Florence Knoll Rectangular Coffee Table, Marble & Chrome
View Similar Items
Florence Knoll Rectangular Coffee Table, Marble & Chrome
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Maker),Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 17 in (43.18 cm)Width: 45 in (114.3 cm)Depth: 22.5 in (57.15 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Buffalo, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1062425378482
Florence Knoll
Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her skillfully realized office plans and polished, efficient designs for sofas, credenzas, desks and other furnishings.
Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi.
Florence Knoll's main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture she created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.
Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.
Find vintage Florence Knoll sofas, benches, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- Classic Midcentury Walnut and Chrome Florence Knoll Desk KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Buffalo, NYClassic midcentury walnut and chrome Florence Knoll desk features richly grained walnut top chromed steel frame, pencil drawer and file drawer. Retains early Knoll label.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Early T Angle Onyx Coffee Table / Bench by Florence Knoll # 332 for KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Buffalo, NYA very early and rare segmented topped onyx coffee table or bench with satin black T angled metal base . This architectural styled piece would fit into almost any interior room or en...Category
Vintage 1950s American Tables
MaterialsOnyx, Iron
- Early Production Florence Knoll End or Occasional Table Knoll, New YorkBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Buffalo, NYClassic modernist architectural design white laminate round top solid polished steel "x" base, retains early Knoll label. Florence Knoll Bassett (born May 24, 1917) is an American...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Classic Modernist Marble Oval Cocktail Tulip Table. Eero Saarinen / KnollBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Buffalo, NYClassic Modernist Marble Oval Cocktail Tulip Coffee / cocktail Table. Designed by Eero Saarinen manufactured by Knoll. Stunning graining to the Italian marble.. Hand delivery avail t...Category
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Aluminum
- Florence Knoll 2-Seater Sofa, Classic Mid Century Modern, KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Buffalo, NYVintage Florence Knoll 2 seater 'lounge series' sofa with original 2nd generation upholstery in a coarse woven off-white mottled wool fabric. This sofa d...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Loveseats
MaterialsChrome
- Early production Florence Knoll Desk, Classic Modernist design, Knoll New YorkBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Buffalo, NYEarly production walnut and rosewood desk designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll ,features richly grained walnut top rosewood frame, pencil drawer and file drawer. Retains early Knoll ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Florence Knoll Marble + Chrome Coffee TableBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Brooklyn, NYMake iconic mid-century modern design the focal point of any room with this exceptional marble & chrome cocktail table by American design legend Florence Knoll. Originally conceived ...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsStone, Marble, Metal, Chrome
- Florence Knoll Chrome Coffee TableBy Florence KnollLocated in Pasadena, TXFlorence Knoll 30" chrome coffee table The Florence Knoll table has a spare, geometric presence that reflects the rational design approach Florence Knoll learned from Mies van der...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Coc...
MaterialsChrome
- Florence Knoll Coffee TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Dronten, NLFlorence Knoll for Knoll International coffee table in white enameled steel and black laminate. Signed with decal manufacturer's label to underside. Literature: Knoll Furniture: 193...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Carrara Marble and Chrome Coffee Table in the Style of Florence KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Kansas City, MO36 inch square Carrara marble and chrome coffee table in the style of Florence Knoll. White marble with gray and beige veining. No chips or significant scratches. The chrome is free ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Chrome
- Florence Knoll T-Bar Coffee TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Kalamazoo, MIThis Florence Knoll T-Bar Coffee Table was designed for Knoll International in the 1960s. Its base is crafted from steel, and it boasts a Formica top that is in good shape for its ag...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- 1950s Florence Knoll Coffee Table in Walnut and Chrome SteelBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Madrid, ESCenter or coffee table designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll international in Walnut wood and Chrome Steel. Excellent vintage condition with slight signs of use, United States, 1950’s...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
MaterialsSteel
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
10 Trailblazing Female Designers
From pioneering visionaries to contemporary talents, get to know some of the most important women in design.
Remembering Design Visionary Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019)
A loving look back at the life and career of a doyenne of mid-century-modern style, who died last week at the age of 101.