Mid-Century Modern Oval Dining Table or Desk by Florence Knoll in Carrara Marble
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Manufacturer),Florence Knoll (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 27.5 in (69.85 cm)Width: 78 in (198.12 cm)Depth: 47.75 in (121.29 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:1990-1999
- Date of Manufacture:1990s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1273234669762
Florence Knoll
Architect, furniture designer, interior designer, entrepreneur — Florence Knoll had a subtle but profound influence on the course of mid-century American modernism. Dedicated to functionality and organization, and never flamboyant, Knoll shaped the ethos of the postwar business world with her skillfully realized office plans and polished, efficient designs for sofas, credenzas, desks and other furnishings.
Knoll had perhaps the most thorough design education of any of her peers. Florence Schust was orphaned at age 12, and her guardian sent her to Kingswood, a girl’s boarding school that is part of the Cranbrook Educational Community in suburban Detroit. Her interest in design brought her to the attention of Eliel Saarinen, the Finnish architect and head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Saarinen and his wife took the talented child under their wing, and she became close to their son, the future architect Eero Saarinen. While a student at the academy, Florence befriended artist-designer Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames. Later, she studied under three of the Bauhaus masters who emigrated to the United States. She worked as an apprentice in the Boston architectural offices of Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe taught her at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
In 1941, she met Hans Knoll, whose eponymous furniture company was just getting off the ground. They married in 1946, and her design sense and his business skills soon made Knoll Inc. a leading firm in its field. Florence signed up the younger Saarinen as a designer, and would develop pieces by Bertoia, Mies and the artist Isamu Noguchi.
Florence Knoll's main work came as head of the Knoll Planning Group, designing custom office interiors for clients such as IBM and CBS. The furniture she created for these spaces reflects her Bauhaus training: the pieces are pure functional design, exactingly built; their only ornament from the materials, such as wood and marble. Her innovations — the oval conference table, for example, conceived as a way to ensure clear sightlines among all seated at a meeting — were always in the service of practicality.
Since her retirement in 1965, Knoll received the National Medal of Arts, among other awards; in 2004 the Philadelphia Museum of Art mounted the exhibition “Florence Knoll: Defining Modern” — well deserved accolades for a strong, successful design and business pioneer. As demonstrated on these pages, the simplicity of Knoll’s furniture is her work’s great virtue: they fit into any interior design scheme.
Find vintage Florence Knoll sofas, benches, armchairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
Knoll
As a company that produced many of the most famous and iconic furniture designs of the 20th century, Knoll was a chief influence in the rise of modern design in the United States. Led by Florence Knoll, the firm would draw stellar talents such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen into its compass. Their work would help change the face of the American home and office.
The company was formed in 1938 by the German immigrant Hans Knoll. He first worked with his fellow ex-pat, the Danish designer Jens Risom, who created furniture with flowing lines made of wood. While Risom served in World War II, in 1943 Knoll met his future wife, Florence Schust. She had studied and worked with eminent emigré leaders of the Bauhaus, including Mies, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. She won Knoll over with Bauhaus notions of industrial arts, and an aesthetic that featured flat and tubular metal frames and angular forms. When Hans died in a car crash in 1955, Florence Knoll was appointed head of the company. It was as much through her holistic approach to design — a core division of the firm was dedicated to planning office systems — as Knoll's mid-century modern furnishings themselves that she brought about the sleek and efficient transformation of the American workplace.
Today, classic Knoll furnishings remain staples of modern design collections and decor. A history of modern design is written in pieces such as the elegant Barcelona chair — created by Mies and Lilly Reich — Saarinen’s pedestal Tulip chair, Breuer’s tubular steel Wassily lounge chair and the grid-patterned Diamond chair by Harry Bertoia.
As you can see from the collection of these designs and other vintage Knoll dining chairs, sofas and tables on 1stDibs, this manufacturer's offerings have become timeless emblems of the progressive spirit and sleek sophistication of the best of modernism.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Caldwell, NJ
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Mid Century Modern Knoll Tulip Dining/Conference Table or Desk in White MarbleBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAA Saarinen for Knoll Tulip Table designed for the work space having a center hole to run computer and telephone wires. It features beautiful calacatta marbl...Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble, Aluminum
- Mid-Century Italian Post Modern Marble Dining Table or DeskLocated in Philadelphia, PAA striking marble dining table or desk from Italy circa 1990's. It features beautifully grained marble slab construction.Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsMarble
- Mid Century Italian Post Modern Dining Table or Desk in Grey Tone Granite MarbleLocated in Philadelphia, PAA simple form design dining table that would also make a fabulous desk. It features solid slab speckled granite construction. In very good ready to use condition.Category
1990s Italian Post-Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsGranite
- Mid Century Modern Florence Knoll Black Marble Console Table or Hall TableBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAA simple classic designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll. This piece features a stainless steel base with black marble slab top.Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsMarble, Stainless Steel
- Mid-Century Modern Florence Knoll Green Verde Marble Top Credenza or CabinetBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAA sleek modern classic cabinet designed by Florence Knoll and produced by Knoll. It features a dark mahogany case, stainless steel legs and a rare gree...Category
1990s American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsMarble, Stainless Steel
- Restored Rare Early Florence Knoll Model 17 Louvered Maple Desk Signed MadisonBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis rare desk was designed in the 1950s by Florence Knoll with a simplistic profile that has proven to be timeless! Of solid maple construction, it features tapered dowel legs and a...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsMaple
- Mid-Century Modern Florence Knoll, Model 2480 Oval Table Desk, 1960sBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Eindhoven, Noord BrabantThis particular Florence Knoll oval table desk is designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll in 1961. This rare edition with a silver lacquere...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Early Vintage Florence Knoll Dining Table or DeskBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Chicago, ILEarly vintage Florence Knoll dining table. Model 301 Literature: Knoll Furniture 1938-1960, Rouland and Rouland, pg 105 Comes with 1 (18") leaf. Measures: 60" wide without le...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsWood
- Florence Knoll Oval Dining Table with 3/4"Italian Carrara Marble TopBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Chicago, ILFlorence Knoll Oval Dining Table with 3/4" Italian Carrara Marble Top and signature knife edge. Legs are solid-steel plated. Knoll Label on undersideCategory
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- Florence Knoll Walnut & Chrome Oval Dining Table or Desk for Knoll Inc.By Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in Los Angeles, CAVersatile table designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International in the United States circa 1960s. This iconic design features a solid oval walnut wood top that sits over a chromed...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll Rosewood Dining Table or DeskBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Chicago, ILFlorence Knoll rosewood dining table or desk, highly figured rosewood veneer top with beveled edge detail. Solid steel brushed chr...Category
Vintage 1960s American Desks
MaterialsSteel
- Vintage Oak Dining Table or Desk by Florence KnollBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in North Hollywood, CAAmazing vintage oak dining table / desk designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll International in the United States, circa 1960s. The design of th...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsStainless Steel, Chrome
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
10 Trailblazing Female Designers
From pioneering visionaries to contemporary talents, get to know some of the most important women in design.
Remembering Design Visionary Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019)
A loving look back at the life and career of a doyenne of mid-century-modern style, who died last week at the age of 101.