro works, demonstrate the enduring power of simple design and superb construction — with a teaspoon of flair.
Find vintage Joaquim Tenreiro furniture on 1stDibs.
- Side Chair by Sergio Rodrigues, Brazil, 1990By Sergio RodriguesLocated in New York, NYJacaranda side chair with leather seat and back. Designed by Sergio Rodrigues for the offices of Manchete TV and Editora in the Flamengo neighborhood of Rio, Brazil, 1990. Measure: S...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Chairs
MaterialsRosewood
Price Upon Request - S-Chair No. 275 in Red by Verner Panton, 1956By Verner PantonLocated in New York, NYVerner Panton. S-chair, model 275. Designed 1956, this example manufactured ca. 1965. Manufactured by A. Sommer, Germany. Retailed by Thonet, Frankenberg, Germany. Aniline-dyed beech...Category
Vintage 1960s German Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
Price Upon Request - Dining Chair in Rosewood and Cane by Branco & Preto, 1950sBy Branco & PretoLocated in New York, NYChair in rosewood with cane seat and back. Designed and made by Branco & Preto, Brazil, 1950s. (seat: 17" H).Category
Vintage 1950s Brazilian Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsRosewood
Price Upon Request - Swaged Leg Chair in Gray and White by Georg Nelson & Associates, 1954By George Nelson, Herman MillerLocated in New York, NYSwaged leg chair, model MAF, in fiberglass, enameled steel, rubber, enameled aluminum, and plastic. Designed by George Nelson & Associates for Herman Miller, USA, 1954.Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
Price Upon Request - Baby Molar Chair in Lime Green Plastic by Wendell Castle, 1971By Wendell CastleLocated in New York, NYBaby Molar chair in gel-coated, fiberglass-reinforced plastic. Designed and made by Wendell Castle, Rochester, New York, 1969.Category
Vintage 1960s American Modern Chairs
MaterialsPlastic
Price Upon Request - Empire Chair in Molded Plywood by Robert Venturi & Denise Scott, 1984By Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, KnollLocated in New York, NYEmpire chair in molded plywood with laminated finish in the "Grandmother" pattern. Designed by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown for Knoll, USA, 1984.Category
Vintage 1980s American Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsPlywood
Price Upon Request
- Brazilian Modern 4 Chair Set in Hardwood & Cane, Joaquim Tenreiro, Brazil, 1950sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYAvailable today, this Mid-Century Modern chair set made in Brazilian rosewood and caning designed by Joaquim Tenreiro in Brazil during the fifties is ...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsCane, Hardwood
- Brazilian Modern 4 Chair Set in Hardwood, Cane, Leather, Joaquim Tenreiro 1950sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYAvailable today, this Mid-Century Modern four chair set made in Brazilian Rosewood, Leather and Caning designed by Joaquim Tenreiro in Brazil during the fifties is absolutely magnifi...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Cane, Hardwood
- Brazilian Modern 10 Chair Set in Hardwood & Beige Leather Joaquim Tenreiro 1960sBy Joaquim TenreiroLocated in New York, NYAvailable today, this magnificent Mid-Century Modern ten dining chair set n hardwood & beige leather by Joaquim Tenreiro in the sixties is the find of the year! Each chair features a solid Rosewood structure upholstered in beige leather. The legs and the backrest are delicately curved and the square seat is very comfortable. The wood work is absolutely stunning, characteristically of Joaquim Tenreiro. The set was designed specifically for Bloch Editors, a publishing & broadcasting Brazilian conglomerate. Sergio Rodrigues and Joaquim Tenreiro were both hired to design Modern furniture for the Bloch’s headquarters in Sao Paulo and these chairs belonged to the salons as is shown in the vintage publications...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Hardwood
- Violet Chair in Brazilian HardwoodBy Marcelo CarusoLocated in Curitiba, PRA simple yet sophisticated chair design. While it contemplates tradicional danish design, it has a Brazilian touch to its curves and materials, which is tropical Brazilian...Category
2010s Brazilian Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood
- 'Pilão' Chair in Solid Brazilian Hardwood, in the Style of Zanine CaldasBy José Zanine CaldasLocated in Sao Paulo, SPThe "Cadeira Pilão," inspired by Zanine Caldas' style, is an emblematic piece of Brazilian vernacular design. With its modern and elegant appeal, combined with an organic approach an...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsHardwood
- Set of Chairs in Solid Hardwood and Green Fabric, Brazilian Mid-Century ModernLocated in Sao Paulo, SPThis set of Brazilian chairs from the 1950s is a paragon of mid-century design, blending robust functionality with understated elegance. Constructed from solid hardwood, these chairs...Category
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Hardwood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Weird Science of Rogan Gregory’s Hypnotic Designs
Using stone, wood and bronze, the wildly inventive sculptor creates an entirely new species of functional art object.
Learn Why Designer Maarten Baas Set This Charles Rennie Mackintosh Chair on Fire
What happens when you do something to a piece of furniture that you shouldn’t? It becomes an entirely new object.