Eero Saarinen Knoll Tulip Table Set
View Similar Items
Eero Saarinen Knoll Tulip Table Set
About the Item
- Creator:Eero Saarinen (Designer)
- Design:Saarinen Pedestal TableSaarinen Pedestal Series
- Dimensions:Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Diameter: 42 in (106.68 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 5
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2000
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Fall River, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6979239640922
Pedestal Table
Finnish-American architect and furniture maker Eero Saarinen (1910–61) declared that he “wanted to clear up the slum of legs” crowded beneath tables. Enter his Pedestal collection, which Knoll launched in 1958. The collection included armchairs, stools and tables of various sizes all balanced on a single supporting leg.
Saarinen got his start in furniture as a student at Michigan’s Cranbrook Academy of Art, where his father, architect Eliel Saarinen, was director. Some of Eero’s earliest work was designing furniture for Kingswood, a Cranbrook school for girls that opened in 1931. The pieces included a table with four gathered legs in order to make room for both people and chairs’ legs.
At Cranbrook Academy, Saarinen met Florence Knoll, who would become a lifelong friend and professional partner, especially when she was leading the Knoll furniture company. He also met fellow designer Charles Eames, and — with support from Ray Eames — they created the molded plywood Organic chair, which placed first in the 1940 Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. As with Saarinen’s future practice, the Organic chair was emblematic of a design approach that was informed by a consideration of the human body as well as the possibilities of new machine processes.
Although America’s involvement in World War II disrupted plans to manufacture the Organic chair, Saarinen continued to explore organic shapes in industrial design. His interest in using seamless plastic forms was clear with his Pedestal series, but the technology was not advanced enough for their stability. Instead, the Pedestal table and its accompanying Tulip armchairs and armless chairs comprised cast-aluminum bases. Each table, stool and chair was crafted with a single, tapered cylindrical leg that descends to a base that flares into a circle, giving the illusion of being one piece. Like his Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the series’ pieces appear to float, and although austere in silhouette, they reflect intense attention to engineering.
The Pedestal table was released with several additional options, including marble and wood veneer for its round and oval tops for dining, side and coffee tables. Because of their modest footprint on a room and streamlined design, these tables can harmonize with nearly any interior style. The design’s status as a mid-century modern classic has inspired numerous imitators, but Saarinen’s original Pedestal table — still manufactured by Knoll — maintains the grace and quality that distinguishes it from the rest.
Eero Saarinen
Through his work as an architect and designer, Eero Saarinen was a prime mover in the introduction of modernism into the American mainstream. Particularly affecting were the organic, curvilinear forms seen in Saarinen’s furniture and his best-known structures: the gull-winged TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy airport in New York (opened 1962), Dulles International Airport in Virginia (1962) and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri (1965).
Saarinen had a peerless modernist pedigree. His father, Eliel Saarinen, was an eminent Finnish architect who in 1932 became the first head of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Detroit. The school became synonymous with progressive design and decorative arts in the United States, and while studying there the younger Saarinen met and befriended several luminaries of mid-century modernism, among them Harry Bertoia and Charles and Ray Eames.
At Cranbrook, Saarinen also met Florence Schust Knoll, who, as director of her husband Hans Knoll's eponymous furniture company, would put Saarinen’s best designs into production. These include the Grasshopper chair, designed in 1946 and so named because its angled bentwood frame resembles the insect; the Tulip chair (1957), a flower-shaped fiberglass shell mounted on a cast-aluminum pedestal; and the lushly contoured Womb lounge chair and ottoman (1948). In his furniture as in his architecture, the keynotes of Eero Saarinen’s designs are simplicity, strength and grace.
Find vintage Eero Saarinen tables, chairs and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Art Glass Murano Chess Set and Inlaid Wood BoardLocated in Fall River, MAStunning Murano glass chess set featuring juicy handblown pieces. No chips or cracks, purchased from a collector who bought in Italy ca. 1990. Wood ...Category
1990s Games
MaterialsMurano Glass, Wood
$2,200 Sale Price20% Off - Curvy Wrought Iron Side TableLocated in Fall River, MAWrought iron metal table with glass top. Measures 35" tall and 27" wide.Category
Late 20th Century American Side Tables
MaterialsWrought Iron
- Tesselated Stone Waterfall Coffee TableLocated in Fall River, MABeautiful tessellated travertine stone coffee table in a modern waterfall shape. Some wear on the surface as well as underneath as pictured, overall great condition for it's age.Category
Late 20th Century North American Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTravertine
- Vintage French Glass Mushroom LampLocated in Fall River, MAUnique little glass mushroom lamp ca. 1970 France. Features a frosted sun motif on its top and measures 7" tall and 7" across. Still wired for EU but adapter is included for US outlets.Category
Vintage 1970s French Table Lamps
MaterialsGlass
- Murano Glass Vase by Vittorio ZecchinBy Vittorio ZecchinLocated in Fall River, MADelicate clear Murano glass vase by Vittorio Zecchin ca. 1930. Pristine condition, no chips or cracks. Price is for the one vase, partner vase available via separate listing.Category
Vintage 1930s Italian Vases
MaterialsGlass, Blown Glass
- Antique French Scrolled Iron SconcesLocated in Fall River, MAAntique French delicate scrolled iron candle sconces ca. 1920.Category
Vintage 1920s French Candle Sconces
MaterialsIron
- Eero Saarinen for Knoll Tulip Dining Table & ChairsBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in London, GBA stylish and iconic design, this tulip dining table and four matching swivel dining chairs were designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in the 1950’s. This example is from the 50th a...Category
Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsMetal
- Vintage "Tulip" Dining Room Set by Eero Saarinen for KnollBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in North Hollywood, CAThe tulip dining set designed by Eero Saarinen for Knoll in the 1960s is a true masterpiece of mid-century modern design. The set includes a stunning tulip dining table and four matc...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsAluminum
- Knoll Tulip Dining Set by Eero Saarinen 1960s Large Marble Table ArmchairsBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Ijzendijke, NLMagnificent fully original tulip dining set designed by Eero Saarinen and produced by Knoll International in the 1960s. The set consists of 6 original marked tulip armchairs and the ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Aluminum
- Eero Saarinen Tulip Oval Carrara Arabescato Marble Tulip Table for Knoll, 1967By Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Vicenza, ITTulip oval dining table designed by Eero Saarinen in 1957 and manufactured by Knoll in 1967. Composed of a white lacquered pedestal and a tabletop made of ...Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Space Age Dining Room Tables
MaterialsCarrara Marble
- 1970s Rosewood Tulip Dining Table & Six Chairs Set By Eero Saarinen for KnollBy Eero SaarinenLocated in Shepperton, SurreyAn original 1970 vintage tulip dining set by Eero Saarinen for Knoll. Saarinen's tulip design combines grace with practicality. The rare Rio...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Sets
MaterialsMetal
- Eero Saarinen for Knoll Tulip TableBy Eero SaarinenLocated in Dallas, TXThe iconic tulip table by Eero Saarinen for Knoll. White laminate top.Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Ta...
MaterialsMetal