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Tapio Wirkkala Coffee Table

About
Details
- CreatorTapio Wirkkala (Designer)
- DimensionsHeight: 19 in. (48.26 cm)Width: 46.5 in. (118.11 cm)Depth: 23.5 in. (59.69 cm)
- StyleScandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques
- Place of Origin
- Period
- Date of Manufacture1958
- ConditionWear consistent with age and use.
- Seller LocationBrooklyn/Toronto, CA
- Reference Number1stDibs: LU934721968402
Shipping & Returns
- ShippingRates vary by destination and complexity. We recommend this shipping type based on item size, type and fragility.Customs Duties & Taxes May Apply.Ships From: Brooklyn/Toronto, Canada
- Return Policy
This item cannot be returned.
About Tapio Wirkkala (Designer)
Along with architect Alvar Aalto, the designer Tapio Wirkkala was Finland’s leading contributor to the Scandinavian interpretation of modernism in the mid-20th century. Prolific and innovative, Wirkkala excelled in a wide range of fields, including glass, furniture, porcelain, jewelry and tableware. The hallmark of his talent was an ability to impart a craft aesthetic based on natural forms — leaves, ice, bubbles, birds — to industrially produced designs.
A native of Helsinki, Wirkkala studied at the national School of Applied Arts and took up a career in graphic design. After serving in the Finnish army during World War II, he joined the glassmaking firm Iittala, an association that would continue to the end of his life. Wirkkala learned every aspect of glassmaking in keeping with his belief that an artist-designer should be involved in all stages of production. His best-known works for Iittala are vases and drinking vessels that resemble either carved ice or icicles. In 1956, Wirkkala began a long relationship with the porcelain maker Rosenthal, for whom he designed elegant table pieces, such as the Finlandia coffee service and the biomorphic Pollo vases.
House Beautiful magazine declared Wirkkala’s Leaf platter the “most beautiful object” of 1951. (The acclaim led to his brief employment stint with industrial designer Raymond Loewy in New York.) That platter was one of the first designs Wirkkala made using laminated sheets of plywood sanded to a smooth surface that resembles an abstract leaf. It would go on to become a motif in many Wirkkala furniture pieces — most notably in inlaid coffee tables for Asko — and in a sense these are the works most emblematic of his personal aesthetic. Wirkkala was a traditionalist in many ways, but he had a modernist’s practical approach, incorporating his leaf-like spirals into simple, functional objects. That is the core attraction of Wirkkala’s designs: They stand out with a striking, sculptural energy yet blend in as part of a warm and comfortable decor.
- By Tapio WirkkalaLocated in Brooklyn/Toronto, OntarioA very exciting coffee table in rare woods by Tapio Wirkkala for Asko, circa 1958. This example has a taller ...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
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- By Tapio WirkkalaLocated in Brooklyn/Toronto, OntarioA great example of Tapio Wirkkala's iconic coffee table for Asko Finland. This piece has two leaf motif deco...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- By Tapio WirkkalaLocated in Brooklyn/Toronto, OntarioA solid copper coffee set including coffee pot, creamer, sugar pot, and very hard to find solid copper serving t...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Serving Pieces
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- By Tapio WirkkalaLocated in Brooklyn/Toronto, OntarioAn unusual small bowl in solid brass by Tapio Wirkkala. These bowls were made in very limited numbers. Hand mad...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Decorative Bowls
MaterialsBrass
- By Tapio WirkkalaLocated in Brooklyn/Toronto, OntarioA beautiful solid silver Pitcher and cups by Tapio Wirkkala for Kultakeskus, Oy. Created by a single craftspers...Category
Vintage 1970s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Pitchers
MaterialsSilver
- By Tapio WirkkalaLocated in Brooklyn/Toronto, OntarioNice geometric solid silver vase by Tapio Wirkkala for Kultakeskus. A rare example with a bark-like side and a...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Vases
MaterialsSterling Silver
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