Oval Travertine and Chrome Dining Table by Florence Knoll for Roche Bobois
View Similar Items
Oval Travertine and Chrome Dining Table by Florence Knoll for Roche Bobois
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer),Roche Bobois (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 72 in (182.88 cm)Depth: 42.5 in (107.95 cm)
- Style:Minimalist (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1970s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Las Vegas, NV
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1399215997971
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 polished, efficient design and skillfully realized office plans.
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. Her main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture Florence 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.
Roche Bobois
In 1974, Roche Bobois opened its first showroom in the United States on Madison Avenue in New York City. The celebrated luxury French furniture brand is now in 50 countries with more than 200 stores.
The Roche Bobois story has origins in 1950, when entrepreneur Jacques Roche converted an old Paris theater into two contemporary furniture boutiques so that his sons could help usher stunning Bauhaus-inspired work out of the shops and into French homes nearby. At another showroom called Au Beau Bois, also in the French capital city, the Chouchan family was simultaneously selling home furnishings. The families met later, when Philippe and François Roche convened with Patrick and Jean-Claude Chouchan at a furniture exhibition in Copenhagen in 1960 and afterward produced a catalog announcing their partnership.
Minimal and modernist Scandinavian design had gained prominence in the furniture industry by 1960, rendering designers such as Kaare Klint and Poul Henningsen marquee names — and Roche Bobois's principals had taken notice. Following a national advertising campaign in Elle magazine a year later, the Scandinavian furniture that the newly minted Roche Bobois was importing to Paris became a huge success. Early promotional material from the firm likely included the sleek modular wall units crafted in rosewood by Danish furniture maker Poul Cadovius. It didn’t take long for Roche Bobois to shift toward producing its own contemporary furniture line.
When the popularity of cable television took hold in more major American cities during the 1970s, sofas and other seating became integral to contemporary living-room decor. Roche Bobois’s newly launched Les Contemporains series positioned its own sofas front and center, while also offering pieces like the chic Bambole two-seater — boasting soft duvet cushion covers — designed by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia. Bold works from the company during the decade included Marc Berthier’s Pop Art–colored tubular metal desks and chairs — the latter covered with braided fabric — as well as one of Roche Bobois’s most enduring and well-known pieces, the Mah Jong sectional sofa created by sculptor, painter and designer Hans Hopfer. Anchored by few central elements, this modular lounge sofa can be combined or stacked, giving the buyer total freedom over its appearance and the ability to maximize comfort.
Since its inception, Roche Bobois has worked with many internationally renowned architects and designers on its collections, among them Paola Navone and Vladimir Kagan. Even fashion designers such as Missoni and Emanuel Ungaro have made contributions to the company’s lineup.
In 2010, Roche Bobois marked its 50-year anniversary by debuting a partnership with French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier. A decade later, Roche Bobois teamed up with Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, who designed a collection of organically shaped sofas as well as vibrant, colorful accent pillows and rugs.
Roche Bobois’s offerings over the years have included everything from mid-century modern armchairs to Art Deco case pieces to sculptural outdoor cocktail tables framed in metal wire — shop these classics now on 1stDibs.
- Polished Arched Travertine Pedestal Dining Table by Carlo ScarpaBy Cattelan Italia, Carlo ScarpaLocated in Las Vegas, NVNothing short of amazing. A pair of solid, polished travertine pedestals by Carlo Scarpa for Cattelan Italia. The pedestals are designed in a staggered, architectural arch pattern g...Category
20th Century Minimalist Dining Room Tables
MaterialsTravertine
- Polished Arched Travertine Pedestals by Carlo ScarpaBy Cattelan Italia, Carlo ScarpaLocated in Las Vegas, NVNothing short of amazing. A pair of solid, polished travertine pedestals by Carlo Scarpa for Cattelan Italia. The pedestals are designed in a staggered, architectural arch pattern g...Category
20th Century Minimalist Dining Room Tables
MaterialsTravertine
- 1980's Solid Oak Oval Craftsman Extension Dining TableBy Rainer DaumillerLocated in Las Vegas, NVThis beautiful, 1980's, oak oval extension dining table is a handmade masterpiece. I love the carved out detail in the legs and the variation of grain and color in all the planks of...Category
Late 20th Century American Craftsman Dining Room Tables
MaterialsOak
- Custom Onyx Dining Center TableBy Angelo Mangiarotti, Mario BelliniLocated in Las Vegas, NVAbsolutely stunning custom onyx table. The table was purchased from a Santa Barbara retirement estate of a wealthy JP Morgan bank Exec. This table was custom made in 1976 for the ...Category
20th Century Minimalist Dining Room Tables
MaterialsOnyx
- Pair of Chrome Cityscape Dining Pedestals by Paul Evans - SignedBy Paul EvansLocated in Las Vegas, NVSeize the rare opportunity to own an authentic and rare chrome metal patchwork pedestal dining table by Paul Evans. Table is comprised of 2 L-shaped pedestals clad in chrome pieces l...Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Yuzura Yamakawa Steel Wire and Rattan Dining SetBy Yamakawa Rattan, Yuzuru Yamakawa 1Located in Las Vegas, NVSuper rare find, this stunning Yuzuru Yamakawa, Rattan and Steel wire dining set, complete with dining table and 6 chairs. The details on this set is incredible. This set was built ...Category
20th Century Minimalist Dining Room Sets
MaterialsSteel
$7,500 / set
- Florence Knoll Rosewood Dining Table or DeskBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Chicago, ILFlorence Knoll rosewood dining table or desk, highly figured rosewood veneer top with beveled edge detail. Solid steel brushed chr...Category
Vintage 1960s American Desks
MaterialsSteel
- Vintage Oak Dining Table or Desk by Florence KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in North Hollywood, CAAmazing vintage oak dining table / desk designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International in the United States, circa 1960s. The design of th...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsStainless Steel, Chrome
- Florence Knoll Walnut & Chrome Oval Dining Table or Desk for Knoll Inc.By Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAVersatile table designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International in the United States circa 1960s. This iconic design features a solid oval walnut wood top that sits over a chromed...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll Oval Dining TableBy Florence KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CACategory
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Pierre Cardin Dining Table for Roche BoboisBy Pierre Cardin, Roche BoboisLocated in Conversano, ITSuperb table designed by Pierre Cardin for Roche Bobois in the late 70s. The object is in perfect condition, made of brass, lacquered wo...Category
Vintage 1980s French Regency Dining Room Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Florence Knoll Walnut Oval Dining Table Desk for Knoll Inc.By Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Miami, FLVersatile 2480 pedestal table desk designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International in the United States, dating from the 1960s. This iconic design features a solid oval walnut woo...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsChrome, Steel
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.