Organically shaped, clean-lined and elegantly simple are three terms that well describe vintage mid-century modern furniture. The style, which emerged primarily in the years following World War II, is characterized by pieces that were conceived and made in an energetic, optimistic spirit by creators who believed that good design was an essential part of good living.
ORIGINS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGN
MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW
ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE DESIGNS
VINTAGE MID-CENTURY MODERN FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The mid-century modern era saw leagues of postwar American architects and designers animated by new ideas and new technology. The lean, functionalist International-style architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus eminences Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius had been promoted in the United States during the 1930s by Philip Johnson and others. New building techniques, such as “post-and-beam” construction, allowed the International-style schemes to be realized on a small scale in open-plan houses with long walls of glass.
Materials developed for wartime use became available for domestic goods and were incorporated into mid-century modern furniture designs. Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen, who had experimented extensively with molded plywood, eagerly embraced fiberglass for pieces such as the La Chaise and the Womb chair, respectively.
Architect, writer and designer George Nelson created with his team shades for the Bubble lamp using a new translucent polymer skin and, as design director at Herman Miller, recruited the Eameses, Alexander Girard and others for projects at the legendary Michigan furniture manufacturer.
Harry Bertoia and Isamu Noguchi devised chairs and tables built of wire mesh and wire struts. Materials were repurposed too: The Danish-born designer Jens Risom created a line of chairs using surplus parachute straps for webbed seats and backrests.
The Risom lounge chair was among the first pieces of furniture commissioned and produced by celebrated manufacturer Knoll, a chief influencer in the rise of modern design in the United States, thanks to the work of Florence Knoll, the pioneering architect and designer who made the firm a leader in its field. The seating that Knoll created for office spaces — as well as pieces designed by Florence initially for commercial clients — soon became desirable for the home.
As the demand for casual, uncluttered furnishings grew, more mid-century furniture designers caught the spirit.
Classically oriented creators such as Edward Wormley, house designer for Dunbar Inc., offered such pieces as the sinuous Listen to Me chaise; the British expatriate T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings switched gears, creating items such as the tiered, biomorphic Mesa table. There were Young Turks such as Paul McCobb, who designed holistic groups of sleek, blond wood furniture, and Milo Baughman, who espoused a West Coast aesthetic in minimalist teak dining tables and lushly upholstered chairs and sofas with angular steel frames.
Generations turn over, and mid-century modern remains arguably the most popular style going. As the collection of vintage mid-century modern chairs, dressers, coffee tables and other furniture for the living room, dining room, bedroom and elsewhere on 1stDibs demonstrates, this period saw one of the most delightful and dramatic flowerings of creativity in design history.
Rosenthal Andy Warhol "Golden Angels" Plate
By Andy Warhol, Rosenthal
Located in Waddinxveen, ZH
Rosenthal Studio-Line Andy Warhol Christmas Golden Angels plate. Andy Warhol, quite possibly the greatest pop art artist of our time, loved Christmas and was known for giving his fri...
Porcelain
MCM LaGardo Tackett Green Demitasse Mugs and Saucers - Set of 4
Located in Fairfield, CA
A set of 4 mid century porcelain demitasse mugs and saucers. Designed by LaGardo Tackett for Schmid International Porcelain. Simple modernist shapes. Finished in a matte dark green g...
Porcelain
Arnold Krog - Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted Musselmalet - 6 Dinner Plates 571
By Arnold Krog, Royal Copenhagen
Located in Stockholm, SE
6 Dinner Plates of model Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted designed by Arnold Krog. The plates are 25.5 cm in diameter and in excellent condition except from a few minor scratches. These ...
Porcelain
MCM LaGardo Tackett Green Striped Faceted Tumblers - Set of 4
Located in Fairfield, CA
A set of 4 mid century porcelain tumblers. Designed by LaGardo Tackett for Schmid International Porcelain as part of the "Everyone Loves Ice Cream and Candy" tableware collection. Fi...
Porcelain
Piero Fornasetti “Il Minestrone” Plate, Specialità Milanesi, Italy Mid Century
By Fornasetti, Piero Fornasetti
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
Iconic vintage porcelain plate designed by Piero Fornasetti as part of the celebrated "Specialità Milanesi" series. This plate features the whimsical and highly detailed black-and-wh...
Ceramic, Porcelain
Rosenthal Andy Warhol Daisy Breakfast set (9 pcs)
By Rosenthal, Andy Warhol
Located in Waddinxveen, ZH
Rosenthal Studio-Line Andy Warhol Daisies 3 sets of coffee cup and saucer and plate. Rosenthal Andy Warhol Daisies line---beautiful, precious collector po...
Porcelain
MCM German Porcelain Dish Set - 3 Pieces - Ashtray, Cup, and Tray
Located in Fairfield, CA
A set of 3 mid century German porcelain dishes. Each in a unique organic shape and finished in black and white glazes. The set includes a large tray, and ashtray, and a cup. Marked "...
Porcelain
$840Sale Price / item|20% Off
Lomonosov Porcelain Vase, Cobalt Blue Flowers & Gold, Russia, 1950s
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Russian white porcelain vase manufactured in the 1950s by the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory which was founded in 1744. Soft shaped organic Mid-Century Modern vase decorated by hand with large mineral...
Gold
set of Six Lobster Plates Porcelain, Seltman Vohenstrauss, Germany 1960s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
A Retro and Unusual Set of Six German Vohenstrauß Johann Seltmann Porcelain Plates, Circa 1960s A striking and uncommon set of six porcelain plates produced by Johann Seltmann in Vo...
Porcelain
Large Foo Dog Guardian Lion Blue Porcelain Sculpture
Located in Barcelona, ES
Large Size Male Guardian Lion Foo Dog in Turquoise Blue Glazed Porcelain Algora Porcelains Designed from 1920 to 1949. This is a male guardian lion sculpture, is recognized as it is ...
Ceramic
$380Sale Price / set|61% Off
Midcentury Modern German Blue & White Porcelain Coffee or Tea Set by Rosenthal
By Rosenthal
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful German porcelain coffee or tea cup set, with creamer and sugar, in white with touches of gold and blue. Set includes six cups, one creamer and one sugar bowl with lid, al...
Porcelain
Ginori Porcelain Espresso Cup and Saucer Set, Renaissance Pattern, Italy 1950s
Located in Clifton Springs, NY
Rare Richard Ginori demitasse or espresso cup and saucer set was made of fine semi-translucent porcelain in Italy. It is decorated in Renaissance pattern with wide bands of abstract...
Gold Leaf
Salvador Dalí "La Conquête du Cosmos" Limoges Porcelain Cabinet Plates
Located in Downingtown, PA
A complete matched set of six Limoges porcelain cabinet plates after Salvador Dalí's graphic suite La Conquête du Cosmos, distributed by Signature de France, 1970s. Every plate in th...
Porcelain
Piero Fornasetti Hot Air Balloon Plate, Rosenthal Porcelain, 1784 Flight
Located in Downingtown, PA
Piero Fornasetti Rosenthal Mongolfiere Hot Air Balloon Plate, Motiv 1 1980s Piero Fornasetti’s love affair with flight is at full altitude on this Rosenthal porcelain plate, Motiv ...
Porcelain
Vintage Piero Fornasetti Conchiglie Pattern Plate decorated with Sea Creatures
Located in Downingtown, PA
Marine Whimsy: Vintage Piero Fornasetti "Conchiglie" (Shells) Plate #12 Circa 1960–1970 A vibrant and whimsical vintage porcelain plate designed by Piero Fornasetti, featuring the s...
Porcelain
FORNASETTI Tema E Variazioni Porcelain Plate #281
By Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Piero Fornasetti "Tema e Variazioni" porcelain plate depicting the face of the famous opera singer Lina Cavalieri on a nude female torso, no.281 / made in Milano Italy circa ...
Porcelain
Fornasetti Rosenthal Porcelain Plate- Themes and Variation, Motiv 15
By Piero Fornasetti, Rosenthal
Located in Downingtown, PA
Veiled Beauty: Fornasetti "Tema e Variazioni" Plate, Hands (Motiv 16) This visually arresting plate is a powerful example from Piero Fornasetti's (1913–1988) celebrated Themes & Var...
Porcelain
Two 1960s Mid-Century Modern Musical Instruments Plates by Piero Fornasetti
By Piero Fornasetti, Fornasetti
Located in Aci Castello, IT
These two 1960s Mid-Century Modern decorative plates by Piero Fornasetti typically exemplify his whimsical and artistic approach to design.The plates depict intricate surreal illustr...
Porcelain
$520Sale Price|20% Off
H. Bequet Celadon Porcelain Vase, Floral Motif, Belgium, 1940
Located in Miami, FL
A celadon colored porcelain floral motif vase, by H. Bequet Quaregnon, Belgium, c. 1940. This decorative vase would look great displayed in an array of interior styes. The celadon and gold trimmed...
Porcelain
White and Gold Gilted Porcelain Plate by Meissen, Germany, 1950s
Located in Rijssen, NL
Porcelain plate with a rich gold decor, made by Meissen Porcelain, Germany in around 1950. It was the first porcelain factory in Europe to produce true porcelain outside of Asia. T...
Porcelain
Raymond Loewy After Dinner Coffee Set for "Rosenthal 2000", 1954
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Grey and white porcelain 20 piece after dinner coffee set Rosenthal 2000 Secunda, coffee server, sugar bowl and creamer and complete set of service with...
Porcelain
$480Sale Price / set|49% Off
Set for Six People for Tea and Espresso by Ceramica Franco Pozzi Milano
By Franco Pozzi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
this is a espresso set for six some of pieces have some dents and shown on the photos but is still usable no cracks Franco Pozzi work and exhibit with Gio Ponti in Milano.
Ceramic
Rosenthal Fornasetti "Lina as Pearl" Plate Themes & Variations (Motiv 14), 1980s
Located in Downingtown, PA
Modern Myth: Rosenthal Fornasetti "Lina as Pearl" Plate Themes & Variations (Motiv 14), 1980s This striking porcelain plate is a premier example of the collaboration between the leg...
Porcelain
Rosenthal Studio Line by Uta Feyl, White Curved Geometric Porcelain Bisque Vase
Rosenthal Studio line white porcelain bisque vase by Uta Feyl, circa 1980s. Stunning curved geometric shape. Measurements: H 5" W 4.5" D 3.5"
Ceramic, Porcelain
Piero Fornasetti Tema E Variazioni Porcelain Plate #78
By Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Piero Fornasetti "Tema e Variazioni" porcelain plate depicting the face of the famous opera singer Lina Cavalieri, no.78 / made in Milano Italy circa 1960. Original mark on t...
Porcelain
Rosenthal Andy Warhol ‘Daisy‘’ XL Cup and Saucer
By Andy Warhol, Rosenthal
Located in Waddinxveen, ZH
Rosenthal Studio-Line XL cup with saucer, suitable for a latte, soup, tea or your cereals. Andy Warhol, quite possibly the greatest pop art artist of our time. The Flowers print port...
Porcelain
Hand Painted Porcelain Plate Midcentury Limited Edition.
Located in Miami, FL
Hand painted porcelain plates signed and numbered by well knowned Artists Manufactured by Charles Fields Haviland. Each work of Art sign...
Porcelain
Fornasetti Milano 'Fiori' Pattern Porcelain Plates, Set of Twelve, circa 1965
By Fornasetti
Located in Kinderhook, NY
An incredibly rare set of 12 large porcelain dinner plates in the 'Fiori' pattern designed by Piero Fornasetti and produced by Fornasetti - Milano, circa 1965. There are two plates o...
Porcelain
$392Sale Price / set|20% Off
Fish Decanter Soviet Drinking Set Porcelain Fish Carafe Shots Glass, 1950's
Located in Praha, CZ
Made in Russia Made of Porcelain shots glass:Height 8cm :Depth 5cm Width 3cm Re-polished Good Original condition.
Ceramic
$625Sale Price|20% Off
Vintage Capodimonte Ceramic Decorative Item by Mollica, Rococo Style, Italy
By Capodimonte
Located in Bresso, Lombardy
Made in Italy, 1960s. This group of 7 cherubs are made in Capodimonte lacquered ceramic by Mollica. This item might show slight traces of use since it's vintage, but it can be consid...
Ceramic
Vintage 1960s Wedgwood Jasperware Cream on Blue Ceramic Collection
By Wedgwood
Located in Bochum, NRW
Midcentury small collection of four pieces Wedgwood Jasperware diamond cream on blue. Comprising 2 lidded boxes, a cachepot, an ashtray and a pair of candleholders. Vintage, 1960s. A...
Porcelain
Midcentury Porcelain Vase by Michael Boehm & Rosemonde Nairac for Rosenthal
By Rosemonde Nairac, Rosenthal, Michael Boehm
Located in New York, NY
This porcelain vase was designed by Michael Boehm and Rosemonde Nairac for Rosenthal's Studio Linie in the 1970s. The vase's bold elliptical shape is int...
Porcelain
Arnold Krog - Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted Musselmalet - 4 Luncheon Plates 1085
By Royal Copenhagen, Arnold Krog
Located in Stockholm, SE
4 Luncheon Plates of model Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted designed by Arnold Krog. The plates are 23 cm in diameter and in excellent condition except from a few minor scratches. These ...
Porcelain
Piero Fornasetti Rosenthal Porcelain Themes & Variations Plate, Sun Face, #18
Located in Downingtown, PA
A striking porcelain plate from the celebrated "Themes & Variations" (Tema e Variazioni) series designed by Piero Fornasetti and produced by Rosenthal, Germany, in the 1980s — Motiv 18, among the most poetic images of the series, in which the face of Lina Cavalieri becomes the sun itself, gazing serenely from a rayed solar disc as it breaks through banks of finely engraved clouds. The black-and-white transfer print is executed with precision on Rosenthal's fine porcelain blank and finished with a gilt rim. The plate retains its original black presentation box with silver sunburst and gilt Rosenthal/Fornasetti marks. Provenance: The Iris Apfel Collection. The plate comes from the holdings of the legendary style icon (1921–2024), whose maximalist eye made Fornasetti a natural fixture of her world — a provenance that suits few designers better. Cavalieri, an operatic soprano, was Fornasetti's eternal muse; he discovered her face in a 19th-century French magazine and returned to it throughout his career. As he famously put it: "What inspired me to create more than 500 variations on the face of a woman? I don't know. I began to make them and I never stopped." Rosenthal's small 1980s range of these designs — sometimes called Julia plates...
Porcelain
$1,866 / set
Fine Porcelain Tea and Coffee Set
Located in Antwerp, BE
The beautiful set comprised of a tea or coffee pot, a cream jug and a sugar bowl with lid and twelve cups and saucers, each piece with gilded borders; Portuguese exquisite Porcelain,...
Porcelain
Aladdin Porcelain Plate by Bjørn Wiinblad for Rosenthal
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Aladin and the magical lamp is the first Aladin plate in a series of 12 plates produced by Rosenthal and designed by Bjorn Wiinblad. In his 12 Aladin plates, Bjørn Wiinblad virtuously depicts the tale of Aladin from the well known fairy tale The Thousand and One Nights...
Porcelain
Piero Fornasetti Fleming Joffe Porcelain Plate- Python A La Orange
Located in Downingtown, PA
A Bite of Wit: Fornasetti's Python A L'Orange for Fleming Joffe Piero Fornasetti and the Recipe for the Absurd This remarkably witty porcelain recipe plate, Python A L'Orange, is a...
Ceramic, Porcelain
Collection of TinTin Porcelain Dish Coffee and Plate by Hergé , AXIS Paris 80s
By Hergé
Located in Halle, DE
Ultra-rare and huge collection of famous TinTin porcelain Dish made in the 1980s as a Collector Edition by AXIS,Paris . On the international markets it is only possible to get some...
Porcelain
Arnold Krog - Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted Musselmalet 12 Coffee cups & Saucers
By Arnold Krog, Royal Copenhagen
Located in Stockholm, SE
A set of 12 Coffee cups & saucers of model Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted designed by Arnold Krog. The saucers are 13.8 cm in diameter and in excellent condition except from a few min...
Porcelain
Raymond Loewy, ‘Charcoal’ coffee pot, Rosenthal - Continental China, 1960s
Located in London, GB
Raymond Loewy (USA, 1893-1986) ‘Charcoal’ coffee pot Designed 1960, produced by Continental China, a division of Rosenthal, Germany Ceramic. Good condition with only minor rubbings ...
Ceramic
MCM LaGardo Tackett Green Striped Porcelain Pitcher
Located in Fairfield, CA
A tall mid century porcelain pitcher. Designed by LaGardo Tackett for Schmid International Porcelain as part of the "Everyone Loves Ice Cream and Candy" tableware collection. Simple ...
Porcelain
FORNASETTI Tema E Variazioni Porcelain Plate Motiv 24
By Fornasetti, Rosenthal
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage Rosenthal Fornasetti "Temi e Variazioni" porcelain plate motiv 24, with gold rim and black and white printed center depicting the face of the famous opera singer Lina Cavalie...
Porcelain
Aladdin Porcelain Plate by Bjørn Wiinblad for Rosenthal
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
The Genie of the Lamp appears before Aladin's Mother is number 7 in a series of 12 Aladin plates produced by Rosenthal, designed by Bjørn Wiinblad. In his 12 Aladin plates, Bjorn Wiinblad virtuously depicts the tale of Aladin from the well known fairy tale The Thousand and One Nights...
Porcelain
Piero Fornasetti for Rosenthal Themes & Variation Motiv 3, Indian Beauty, 1980s
Located in Downingtown, PA
Gilded Glamour: Rosenthal Fornasetti "The Indian Beauty" Plate This striking porcelain plate, produced by Rosenthal in the 1980s, features one of the most exotic interpretations fro...
Porcelain
$233Sale Price|20% Off
Midcentury Serving Tray, Europe, 1950s
Located in Praha, CZ
Good Original Condition Made from Wood, Glass and Chrome
Chrome
FORNASETTI Grande Antico Gold Cocktail Plate by Fornasetti
By Fornasetti
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage gilt decorated GRANDE ANTICO porcelain plate by Piero Fornasetti / made in Milano Italy circa 1950s Original mark on the back Diameter 9.5 inches, height 1 inch 1 available i...
Porcelain
Vintage Paragon Double Warrant Bone China Teacup & Saucer with Red Cabbage Rose
By Paragon
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This teacup and saucer set was made by the renowned Paragon fine bone china factory of England in approximately 1960. The set is done with a pastel mint green ground with a large red offset cabbage rose on the inside of the cup which is replicated on the saucer. Both the cup and saucer are marked with the Paragon 'Double Warrant...
Porcelain
Mid-Century Romanze Porcelain Dinner Service by Bjorn Wiinblad for Rosenthal
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine, near complete Mid-Century modern porcelain dinner service. By Bjorn Wiinblad for Rosenthal. In the Romanze form and Medley pattern. Consisting of: 10 Large Dinner Plates ...
Porcelain
Porcelain and Brass Coffee Set, First Half of the 1900s
Located in Bastia Umbra, IT
Porcelain and Brass Coffee Set, Made in Italy, First half of the 1900s. Very rare porcelain service consisting of 6 cups, made of porcelain and brass, and 1 sugar bowl made of porce...
Brass
Arnold Krog - Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted Musselmalet - 4 Dinner Plates 1084
By Arnold Krog, Royal Copenhagen
Located in Stockholm, SE
4 Dinner Plates of model Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted designed by Arnold Krog. The plates are 25.5 cm in diameter and in excellent condition except from a few minor scratches. These ...
Porcelain
MCM Floral Porcelain Pitcher by Lego, Japan
Located in Fairfield, CA
A mid century porcelain pitcher. White glaze featuring a colorful floral design on the upper portion and a ribbed base. Original manufacturer sticker attached to the bottom, made in ...
Porcelain
Multicolor Rainbow Coffee Porcelain Set with Gold Rims, Spain 1950s
Located in Barcelona, ES
Demitasse Tea or Espresso Coffee Set, service for 6, Porcelain An elegant and colorful porcelain gold rimmed demitasse coffee service for six. Spain, 1950s Eye-catching multicolor gl...
Gold Leaf
Japanese Lithophane Geisha porcelain coffee set of 5, 1950s
Located in Miklavž Pri Taboru, SI
Beautiful coffee set for 5 people. Marking: under glaze black stamp in the form of a hieroglyph. Dating: Japan, 1950s. At the bottom of the cups is a lithophane with a portrait of a ...
Porcelain
Meissen German Weiss Porcelain Garden Bird Figure
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
From a collection of white and blanc de chine figures we are pleased to offer this fine German porcelain figure of a garden bird by renowned maker Meissen ...
Porcelain
Rosenthal Andy Warhol Flower Glass Plate
By Rosenthal, Andy Warhol
Located in Waddinxveen, ZH
Rosenthal Studio-Line Daisy Glass Plate. Andy Warhol, quite possibly the greatest pop art artist of our time. The Flowers print portfolio was created by Warhol following his wildly s...
Glass
Vintage Piero Fornasetti Conchiglie Pattern Plate with Sea Anemones and Shells
Located in Downingtown, PA
Marine Whimsy: Vintage Piero Fornasetti "Conchiglie" (Shells) Plate #11 Circa 1960–1970 A vibrant and whimsical vintage porcelain plate designed by Piero Fornasetti, featuring the ...
Porcelain
36 Pieces Porcelain Rosenthal Tea Coffee Set for 12
By Rosenthal
Located in Rockaway, NJ
Mid-Century Modern Rosenthal porcelain tea or coffee set for 12.
Porcelain
Rosenthal Andy Warhol "Golden Angels" Plate, New in Box
By Andy Warhol, Rosenthal
Located in Waddinxveen, ZH
Rosenthal Studio-Line Andy Warhol Christmas Golden Angels plate. New in box. Andy Warhol, quite possibly the greatest pop artist of our time, ...
Porcelain
Piero Fornasetti Porcelain Astrolabe Plate, #5 in Series
Located in Downingtown, PA
Mapping the Stars: Vintage Piero Fornasetti 'Astrolabio' Plate No. 5, 1960s – mid-1970s A magnificent vintage porcelain plate by Piero Fornasetti, featuring number 5 from the intric...
Porcelain
Extraordinary Pair of Chinese Vases, 20th century
Located in Bastia Umbra, IT
Extraordinary Pair of Chinese Vases, 20th century. Extraordinary Pair of Large Chinese Porcelain Export Vases with rich floral brightness and parcel gilding. This monumental piece f...
Porcelain