Mid-Century Auctions

MidCenturyAuctions.com is your source for Eames Era, 1950's post war and 1960's Mid-Century Modern contemporary style furniture, chairs, lamps, home decor and collectibles.

Danish Modern Bird Book Ends Teak Hand Carved Swiss


Danish Modern Bird Book Ends Teak Hand Carved Swiss

Price: $14.50 (6 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
Vintage Dazor desk lamp mdl. 2324 Eames Era machine age


Vintage Dazor desk lamp mdl. 2324 Eames Era machine age

Price: $65.00
Buy It Now: $75.00
Time Left: 21m
4 Vintage White Herman Miller Shell Chairs w H Bases


4 Vintage White Herman Miller Shell Chairs w  H Bases

Price: $495.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
Set of 4 vintage Cherry and Chrome chairs * Eames era *


Set of 4 vintage Cherry and Chrome chairs * Eames era *

Price: $395.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
Wilmot surgery light floor lamp MACHINE AGE Industrial


Wilmot surgery light floor lamp MACHINE AGE Industrial

Price: $425.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
4 retro flying saucer shades Atomic space age NOS


4 retro flying  saucer shades Atomic space age NOS

Price: $95.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
4 Vintage Herman Miller Shell Chairs BLU, YEL, GRG, WHT


4 Vintage Herman Miller Shell Chairs BLU,  YEL,  GRG,  WHT

Price: $495.00 (1 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
4 retro swag lamp shades eames era Atomic space age NOS


4 retro swag lamp shades eames era Atomic space age NOS

Price: $85.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
Vintage Danish Cherry dresser Eames Era mid-century


Vintage Danish Cherry  dresser  Eames Era mid-century

Price: $495.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
Huge Mid-century modern aluminum Chandelier Eames era


Huge Mid-century modern aluminum Chandelier Eames era

Price: $445.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 21m
Pair Stouby Denmark Mobelfabrik Chairs High Quality


Pair Stouby Denmark Mobelfabrik Chairs High Quality

Buy It Now: $1,950.00
Time Left: 23m
Blue Mountain Canada Pottery 14+" Eames Rearing Horse


Blue Mountain Canada Pottery 14+" Eames Rearing Horse

Price: $24.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 23m
Ingrid mid-century Eames era coffee sandwich set


Ingrid mid-century Eames era coffee sandwich set

Buy It Now: $19.99
Time Left: 25m
Baribocraft Treen Wood Salad Bowl 11 Pc Set w Utensils


Baribocraft Treen Wood Salad Bowl 11 Pc Set w Utensils

Price: $19.99 (1 Bids)
Time Left: 25m
Pair Mid Century Danish Sculptured Wall Art


Pair Mid Century Danish Sculptured Wall Art

Price: $9.99 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 25m
KNOLL Saarinen Tulip Arm chair with Swivel Base


KNOLL Saarinen Tulip Arm chair with Swivel Base

Price: $750.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 32m
Dansk Yellow Danish Mod Koben Style Enamel Pan France


Dansk Yellow Danish Mod Koben Style Enamel Pan France

Price: $10.49 (2 Bids)
Time Left: 37m
Vintage Mid Century Massive Slat Bench Solid Center


Vintage Mid Century Massive Slat Bench Solid Center

Buy It Now: $225.00
Time Left: 51m
MID-CENTURY EAMES ERA JEWELED-GRAVEL MOSAIC ART - BIRDS


MID-CENTURY EAMES ERA JEWELED-GRAVEL MOSAIC ART - BIRDS

Price: $14.95 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 55m
BAKER SIGNED BACHELOR CHEST DRAWER DRESSER END TABLE


BAKER SIGNED BACHELOR CHEST DRAWER DRESSER END TABLE

Buy It Now: $740.00
Time Left: 1h 1m
VINTAGE MID CENTURY COPCO DENMARK RED ENAMEL PAELLA VG+


VINTAGE MID CENTURY COPCO DENMARK RED ENAMEL PAELLA VG+

Price: $52.11 (3 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 9m
Mission Tile Aluminum Tray Mid Century Modern Cellini


Mission Tile   Aluminum Tray Mid Century Modern Cellini

Price: $107.50 (5 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 9m
BIG Vintage DAZOR Desk Lamp Light EAMES ERA Machine Age


BIG Vintage DAZOR Desk Lamp Light EAMES ERA Machine Age

Buy It Now: $59.95
Time Left: 1h 11m
Dansk IHQ Denmark Danish Modern Teak Bowl Rare, Unusual


Dansk IHQ Denmark Danish Modern Teak Bowl Rare,  Unusual

Price: $9.99 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 18m
Teak Wall Cabinet Tambour Door Mid-Century Dansk Era


Teak Wall Cabinet Tambour Door Mid-Century Dansk Era

Price: $33.87 (2 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 20m
Norge Figgjo Stoneware Danish Mod Pan Skillet~ Norway


Norge Figgjo Stoneware Danish Mod Pan Skillet~ Norway

Price: $9.99 (2 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 25m
Coral - White Faux Branch Coral - Large and Beautiful!


Coral - White Faux Branch Coral - Large and Beautiful!

Price: $19.99 (1 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 26m
Mint 9 piece Finel Mushroom set by Kaj Frank


Mint 9 piece Finel Mushroom set by Kaj Frank

Price: $310.00 (16 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 32m
rare mid-century modern 16 ft. long slat bench retro


rare mid-century modern 16 ft. long slat bench retro

Price: $800.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 40m
Rare Unique 50's - 60's Mid Century Ornate Swedish Lamp


Rare Unique 50's - 60's Mid Century Ornate Swedish Lamp

Price: $149.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 41m
Mint Finel handled Mushroom pot with lid by Kaj Frank


Mint Finel handled Mushroom pot with lid by Kaj Frank

Price: $86.63 (6 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 41m
mid-century modern industrial bauhaus coffee end table


mid-century modern industrial bauhaus coffee end table

Price: $70.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 42m
VINTAGE KNOLL CHAIR, BENT OAK FRAME EAMES ERA SWIVEL


VINTAGE KNOLL CHAIR,  BENT OAK FRAME EAMES ERA SWIVEL

Price: $29.99 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 44m
striking mid-century modern four chrome bar stools 70's


striking mid-century modern four chrome bar stools 70's

Price: $200.00 (1 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 44m
Mint Finel handled Fish pot with lid by Kaj Frank


Mint Finel handled Fish pot with lid by Kaj Frank

Price: $68.51 (4 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 45m
sleek mid-century modern SOLID WOOD wall mirror


sleek mid-century modern SOLID WOOD wall mirror

Price: $9.99 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 46m
mid-century small cane Rattan magazine rack end table


mid-century small cane Rattan magazine rack   end table

Price: $9.99 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 48m
mid-century modern rattan round bamboo dining table


mid-century modern rattan round bamboo dining table

Price: $70.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 48m
unique mid-century modern solid wood sideboard buffet


unique mid-century modern solid wood sideboard buffet

Price: $180.00 (0 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 50m
ROYAL "STAR GLOW" DINNER PLATES (2), ATOMIC ERA


ROYAL "STAR GLOW" DINNER PLATES (2),  ATOMIC ERA

Price: $9.95 (1 Bids)
Time Left: 1h 52m
Modern furniture refers to furniture produced from the late 19th century through the present that is influenced by modernism. It was a tremendous departure from all furniture design that had gone before it. Dark or gilded carved wood and richly patterned fabrics gave way to the glittering simplicity and geometry of polished metal. The forms of furniture evolved from visually heavy to visually light.
 
Prior to the modernist design movement there was an emphasis on furniture as ornament, the length of time a piece took to create was often a measure of its value and desirability. During the first half of the 20th Century a new philosophy emerged shifting the emphasis to function and accessibility. Western design generally, whether architectural or design of furniture had for millennia sought to convey an idea of lineage, a connection with tradition and history.
 
The modern movement sought newness, originality, technical innovation, and ultimately the message that it conveyed spoke of the present and the future, rather than of what had gone before it. Modernist design seems to have evolved out of a combination of influences: Technically innovative materials and manufacturing methods, the new philosophies that emerged from the Werkbund and the Bauhaus School, from exotic foreign influences, from Art Nouveau and from the tremendous creativity of the artists and designers of that era.
 

The use of new materials, such as steel in its many forms; molded plywood, such as that used by Charles and Ray Eames; and of course plastics, were formative in the creation of these new designs. They would have been considered pioneering, even shocking in contrast to what came before. This interest in new and innovative materials and methods - produced a certain blending of the disciplines of technology and art. And this became a working philosophy among the members of the Deutscher Werkbund. The Werkbund was a government sponsored organization to promote German art and design around the world. Many of those involved with it including Mies van Der Rohe, Lilly Reich and others, were later involved in the Bauhaus School, and so it is not surprising perhaps that the Bauhaus School took on the mantle of this philosophy. They evolved a particular interest in using these new materials in such a way that they might be mass produced and therefor make good design more accessible to the masses.

 

African and Asian culture

An aesthetic preference for the baroque and the complex was challenged not only by new materials and the courage and creativity of a few Europeans, but also by the growing access to African and Asian design. In particular the influence of Japanese design is legend: in the last years of the 19th Century the Edo Period in Japan, Japanese isolationist policy began to soften, and trade with the west began in ernest. The artifacts that emerged were striking in their simplicity, their use of solid planes of color without ornament, and contrasting use of pattern. A tremendous fashion for all things Japanese - Japonism - swept Europe. Some say that the western Art Nouveau movement emerged from this influence directly. Designers such as Charles Rennie MacIntosh and Eileen Gray are known for both their modern and Art Deco work, and they and others like Frank Lloyd Wright are notable for a certain elegant blending of the two styles..

 

Iconic examples of modern furniture

 

Marcel Breuer's Wassily Chair

This modernist creation is perhaps one of the most iconic furniture designs of all times. The Wassily Chair, also known as the Model B3 chair, was designed by Marcel Breuer in 1925-26 while he was the head of the cabinet-making workshop at the Bauhaus, in Dessau, Germany. The design of the chair is most interesting in that it is a symmetrical abstraction of wafer thin, geometric planes that appears to be suspended in space. The magic of this is sublime design is to be primarily attributed to Breuer's ingenious use of lightweight tubular steel and minimalist leather straps.

 

Eileen Gray side table

Designed in 1927 as a bedside table for the guest room in E-1027, the home she designed for herself (and Jean Badovici) in Cap Martin, France, the asymmetry of this piece is characteristic of her "non-conformist" design style in her architectural projects and furniture. Notably, this piece also has specific utility, as it can be adjusted such that one can eat breakfast in bed on it. Gray's sister had requested such accommodation during her visits to E-1027.

 

Barcelona chair

The Barcelona chair has come to represent the Bauhaus design movement. Many consider it to be functional art, rather than just furniture. Designed by Mies Van Der Rohe and Lilly Reich in 1929 for an international design fair in Barcelona, it is said to have been inspired by both the folding chairs of the Pharaohs, and the 'X' shaped footstools of the Romans, and dedicated to the Spanish royal family.

 

Noguchi coffee table

Isamu Noguchi 1904 - 1988 was a sculptor, architect, furniture and landscape designer. Half American, half Japanese, he is famous for his organic modern forms. The Noguchi Coffee Table - has become famous for its unique and unmistakable simplicity. Refined and at the same time natural, it is one of the most sought after pieces associated with the modern classic furniture movement.

 

Chronology

Chronologically the design movement that produced modern furniture design, began earlier than one might imagine. Many of its most recognizable personalities were born at the end of the 19th or the very beginning of the 20th centuries.

  • Marcel Breuer 1902–1981
  • Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 1886–1969
  • Eileen Gray 1878–1976
  • Le Corbusier 1887–1965 (born Charles Edouard Jeanneret)
  • Lilly Reich 1885–1947
  • Walter Gropius 1883–1969

They were teaching and studying in Germany and elsewhere in the 1920s and 30s. At among other places the Bauhaus school of art and architecture. The furniture that was produced during this era is today known as "Modern Classic Furniture" or "Mid Century Modern".

Both the Bauhaus School and the Werkbund, had as their specific creative emphasis the blending of technology, new materials and art.

Well-known designers of the mid-century modern era include: Alvar Aalto, Al Beadle, Harry Bertoia, Chris Choate, Thomas Scott Dean, Charles and Ray Eames, Craig Ellwood, Mendel Glickman, Max Gottschalk, Ralph Haver, Edith Heath, Arne Jacobsen, A. Quincy Jones, Finn Juhl, Louis Kahn, Poul Kjaerholm, Denys Lasdun, John Lautner, Cliff May, Paul McCobb, George Nelson, Richard Neutra, Isamu Noguchi, Warren Platner, Harvey Probber, Jens Risom, Paul Rudolph, Eero Saarinen, Rudolf Schindler, Avriel Shull, Richard Schultz, Alison and Peter Smithson, Raphael Soriano, Ole Wanscher, Hans Wegner, Donald Wexler, Russel Wright, and Eva Zeisel.