Knoll Side Table
About the Item
- Creator:Knoll (Maker),Eero Saarinen (Designer)
- Design:Saarinen Pedestal TableSaarinen Pedestal Series
- Dimensions:Height: 20.25 in (51.44 cm)Width: 22.5 in (57.15 cm)Depth: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Walnut,Stained
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Refinished. Wear consistent with age and use. This table has been refinished.
- Seller Location:New Haven, CT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1329226771482
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New Haven, CT
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Glass Top Side TableBy Paul MayenLocated in New Haven, CTThis steel base serving table could also be used as a bar or dining table. It is attributed to Paul Mayen. It is professionally painted in metallic blue and white.Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Art Deco Side TableLocated in New Haven, CTThis beautiful kingwood side table has a hand-painted floral wreath and is protected under a glass and is framed in brass.Category
Vintage 1910s Austrian Art Deco Side Tables
MaterialsKingwood
- Pair of Side TablesLocated in New Haven, CTThis beautiful Pair of Asian inspired solid bronze frame faux bamboo side tables is powder coated in a deep red color. The finish is baked on at 400 degrees which makes the color chi...Category
Vintage 1960s American Modern End Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Pair of Paul McCobb Bed Side TablesBy Paul McCobbLocated in New Haven, CTA pair of Paul McCobb side tables/bedside tables with labels. This Mid Century Modern Design by McCobb for the “Erwin Collection” is a true classic. The minimalistic and elegant line...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood, Mahogany
- A Herts Brothers Side Table with OrmoluBy The Herts BrothersLocated in New Haven, CTA fine example of Herts Brother's high quality craftsmanship. This round side table is raised on three hairy paw ormolu feet which has a heavily ormolu encrusted platform out of whic...Category
Antique 1870s American Neoclassical Side Tables
MaterialsOrmolu
- A Pair of Louis XVI Marble Top Side TablesLocated in New Haven, CTAn elegant Pair of Louis XVI style Tulip-Wood, Olive- and Kingwood Veneered Side Tables. The light earthtone Marble Top‘s are in excellent condition and are framed with a solid brass...Category
20th Century French Louis XIV Side Tables
MaterialsKingwood
- Eero Saarinen for Knoll Walnut Tulip Side TableBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Brooklyn, NYStunning walnut side table. 20 in diameter circular wood top finished in walnut. Like new original surface. Retains original early Knoll bow tie label on underside. Cast iron base is...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Saarinen Tulip Side Table by Knoll Studio, 1956By Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in New York, NYAuthentic Eero Saarinen's signature white pedestal Tulip Table by Knoll Studio, with laminate top and cast-aluminum base, 1956. Signature plate on the underside. **List Price: $1,400...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Eero Saarinen Marble Side Table for Knoll, 1960By Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Vienna, ATOriginal side table with a marble top by Saarinen for Knoll International, mid century Early version, marked Knoll International Elegant side table designed by the architect E...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsMarble, Aluminum
- Vintage Knoll Walnut Tulip Side Table by Eero SaarinenBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Brooklyn, NYVintage tulip side table with walnut top by Eero Saarinen for Knolll. Retains full earliest iteration bowtie label. In near perfect condition.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Side Table by Eero Saarinen for Knoll International, 1960sBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Lasne, BESide table stamped Knoll International. Wear due to time and age of the table (see photo).Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsAluminum
- Side Table by Eero Saarinen for Knoll International, 1960sBy Knoll, Eero SaarinenLocated in Lasne, BESide table with marble top and aluminum base designed by Eero Saarinen and produced by Knoll International in the 1960s. Wear due to time and age of the table.Category
Vintage 1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsMarble, Aluminum