Florence Knoll White Marble Oval Table or Desk on Chromed Steel Base
View Similar Items
Florence Knoll White Marble Oval Table or Desk on Chromed Steel Base
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Maker),Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27.75 in (70.49 cm)Diameter: 78 in (198.12 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:Marble,Steel
- Period:Late 20th Century
- Date of Manufacture:1990-2000
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. minor if any scuffing to surface from use, custom hole in center for wires if used as a desk, or just throw a centerpiece or lamp over the hole.
- Seller Location:Norwalk, CT
- Reference Number:Seller: JA0071stDibs: LU291638354383
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 skillfully realized office plans and polished, efficient designs for sofas, credenzas, desks and other furnishings.
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.
Florence Knoll's main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture she 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.
Find vintage Florence Knoll sofas, benches, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- Rare Florence Knoll T-Angle Coffee Table in Birch; Knoll International c. 1960'sBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Norwalk, CTIntroducing the epitome of Mid-Century Modern sophistication: the No. 306 coffee cable, a true testament to iconic design brought to life by the visionary Florence Knoll and presente...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Danish Mid-Century Rosewood Extension Dining Table, c. 1960'sLocated in Norwalk, CTSlim and stylish in its sleek proportions, this Danish mid-century extension dining table has a versatile appearance, well-suited to any modern or traditional interior alike. In typi...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Early 20th Century, Mahogany & Brass Bank TableLocated in Norwalk, CTLarge scale bank counter from the storied Union and New Haven Trust Building, designed by Cross & Cross and opened in 1927. Features a solid mahogany fram...Category
Early 20th Century Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Aldo Tura Lacquered Goatskin & Brass Occasional Table, c. 1960'sBy Aldo TuraLocated in Norwalk, CTDiscover the epitome of Italian elegance and the singular vision of the legendary Aldo Tura with this exquisite table, crafted by Tura's Lombardy-based furniture firm in the 1950's o...Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Tables
MaterialsBrass
- 18th Century Danish Baroque Provincial Oak Single-Drawer TableLocated in Norwalk, CTStep into a dance of history and craftsmanship with this exquisite Antique Danish Baroque Provincial Oak Table. Crafted during an era when each piece was a reflection of artisanal pa...Category
Antique 18th Century Danish Tables
MaterialsOak
- Solid Pine Coffee Table by Roland Wilhelmsson for Karl Andersson & SönerBy Karl Anderson, Roland WilhelmssonLocated in Norwalk, CTDelve into a realm where raw nature meets unparalleled craftsmanship with our Solid Pine Coffee Table, envisioned by the esteemed Roland Wilhelmsson and impeccably realized by Karl A...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsPine
- Oval Burgundy Marble Dining Table by Florence Knoll, United States, 1960sBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Antwerp, BEOval burgundy marble dining table by Florence Knoll, manufactured in the United States during the 1960s. The tabletop, hewn from solid bur...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble, Steel
- Oval Green Marble Dining Table by Florence Knoll, United States, 1960sBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Antwerp, BEManufactured in the United States during the 1960s, this oval dining table designed by Florence Knoll features a timeless design. The tabletop, carved from solid green marble, gracef...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble, Steel
- Florence Knoll Walnut & Chrome Oval Dining Table or Desk for Knoll Inc.By Knoll, Florence 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
- Carrara Marble and Chrome Coffee Table in the Style of Florence KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Kansas City, MO36 inch square Carrara marble and chrome coffee table in the style of Florence Knoll. White marble with gray and beige veining. No chips or significant scratches. The chrome is free ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Chrome
- Florence Knoll Round Low Table in White Marble and Metal by Knoll 1950s ItalyBy Knoll, Florence 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
- Florence Knoll Style Mid Century White Marble and Chrome Dining TableBy Florence KnollLocated in Countryside, ILFlorence Knoll Style Mid Century White marble and chrome dining table This table measures: 78.5 wide x 48 deep x 27.5 inches high, with a chair clearance of 26.75 inches All pi...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble, Chrome
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.