Sheaf of Wheat Coffee Table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar Circa 1960
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Artist),Dunbar Furniture (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 14.25 in (36.2 cm)Diameter: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960's
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Shows original vintage finish, the table does have some minor scratches and dings to edges as photographed.
- Seller Location:Atlanta, GA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU7838235168392
Dunbar Furniture
Revered for its handcrafted and highly collectible mid-century modern sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings, Dunbar Furniture was founded in 1910 in Berne, Indiana, but it didn’t gain widespread recognition until the ’30s, following the introduction of its president to a designer who would leave an indelible mark on the company’s legacy: Edward Wormley.
After a stint at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oswego, Illinois-born Wormley worked as an interior designer for Marshall Field’s before joining Dunbar in 1931. Initially focused on developing the company’s cheapest furniture line, which could be bought with soap coupons, he was soon leading Dunbar Furniture into a new era of residential furniture for modern American homes. He would serve as the company’s design director for over three decades, designing about 150 pieces each year.
During that time, he oversaw the production of designs in a wide range of materials, with influences ranging from Scandinavian modernism to Art Deco. There were modern upholstery pieces, like swiveling lounge chairs and low-slung sofas, and experiments with textural wood on bar carts and cabinets as well as minimal, sculptural tables and functional office furniture. A passionate collector of Tiffany Studios lamps, Wormley used their glass tiles in Dunbar tables in 1956. He also worked on the reproduction of pieces by designers such as Jean-Michel Frank and Richard Riemerschmid.
One standout Dunbar Furniture collection was Janus, introduced in the 1960s, with Austrian-born ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler. These pieces see the Natzlers’ uniquely artful ceramic tiles set into several styles of wooden tables. They remain some of the most sought-after mid-century modern Dunbar pieces on the vintage market today. During the peak of his design career and, indeed, the height of Dunbar Furniture’s history, Wormley amassed a whopping 30 Good Design awards between 1950 and 1955 through the “Good Design” exhibition, hosted by the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art. Dunbar today produces a limited selection of archival Wormley designs, but many sales of original Dunbar pieces are through the resale market.
Find a collection of authentic vintage Dunbar Furniture today on 1stDibs.
Edward Wormley
As the longtime director of design for the Dunbar furniture company, Edward Wormley was, along with such peers as George Nelson at Herman Miller Inc., and Florence Knoll of Knoll Inc., one of the leading forces in bringing modern design into American homes in the mid-20th century. Not an axiomatic modernist, Wormley deeply appreciated traditional design, and consequently his work has an understated warmth and a timeless quality that sets it apart from other furnishings of the era.
Wormley was born in rural Illinois and as a teenager took correspondence courses from the New York School of Interior Design. He later attended the Art Institute of Chicago but ran out of money for tuition before he could graduate. Marshall Field hired Wormley in 1930 to design a line of reproduction 18th-century English furniture; the following year he was hired by the Indiana-based Dunbar, where he quickly distinguished himself. It was a good match.
Dunbar was an unusual firm: it did not use automated production systems; its pieces were mostly hand-constructed. For his part, Wormley did not use metal as a major component of furniture; he liked craft elements such as caned seatbacks, tambour drawers, or the woven-wood cabinet fronts seen on his Model 5666 sideboard of 1956. He designed two lines for Dunbar each year — one traditional, one modern — until 1944, by which time the contemporary pieces had become the clear best sellers.
Many of Wormley’s signature pieces — chairs, sofas, tables and more — are modern interpretations of traditional forms. His 1946 Riemerschmid Chair — an example is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art — recapitulates a late 19th-century German design. The long, slender finials of his Model 5580 dining chairs are based on those of Louis XVI chairs; his Listen-to-Me Chaise (1948) has a gentle Rococo curve; the “Precedent” line that Wormley designed for Drexel Furniture in 1947 is a simplified, pared-down take on muscular Georgian furniture. But he could invent new forms, as his Magazine table of 1953, with its bent wood pockets, and his tiered Magazine Tree (1947), both show. And Wormley kept his eye on design currents, creating a series of tables with tops that incorporate tiles and roundels by the great modern ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler.
As the vintage items on 1stDibs demonstrate, Edward Wormley conceived of a subdued sort of modernism, designing furniture that fits into any decorating scheme and does not shout for attention.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Atlanta, GA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- Continental Napoleon III Style Bronze & Onyx Top Coffee Table C. 1930Located in Atlanta, GAContinental, possibly French, circa 1930. A well designed antique coffee table constructed from a bronze four-legged table frame, featuring sculpted rosettes, tapering legs adorned...Category
Early 20th Century French Neoclassical Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsOnyx, Bronze, Iron
- Pair, Brutalist Giacometti Style Iron & Marble Top Side Tables Circa 1960By Alberto and Diego GiacomettiLocated in Atlanta, GAStyle of Diego Giacometti (Swiss, 1902-1985). This very fine quality side tables are constructed with a solid HEAVY iron frame which is accented by faux rope straps to the legs and...Category
Mid-20th Century French Brutalist Side Tables
MaterialsMarble, Bronze, Iron
- French Bronze “Looking for Milk” Inkwell circa 1880 Style of Henri PicardBy Henri PicardLocated in Atlanta, GAFrench Bronze “Looking for Milk” Inkwell circa 1880 Style of Henri Picard. French, circa 1880. A finely cast inkwell or storage box constructed in two parts. The top having a young ...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Rococo Inkwells
MaterialsBronze
- Circa 1963 Vintage Kaj Franck for Nuutajarvi Notsjo Smokey Glasses- Set of 10Located in Atlanta, GAA very rare hard to find set of 10!!! Smokey glasses. Each signed to bottom and dated 1963.Category
Vintage 1960s Glass
MaterialsBlown Glass
- Winslow Anderson for Blenko Large "Pinched" Amethyst Glass Vase 19" C. 1960By Winslow Anderson, Blenko GlassLocated in Atlanta, GAWinslow Anderson (American, 1917-2007) for Blenko (American, founded 1930), circa 1960. A large scale "Pinched" pattern amethyst glassware vase.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- Bjorn Wiinblad for Rosenthal Studio Line “Girl With Flowers” Circa 1970By Bjørn Wiinblad, RosenthalLocated in Atlanta, GABjorn Wiinblad for Rosenthal Studio Line “Girl With Flowers” Circa 1970. Signed to vase Wiinblad 1960 and underside.Category
Vintage 1970s Vases
MaterialsPorcelain
- Sheaf of Wheat Coffee Table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, Travertine, MahoganyBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Kansas City, MORare coffee table version of the Edward Wormley Sheaf of Wheat designs. Round Travertine top and dark mahogany base. Brass connectors. This example is completely original and well ca...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTravertine, Brass
- Sheaf of Wheat Marble Cocktail / Coffee Table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, 1960By Edward WormleyLocated in Deland, FLAbsolutely gorgeous vintage Edward Wormley for Dunbar Sheaf of Wheat travertine and walnut coffee table, circa 1960. Superb patina a...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Sheaf of Wheat Travertine Top Coffee Table by Edward Wormley, C. 1950sBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Westport, CTVintage "Sheaf of Wheat Coffee Table," a timeless piece designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, circa 1950-1959. This exquisite table features a luxurious travertine top, known for it...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTravertine
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Sheaf of Wheat Occasional TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in West Palm Beach, FLEdward Wormley for Dunbar sheaf of wheat occasional table. Signed. Ebonized frame with travertine stone top. Stone in very good condition, frame recently ...Category
Vintage 1950s North American Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsTravertine
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Coffee TableBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Cathedral City, CA1960s round oak ceruse finish coffee table by Edward Wormley for Dunbar.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Edward Wormley Dunbar Sheaf of Wheat Side TablesBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Indianapolis, INA pair of Sheaf of Wheat side tables designed by the American designer Edward Wormley (1907-1995) for Dunbar. These tables have an abstracted hourglass-shaped wooden base reminiscent...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- Modern Fine 18 Karat Yellow Gold Rectangular Link BraceletLocated in Poitiers, FRBracelet in 18 karat yellow gold, eagle head hallmark. This fine pre-owned yellow gold bracelet features interlocking rectangular links. The clasp is a spring ring. Length : 18,5 cm ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Modern Bracelets
MaterialsGold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
- TIFFANY & Co. Platinum .12ct Solitaire Diamond Pendant NecklaceBy Tiffany & Co.Located in Los Angeles, CATIFFANY & Co. Platinum .12ct Solitaire Diamond Pendant Necklace Metal: Platinum Chain: 16" Pendant: 3.25mm wide Diamond: round brilliant diamond, carat total weight .12 Hallmark: "©...Category
2010s American Pendant Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, Platinum
- GIA Certified Peter Suchy Diamond Halo Rose Gold Engagement RingBy Peter SuchyLocated in Stamford, CTPeter Suchy Vintage Inspired 14k rose gold halo Diamond engagement ring. GIA certified .51ct center Diamond F, SI1, surrounded by 0.25ct of F, VS full cut Diamonds. 1 round brillian...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
MaterialsDiamond, 14k Gold, Rose Gold, Gold
- Van Cleef & Arpels Diamond Lapis Lazuli Bow Yellow Gold Pendant NecklaceBy Van Cleef & ArpelsLocated in Holland, PA18k Yellow Gold Diamond Lapis Lazuli Bow Necklace by Van Cleef & Arpels. With 20 diamond VVS1 clarity, G color total weight .10ct Details: Necklace Length: 15.5'' Pendant: 15mm x...Category
20th Century French Pendant Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
- Cartier Love Earring Yellow Gold 12mm SingleBy CartierLocated in Aventura, FLCartier LOVE single earring, yellow gold 750/1000. Diameter 12 mm. Sold individually. Details: Brand: Cartier Style: Love Earring Material: Yellow Gold (750/1000) Diameter: 12mm The...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modernist Hoop Earrings
MaterialsYellow Gold