Coffee Table, attr. Carlo Hauner and Martin Eisler for Forma, Italy 1950s

Rectangular coffee table with two glass shelves with etched decorations and a wooden curved frame.

Square coffee table, model Alanda, with glass top and chromed metal frame. Attributed to Paolo Piva for B&B Italia.

Pair of coffee tables on polished metal rod frames and round table tops. One table has a veneered wooden top, the other is laminated in dark green.

Coffee table standing on X-shaped brass frame with rectangular smoked glass top.

Martin Eisler (1913-1977) & Carlo Hauner (1927-1997) Coffee table Manufactured by Forma Moveis Brazil, 1950s Ebonized wood, glass top Midcentury design Brazilian coffee table. Mea...

Martin Eisler (1913-1977) & Carlo Hauner (1927-1997) Coffee table Manufactured by Forma Moveis Brazil, 1950s Ebonized wood, glass top Midcentury design Brazilian coffee table. Measurements 60 cm diameter x 49 height cm. 23.50 in diameter x 19.3 height in. Literature Brazil Modern, the rediscovery of 20th century Brazilian furniture – Aric Chen, 2016. Martin Eisler (Vienna, Austria, 1913 - São Paulo, Brazil, 1977), was an architect and furniture designer. He was part of a group of European architects and designers who left Europe during the chaos of the Second World War and went to live and work in Brazil. Eisler stood out amongst this group of creatives, his work was at the forefront of modern furniture design in Brazil which flourished through the 1950s and 1960s in the region. The work of Martin Eisler in partnership with Carlo Hauner (1927-1996) was of particular significance.  Eisler left Europe in 1938 due to the rise of fascist regimes. He first lived in Argentina, where he was settled and worked as an architect, set designer and interior designer, he opened up an interior design firm Interieur Forma. In 1940, he married Rosl Wolf, the daughter of German immigrants. Born in Brescia in 1927, Carlo Hauner studied technical drawing and drawing at the Brera Academy in Milan, Italy. In 1948 he successfully participated in the Venice Biennale after which he moved to Brazil, where he dedicated himself to the design of textile, ceramics, furniture and architecture. In only a very short time he founded a furniture production company and purchased a factory from Lina Bo Bardi and her husband Pietro Bardi, renaming it Móveis Artesanal. In 1953 Hauner met Martin Eisler, who was looking for help to produce furniture for the home of his brother-in-law, Ernesto Wolf. Eisler reached out to Hauner and the rest is history. The two men connected and with Wolf’s financial backing, they opened Galeria Artesanal (a store for their company Móveis Artesenal) on a busy street in São Paulo. Being highly ambitious and with an eye on the international market as well as the upcoming office market, Móvies Artesanal later changed into Forma. Along with Oca, Forma became one of the biggest names in Brazilian furniture production. Even managing to attract an exclusive license to sell Knoll furniture, bringing big names in international design such as Mies Van Der Rohe, Charles Eames and Harry Bertoia to the Brazilian furniture market. Hauner and Eisler’s designs are characterized by the use of Brazilian woods, thin tubular frames and a range from furniture, to ceramics and textiles. Some of their most famous designs are the “rib” lounge chair...

This coffee table in rosewood was designed by Martin Eisler (1913-1977) for Forma S.A. Móveis e Objetos de Arte. This piece refers to a furniture typology common at midcentury and ve...

This mid-century coffee table, designed by Martin Eisler for Forma S.A. Móveis e Objetos de Arte, features a dual-layer design with a wooden base and an opaque glass top. Its geometr...