Monumental Coffee Table by Karl Springer Coffee
View Similar Items
Monumental Coffee Table by Karl Springer Coffee
About the Item
- Creator:Karl Springer (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 66 in (167.64 cm)Depth: 66 in (167.64 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1970s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU89237253343
Karl Springer
The Berlin-born, New York–based designer Karl Springer brought a chic, high-fashion sensibility to his coffee tables, mirrors, Lucite lamps and other furnishings. During his heyday in the 1970s, Springer’s work was a favorite of the glamour set, who enjoyed the novelty of pieces finished in rich and striking materials that ranged from exotic hides and skins to lacquer and chromed metal.
In a sense, Springer was a pre-postmodernist. Much as the dull, safe, corporate sameness of late 20th-century modernism prompted Ettore Sottsass, Michael Graves and others to explore new and provocative structures and materials in design and architecture, so, too, was Springer driven to enliven his creations with fresh and alluring energy and sleekness.
Springer came to New York in the late 1950s and found work arranging window displays at the department store Lord & Taylor. He had studied bookbinding in Germany, and, using his meticulous skills, he began crafting desk accessories wrapped in leather as a sideline. These pieces were sold in luxury stores like Bergdorf Goodman and drew a sophisticated clientele that included the Duchess of Windsor.
By 1965, Springer had established his own Manhattan atelier. It was Pierre Scapula, decorator to Jackie and Aristotle Onassis, who spotted Springer's disco-era Onassis chairs — which didn't yet have a name — first commissioned for a private residence in Acapulco, on the floor of the designer’s East 61st Street showroom. Jackie ordered barstools for the couple’s yacht, the Christina O, and dining chairs for their house on the Greek mainland.
At the time of his death, Springer had showrooms as far afield as Los Angeles, Tokyo and Munich.
The chairs, tables, credenzas and other furniture forms Springer created are generally simple, but substantial, and often have robust, rounded lines. The appeal of his work lies in Springer's insistence on exacting construction and, above all, his eye for unusual materials and finishes.
Springer employed Lucite, brass, and gunmetal along with chromed and polished steel, and revived exquisite finishes rarely seen since the days of Art Deco masters such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean-Michel Frank: shagreen (a type of sharkskin), python, goatskin, bone, horn, and lacquered parchment, as well as fabrics that include batik prints. Made of such materials, Springer’s work is by its very nature flamboyant and eye-catching: a suite of pieces will astonish, and an artfully placed side table in exotic hide will add a surprising spark.
Find a collection of vintage Karl Springer furniture today on 1stDibs.
- Monumental Goatskin Coffee Table Karl Springer Style 1960s, USABy Karl SpringerLocated in Miami, FLLarge coffee table Springer style in goatskin. Needs glass.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGoatskin
- Monumental Coffee Table in Tessellated Stone & Brass by Karl Springer, SignedBy Karl SpringerLocated in Los Angeles, CAElevate your living space with this exquisite Monumental Coffee Table in Tessellated Stone & Brass by renowned designer Karl Springer. This signed piece exudes sophistication and ele...Category
Vintage 1980s Philippine Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsStone, Brass
- Monumental Lacquered Parchment Cocktail Table by Karl SpringerBy Taller Maria Teresa Mendez, Karl SpringerLocated in Dallas, TXMonumental Karl Springer custom free-form pattern goatskin coffee table. The fantastically figured top is raised on a mirror polished stainless steel clad base that reflects whatever...Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Monumental Karl Springer ‘Banker’ Coffee Table Polished Gunmetal Glass, 1970By Karl SpringerLocated in Vienna, ATMonumental Karl Springer ‘Banker’ Coffee Table Polished Gunmetal Glass, 1970 Very desirable large coffee table by by Karl Springer, 1970 in very ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass, Chrome
- Karl Springer Style Coffee TableBy Karl SpringerLocated in Brooklyn, NYSquare Mid-Century Modern table with lacquered canvas and metal rim base. (Please confirm item location - NY or NJ - with dealer).Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCanvas
$560 Sale Price30% Off - Karl Springer Python Coffee TableBy Karl SpringerLocated in New York, NYRectangular coffee table covered in real brown python with polished steel banding on the legs.Category
20th Century American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
$7,500 Sale Price37% Off