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.
$2,882 / item
Açafrao & Urucum, Medium Light by Cultivado Em Casa
Located in Geneve, CH
Açafrao & Urucum - medium light by Cultivado Em Casa Dimensions: 40 x 120 cm Materials: Carbon steel, mixed technique in paper, glue and saffron or annatto, frosted milky glass glo...
Paper
$1,866 / item
Dureza, Floor Lamp by Cultivado Em Casa
Located in Geneve, CH
Dureza - Floor lamp by Cultivado Em Casa. Dimensions: 34 x 34 x 170 cm. Materials: Carbon steel and electrostatic painting. All our lamps can be wired according to each country....
Steel
$13,441 / item
Glass Pendant Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Glass pendant lamp by Aver Dimensions: D 80 x H 80 cm Lighting: 12 x E14 Available in other finishes. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sold to the USA i...
Metal
$7,560 / item
Crystal Ceiling Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Crystal Ceiling lamp by Aver Dimensions: D 56 x W 56 x H 18 cm Materials: Crystal, metal. Lighting: 12 x G9 Available in finishes: Silver Pla...
Crystal, Metal
$19,019 / item
Selenite Chandelier 60 by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Selenite chandelier 60 by Aver Dimensions: D 60 x H 80 cm. Materials: Selenite, metal. Available in other sizes. Designed by Marcele Muraro, for A...
Stone, Metal
$3,208 / item
Selenite Wall Sconce by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Selenite wall sconce by Aver Dimensions: D 19 x W 28 x H 35 cm. Materials: Moroccan natural selenite rock, metal. Lighting: 4 x G9 Finishes: G...
Stone, Metal
$16,008 / item
Glass Chandelier by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Glass Chandelier by Aver Dimensions: D 78 x H 65 cm Materials: Glass, metal. Finishes: Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf, Warm Gold Leaf, Warm Silver Leaf, Warm Copper Leaf, Dark Gold Leaf, Dark Silver Leaf, Bronze Leaf, Antique Bronze, Antique Golden. Collection of Aver lamps made with handmade twisted glass tubes. In this version we have the classic layered pendant. Aver Design...
Metal
$6,744 / item
Quartz Pendant Light III by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz pendant light III by Aver Dimensions: W 106 x D 56 x H 6 cm Materials: Natural rocks, high-quality cut crystals, jewelry chains, hand blown...
Stone, Crystal
$1,633 / item
Quartz Table Lamp I by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz table lamp I by Aver Dimensions: W 12 x D 22 x H 78 cm Materials: Natural rocks, high-quality cut crystals, jewelry chains, hand-blown glass, other. Also available: matte blac...
Stone, Crystal, Other
$1,621 / item
Quartz Table Lamp II by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz table lamp II by Aver Dimensions: D 39 x H 97 cm Materials: Natural rocks, high-quality cut crystals, jewelry chains, hand-blown glass, other. Also Available: Matte Black, Rus...
Stone, Crystal, Other
$3,041 / item
D33, Mirror by Cultivado Em Casa
Located in Geneve, CH
D33 - mirror by Cultivado Em Casa Dimensions: 130 x 11 x 60 cm Materials: D33 foam, acrylic paint, acrylic resin, carbon steel. Also available: different colors. The D33 coll...
Resin
$30,838 / item
Quartz Pendant Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz pendant lamp by Aver Dimensions: 30 x 5 x 64cm Materials: white quartz, silver leaf, gold leaf, brass leaf, copper leaf, pink gold leaf. Lightning: 01 x LED 20W 1600LM Designed by Waldir Junior.
Multi-gemstone, Quartz, Brass, Copper, Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf
$26,883 / item
White Quartz and Silver Pendant Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
White quartz and silver pendant lamp by Aver Dimensions: D 84 x W 84 x H 100 cm. Lighting: 18 x E14 Finish: Silver leaf, old silver leaf, gold leaf, old gold leaf, copper leaf, rusty...
Quartz
$26,883 / item
White Quartz and Copper Pendant Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
White quartz and copper pendant lamp by Aver Dimensions: D 84 x W 84 x H 100 cm. Lighting: eighteen E14. Finish: silver leaf, old silver leaf, gold leaf, old gold leaf, copper leaf, ...
Quartz
$14,736 / set
Set of White Quartz Pendant Lamps by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of white quartz pendant lamps by Aver Dimensions: 75cm x 20cm x H 18cm. Lighting: 1 LED 9W / 600 Lumens Finish: Silver leaf, old silver leaf, gold leaf, old gold leaf, copper le...
Quartz
$2,374 / item
Small Quartz Horizontal Pendant Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Small Quartz horizontal pendant lamp by Aver Signed by Waldir Junior Dimensions: D 5 x W 94 x H 30 cm Materials: Aluminum, antique Bronze finish. ...
Quartz, Aluminum
$9,334 / item
Quartz Floor Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz pendant lamp, Waldir Junior by Aver Dimensions: 40 x 5 x 158 cm Materials: white quartz, silver leaf, gold leaf, brass leaf, copper leaf, pink gol...
Multi-gemstone, Quartz, Brass, Copper, Gold Leaf, Silver Leaf
$13,348 / item
White and Smoked Quartz Floor Lamp by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Hand-sculpted white and smoked quartz floor lamp by Aver Sculpted lamp with quality natural quartz Measures: 170 x 30 x 20 cm 01 X LED 7W / 450 lumens.
Quartz
$14,736 / set
Set of Skyline, White Quartz Pendant Lamps by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Set of skyline, white quartz pendant lamps by Aver Dimensions: 75cm x 20cm x H 18cm. Lighting: 1 LED 9W / 600 Lumens Finish: Silver leaf, old silver leaf, gold leaf, old gold leaf...
Quartz
$2,000 / item
Straight Lamp Murundu
By Cultivado em Casa
Located in Floresta, MG
Inspired by quite common natural elements in our region, Murundu speaks of affective landscapes, our rural nature and our profound connection with the countryside. At the same time...
Stainless Steel
$2,000 / item
Diagonal Lamp Murundu
By Cultivado em Casa
Located in Floresta, MG
Inspired by quite common natural elements in our region, Murundu speaks of affective landscapes, our rural nature and our profound connection with the countryside. At the same time...
Stainless Steel
Mushroom style Table Lamp, Unknown Artist, Steel and Opaline Glass, 1960s
Located in New York, NY
The mushroom lamp is generally credited to the Murano glass-making tradition in the late 1200s. At the beginning of the 1950s and 1960s, pastel-colored Murano glass mushroom lamps began to sprout up, and in the 1970s, these design variations were already trendy. Some of the greatest names in Internation design ventured to create versions of this model, such as the Italian Vico Magistretti...
Steel
Dominici table lamp in two types of lucite circa 1970
By Dominici
Located in Rio De Janeiro, RJ
Incredible table lamp by DOMINICI circa 1970 in two types of lucite.
Lucite
Working with resin, a tricky material, has created moments of failure — and enlightenment.
Commissioned for the lakeside villa of a Finnish industrialist, it illuminated visits with dignitaries.
Across New York, there’s no shortage of statement lighting on view.
The 1920s design is a thrilling combination of saturated colors, ancient motifs and modern aesthetics.
Designed by a giant of Swedish lighting, the large-scale fixtures bring major drama.
The alluring pendant light exemplifies the designer’s winsome mid-career work.
Before founding the Memphis Group, Sottsass bent the rules of lighting design with the wonderfully wavy Cometa.
Warm chalet style meets cool Bauhaus functionality in Pietro Cascella’s cleverly carved creation.