1960s Broyhill Brasilia Table In the Style of Oscar Niemeyer
About the Item
- Creator:Oscar Niemeyer (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Diameter: 44 in (111.76 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. Recently refinished and cleaned up, the base and side is ebonized so you can still see the grain of the wood.
- Seller Location:West Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5040120427352
Oscar Niemeyer
Oscar Niemeyer made modernist architecture sexy. In his signature designs, such as those for the planned capital city of Brasília, Niemeyer created a distinctively buoyant architectural vocabulary of sweeping curves, flowing lines and organic forms (attributes that also characterize his seductive furniture). As expressions of faith in the power of modern architecture and design to foster progress, Niemeyer’s buildings have a kind of heroic poetry.
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho was born to an upper-middle-class family in Rio de Janeiro. (His father was a graphic designer.) While in graduate school, Niemeyer began working for Lúcio Costa, one of the few modernist architects working in Brazil in the 1930s. Niemeyer would be assigned to the design team for a new building in Rio for the Ministry of Education and Health. The famed Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier was hired as a consultant on the project, and through him Niemeyer would absorb many lessons in bringing a sense of structural lightness to large buildings — though he would never embrace the geometric forms espoused by Le Corbusier and the members of the Bauhaus.
“I am not attracted to straight angles or to the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man,” Niemeyer would write in his memoirs. “I am attracted to free-flowing sensual curves.”
Nowhere would Niemeyer demonstrate his love of curvature more expressively and elegantly than in his designs for the principal buildings for Brasília, a project begun in 1956. The dramatic Congressional Palace features two stark towers flanked by a domed structure and a bowl-shaped edifice, for the upper and lower legislative houses. He placed the Palácio da Alvorada (the presidential residence) on a small peninsula jutting into a lake, so that the sequence of parabolic columns on its facade casts a mirror image on the water. Niemeyer’s grandest achievement was the city’s cathedral, a stunning composition of 16 arched vertical supports with tinted-glass interstices.
Four years after Brasília was completed, in 1960, Brazil’s elected government was overthrown in a military coup. Niemeyer, a member of the Communist party, was harassed continually by the junta. He left the country and did not return until democracy was restored, in 1985.
While in exile, in the early 1970s, Niemeyer began collaborating on furniture designs with his daughter, Anna Maria Niemeyer. Their best known pieces are seating furniture — the Alta lounge chair and ottoman and the Rio rocking chaise, which have flowing bases made of sheets of lacquered wood or stainless steel, share the aesthetics of Niemeyer’s architecture.
The Alta’s deep, oversized seat pads nod — much like the chair designs of Niemeyer’s countryman Sergio Rodrigues — to the Brazilian penchant for long, languorous conversations. Examples of both designs are priced at about $20,000, depending on age, condition and materials. As you will see on these pages, Oscar Niemeyer’s furniture designs are sleek, sculptural, comfortable and elegant — as well as a compact emblem of the work of one of the great architects of our time.
Find vintage Oscar Niemeyer lounge chairs, tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: West Hollywood, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Midcentury Sculptural Dining Table by Vittorio DassiBy Vittorio DassiLocated in West Hollywood, CABeautiful sculptural design. Mahogany lacquer structure. Wood base with brass frame. Original top green glass built into the wooden top.Category
Antique 19th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- 'Dragonfly' Dining Table by Chinese Jesus for Holly HuntBy Chinese JesusLocated in West Hollywood, CAClear glass top table with sculptural curved base by Chinese Jesus for Holly Hunt.Category
2010s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsGlass
- Custom 'Neehau' Oak Dining TableLocated in West Hollywood, CACustom raw oak dining table with matte finish and tripod cylinder legs. Base width is 2'6".Category
2010s American Minimalist Dining Room Tables
MaterialsOak
- Dining Table by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller Furniture Co.Located in West Hollywood, CAEpic Art Deco dining table by Gilbert Rohde for Herman Miller Furniture Co. (Zeeland, Michigan) circa 1930's. The table is in worn vintage condition with scuffs and blemishes appropr...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Curved Shearling Sofa in the Style of Viggo BoesenLocated in West Hollywood, CACurved Shearling Sofa in the Style of Viggo Boesen with oak plank legs and rounded back.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFur
- Pair of 1960s Club Chairs with Ottomans in Dusty Champagne MohairLocated in West Hollywood, CASet of 2 chairs, 1 ottoman 32 1/2" H x 34 1/2" W x 34 1/2" D Inside Seat Depth: 22" Inside Seat Width: 19 3/4" Seat Height: 17" Armrest Height: 23 1/2" Armrest Width: 7 1/2" Otto...Category
Vintage 1960s European Mid-Century Modern Club Chairs
MaterialsMohair
- Broyhill Brasilia Walnut Dining TableBy Broyhill BrasiliaLocated in Denton, TXBroyhill Brasilia walnut extendable dining table with one leaf. A truly iconic design for any Mid century home. Length with leaf: 72 L.Category
Vintage 1960s North American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Table 1960s in the Style of Gio PontiBy Gio PontiLocated in Los Angeles, CAPonti, everyone needs a little piece of Ponti in their life. Why not this one ?Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Tables
- Broyhill Brasilia II Mid Century Walnut Dining TableBy Broyhill BrasiliaLocated in Countryside, ILBroyhill Brasilia II mid century walnut dining table This table measures: 60 wide x 40 deep x 30 high, with a chair clearance of 26 inches All pieces...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Broyhill Brasilia Mid Century Dining Table, No LeafBy Broyhill BrasiliaLocated in Countryside, ILBroyhill Brasiliamid century dining table - no leaf This table measures: 60.5 wide x 40 deep x 29.5 inches, with a chair clearance of 25.5 inches All pieces of furniture can b...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWood
- Broyhill Brasilia Midcentury Walnut Dining Table with 1 LeafBy Broyhill BrasiliaLocated in Countryside, ILBroyhill Brasilia midcentury walnut dining table with 1 leaf. This table measures: 66 wide x 40 deep x 29.75 high, the leaf measures 12 inches wide, making a maximum table width o...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Side table by Oscar Niemeyer, Brazil, 1960By Oscar NiemeyerLocated in Barcelona, ESSide table Manufactured by Tendo Brasileira Brazil, 1960 Steel, glass Measurements 34,9 cm × 33 cm × 49,5h cm 13,7 in × 13 in × 19,5h in Provenance Manuel Guedes family, Sao Paulo ...Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Side Tables
MaterialsSteel