Elegance describes the designs of Jan Vanek.
Influenced by his family’s furniture company, Vandek studied woodworking. Following a stint in Germany, where he advanced his skills at established firms in Munich, Stuttgart and Heilbronn, he returned home to the former Czechoslovakia and took over the family business, which in 1920 became known as Spojené Uměleckoprůmyslové Závody, or UP Závody.
Vanek's early friendships and collaborations with architectural and design greats like Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Adolf Loos and others likely had much to do with his graceful style, best exemplified by his 1930s bentwood chairs, with the arabesque curves of their arms and legs conjoining to form open, dynamic loops.
True to Czech standards for uniformity, Vanek scarcely altered the design over decades of production, though he did gradually modernize his frames: His 1950s models are more angular, industrialized — and very definitely modern.
Find a collection of vintage Jan Vanek furniture today on 1stDibs.
Modernist oak side table by Jan Vaněk for Krásná Jizba
By Krasna JIzba, Jan Vanek
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
Designed by duo of Czech architects Jan Vaněk and Ladislav Bartoníček for Krásná Jizba / Družstevní práce, Czechoslovakia 1947. Made of solid oak wood and oak veneer. In good origina...
Oak
Bauhaus Tubular Steel Coffee Table by Karel E. Ort for Gottwald, 1930s
By Hynek Gottwald, Karel Ort
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
An authentic Bauhaus-era coffee table designed by Czech architect Karel E. Ort and produced by Gottwald in Prague during the 1930s. Catalogued under number Fb54, this design reflects...
Steel, Chrome
Bauhaus tubular steel coffee table by Arnošt Beck for Mücke Melder, 1930s
By Mücke & Melder
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
A three-legged functionalist coffee table, designed by Arnošt Beck and crafted by the renowned Mücke & Melder company under catalogue number Tn58 in the former Czechoslovakia dur...
Steel, Chrome
Large Artona Africa Table by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto, 1970s
By Maxalto, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
Rare large Africa Series dining table designed by Afra & Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto in the 1970s. An iconic example of late Italian modernism, the table pairs monumental scale with...
Wood
Bauhaus tubular steel dining table by Petr Vichr, 1930s
By Vichr & Co., Petr Vichr
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
Modernist tubular steel dining table, manufactured by Vichr & Co. in former Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. Crafted from chrome-plated ...
Steel, Chrome
Rare Bauhaus dining table Model B 14 by Marcel Breuer, 1930s
By Marcel Breuer
Located in PRAHA 5, CZ
An authentic Model B 14 Bauhaus table designed by Marcel Breuer and manufactured by Mücke-Melder in the 1930s, representing one of the earliest generations of tubular steel furniture...
Steel, Chrome
Wooden Coffee Table by František Jirák for Tatra Nabytok Pravenec, 1960s
By Frantisek Jirak, Tatra Pravenec
Located in Lucenec, SK
A wooden coffee table designed in the sixties by the Czech architect František Jirák. Jirák was a colleague of the famous designer Jindrich Halabala in the national enterprise Spojen...
Beech
Vintage coffee table by Karel Koželka and Antonín Kropáček, 1960´s.
By Karel Kozelka & Antonin Kropacek
Located in Praha, CZ
- made of oak, glass - Made in Czechoslovakia - maker: Interier Praha - good,original condition
Glass, Oak
1960s Czech Art Deco Coffee Table By K. Kozelka & A. Kropacek
By Karel Kozelka & Antonin Kropacek
Located in High Point, NC
This 1960s Czech Art Deco coffee table by renowned designers Karel Kozelka and Antonín Kropáček is a refined example of mid-century craftsmanship. The circular top, made of glass, is...
Glass, Wood
Wooden Coffee Table by František Jirák, 1960s
By Frantisek Jirak
Located in Żory, PL
A unique coffee table, a combination of a wooden structure and glass. It was designed by František Jirák and produced in the 1960s in Czechoslovakia. The table is preserved in its o...
Glass, Wood
Coffee table by Kropacek and Kozelka for Interier Praha, 1944
Located in MONTESSON, FR
This coffee table was designed by Czech designers Antonin Kropacek and Karel Kozelka in 1944. In 1946, this table won the silver medal at the Triennale in Milan. The wooden frame is ...
Glass, Wood
Vintage Coffee Table by Karel Koželka and Antonín Kropáček, 1940s
By Karel Kozelka & Antonin Kropacek
Located in Praha, CZ
This iconic Mid-century coffee table by Czech designers Karel Kozelka and Antonín Kropáček features a distinctive bentwood frame with a round glass top and lower shelf. Originally de...
Glass, Wood
