Set of Two Metal and Mar Low Table by Florence Knoll, American Design, 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)Width: 23.63 in (60 cm)Depth: 24.02 in (61 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Milan, IT
- Reference Number:
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Fizzonasco, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- One Wood and Mirrored Glass Low Table, Italian Design, 1950 circaLocated in Milan, ITThis coffee table is a delicate example that encapsulates the Italinan design style of the 1950s, made up of worked wood, soft and oblique lines and the clever use of mirrors. The ca...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Sofa Tables
MaterialsMirror, Wood
- Two Wood Cabinet, Italian Design Made by Stilwood, 1960sBy StilwoodLocated in Milan, ITTwo cabinets by Stilwood, Italy, 1950 circa. These two cabinets are as simple as they are elegant with the simplicity of wood and the mastery of carved handles. From the productio...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Sideboards
MaterialsWood
- Low rotating table, Single metal foot with wood structure, Italian Design, 60sLocated in Milan, ITThis low rotating table from 1960s Italian design encapsulates mid-century modern elegance. With its sleek lines and ingenious rotating feature, this table harmonizes form and functi...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Two Stunning Brass Low Tables with Mobile Tops, Italian Design, 1980 CircaLocated in Milan, ITThis set of two low tables in polished brass, metal and wood with three movable tops pivoted on an invisible pivot is something rare and extremely decorative. Created by Italian craf...Category
Vintage 1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMetal, Brass
- Ico Parisi for MIM low table Italian midcentury design 1960 caBy Ico Parisi, MIM RomaLocated in Milan, ITThis exceptional low table made by Ico Parisi around 1960 represents a rich period of collaboration between the designer and the MIM (Mobili Italiani Moderni) which was established i...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Big Wood Table Crystal Tempered Top by Vittorio Dassi, Italian Design 1960sBy Vittorio Dassi, DassiLocated in Milan, ITThis table designed by Vittorio Dassi seamlessly blends meticulous craftsmanship and aesthetic research typically of 1960s Italian Design. Its sleek, minimalist silhouette is made in...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Dining Room Tables
MaterialsGlass, Wood
- Midcentury Low Table in Rosewood, Designed by Severin Hansen, 1960sBy Severin HansenLocated in Lejre, DKLow table in rosewood designed by Maa. Severin Hansen for Haslev Furniture in 1960s. Great condition.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Mid Century Modern Florence Knoll Black Marble Console Table or Hall TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAA simple classic designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll. This piece features a stainless steel base with black marble slab top.Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsMarble, Stainless Steel
- Metal and leather mid-century low sofa table by Jean Pierre Ryckaert 1960 designBy Jean-Pierre RyckaertLocated in Neuilly-en- sancerre, FRJean Pierre Ryckaert Elegant art deco low cofee or sofa table Metal and leather materials Original very good condition Original glass plate - 3 little cracks on the edge of the b...Category
Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Sofa Tables
MaterialsMetal
- 1960s Deep Hued Walnut Cube Coffee Table American Cabin Modern KNOLL MartzBy Milo BaughmanLocated in Hyattsville, MDSimple, square and symmetric in a warm walnut, and some light signs of age. Similar to Florence Knoll design, but no label remains.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Florence Knoll Dining Table from 1960sBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Neuss, NWRare extendable dining table from the 1960s by Florence Knoll for Knoll Associates. Frame in black lacquered squared steel with veneered top in teak. Table bottom edge 74 cm Width ...Category
Vintage 1960s German Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll Round Low Table in White Marble and Metal by Knoll 1950s ItalyBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Montecatini Terme, ITLow table with a round-shaped table top in white marble and four metal legs from the Parallel Bar series, designed by Florence Knoll and manufactured by Knoll International during the 1950s. Born to a baker, and orphaned at age twelve, Florence Schust grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. Schust demonstrated an early interest in architecture and was enrolled at the Kingswood School for Girls, adjacent to the Cranbrook Academy of Art. While at Kingswood, Florence befriended Eilel Saarinen, whom she would later study under at Cranbrook. Warmly embraced by the Saarinen family, Florence vacationed with them in Finland, enjoyed the company of their accomplished friends, and formed a very close relationship with Eliel’s son, Eero. The connections she made and the skills she developed while at Cranbrook were the foundations of Florence Schust’s incredible design education and pioneering career. With recommendations from Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto, Florence went on to study under some of the greatest 20th century architects, including Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In 1941 Florence moved to New York where she met Hans Knoll who was establishing his furniture company. With Florence’s design skills and Hans’ business acumen and salesmanship, the pair, who married in 1946, grew the nascent company into an international arbiter of style and design. Florence also seeded contributions with her friends Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, and Mies van der Rohe. In creating the revolutionary Knoll Planning Unit, Florence Knoll defined the standard for the modern corporate interiors of post-war America. Drawing on her background in architecture, she introduced modern notions of efficiency, space planning, and comprehensive design to office planning. Florence ardently maintained that she did not merely decorate space. She created it. The Planning Unit rigorously researched and surveyed each client — assessing their needs, defining patterns of use and understanding company hierarchies — before presenting a comprehensive design, informed by the principles of modernism and beautifully executed in signature Knoll style. Florence and the Planning Unit were responsible for the interiors of some of America’s largest corporations, including IBM, GM and CBS. As part of her work with the Planning Unit, Florence frequently contributed furniture designs to the Knoll catalog...Category
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Metal
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.