Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
More often than not, vintage mid-century Brazilian furniture designs, with their gleaming wood, soft leathers and inviting shapes, share a sensuous, unique quality that distinguishes them from the more rectilinear output of American and Scandinavian makers of the same era.
Commencing in the 1940s and '50s, a group of architects and designers transformed the local cultural landscape in Brazil, merging the modernist vernacular popular in Europe and the United States with the South American country's traditional techniques and indigenous materials.
Key mid-century influencers on Brazilian furniture design include natives Oscar Niemeyer, Sergio Rodrigues and José Zanine Caldas as well as such European immigrants as Joaquim Tenreiro, Jean Gillon and Jorge Zalszupin. These creators frequently collaborated; for instance, Niemeyer, an internationally acclaimed architect, commissioned many of them to furnish his residential and institutional buildings.
The popularity of Brazilian modern furniture has made household names of these designers and other greats. Their particular brand of modernism is characterized by an émigré point of view (some were Lithuanian, German, Polish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, and Italian), a preference for highly figured indigenous Brazilian woods, a reverence for nature as an inspiration and an atelier or small-production mentality.
Hallmarks of Brazilian mid-century design include smooth, sculptural forms and the use of native woods like rosewood, jacaranda and pequi. The work of designers today exhibits many of the same qualities, though with a marked interest in exploring new materials (witness the Campana Brothers' stuffed-animal chairs) and an emphasis on looking inward rather than to other countries for inspiration.
Find a collection of vintage Brazilian furniture on 1stDibs that includes chairs, sofas, tables and more.
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Glass, Wood
2010s Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1980s Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
Late 20th Century Modern Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
2010s Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Hardwood
Early 19th Century Other Antique Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Cedar
Late 18th Century Baroque Antique Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Cedar
Late 20th Century Modern Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
19th Century Baroque Antique Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
20th Century Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Walnut
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Wood
Late 17th Century Baroque Antique Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Cedar
Mid-20th Century Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Silver
18th Century and Earlier Antique Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Agate
Late 17th Century Baroque Antique Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Cedar
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Rosewood
Mid-19th Century Folk Art Antique Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Cedar
1980s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Bronze
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
Late 18th Century Antique Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
2010s Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Multi-gemstone, Quartz
2010s Post-Modern Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Metal
2010s Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Multi-gemstone, Quartz
2010s Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Quartz, Stone
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Paper
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Stone
2010s Brutalist Brazilian Collectibles and Curiosities
Brass
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