Florence Knoll Round Parallel Bar Coffee Table in Solid Walnut and Steel
About the Item
- Creator:Florence Knoll (Designer),Knoll (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)Diameter: 42 in (106.68 cm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1951
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Fully Restored.
- Seller Location:Dallas, TX
- Reference Number:
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: Dallas, TX
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Architectural Florence Knoll T-Angle Table BenchBy Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXEarly Florence Knoll 'T-Angle' table bench with original black laminate tops. Would serve well and an oversized coffee table or cocktail table but it is built in a way that would eas...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- 1960s Eero Saarinen Oval Walnut Coffee Table for KnollBy Eero Saarinen, KnollLocated in Dallas, TXEarly 1960s Saarinen coffee table manufactured by Knoll. Beautiful walnut top with satin lacquered base in antique white.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsIron
- Four Drawer Chest by Florence Knoll for Knoll InternationalBy Knoll & Drake, Florence KnollLocated in Dallas, TXPair of four drawer chests designed by Florence Knoll, 1948 for Knoll International.Category
Mid-20th Century North American Commodes and Chests of Drawers
MaterialsMaple
- Cast and Welded Sculptural Bronze Round 'Swirl' Coffee Table by Daniel GluckBy Daniel GluckLocated in Dallas, TXEarly and dare Daniel Gluck table from his 'swirl' series. Sculpted solid cast bronze base with circular glass top. There were many imitations of this piece created over the years bu...Category
Vintage 1960s American Brutalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze
- Gio Ponti Coffee Table for Singer & Sons in Italian Walnut with Labradorite TopBy M. Singer & Sons, Gio PontiLocated in Dallas, TXIconic coffee table designed by Gio Ponti for Singer & Sons in Italian walnut with exotic Labradorite top.Category
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsStone
- Harvey Probber Side Table in Teak and Polished Stainless Steel, 1960sBy Harvey ProbberLocated in Dallas, TXMinimalist Harvey Probber teak end table with inset solid bar mirror polished stainless steel legs. Well constructed and very substantial.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsStainless Steel
- Parallel Bar Walnut Coffee Table by Florence Knoll for KnollBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Palm Springs, CAFlorence Knoll designed this circular coffee table for Knoll, part of the Parallel Bar Series, produced from 1955-1968, model 404. It has a walnut top supported by four stainless ste...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll Circular Parallel Bar Cocktail / Coffee TableBy Florence Knoll, KnollLocated in New York, NYAmerican Mid-Century 'Parallel Bar' cocktail / coffee table with a circular walnut top supported by three satin chrome-plated steel legs. (Florence Knoll).Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal, Steel, Chrome
- Parallel Bar Coffee Table by Florence Knoll for Knoll AssociatesBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Chicago, ILc. 1950s. Original walnut top with metal parallel bar legs. Extremely rare. Tagged.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- 1951 Florence Knoll Associates 42 inch Parallel Bar Series Coffee Table WalnutBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Philadelphia, PAListed for sale is a very rare Parallel Bar Series coffee table produced by Knoll Associates and designed by Florence Knoll. This table was specified with a solid walnut top (a very ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- 1950s Florence Knoll Coffee Table in Walnut and Chrome SteelBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Madrid, ESCenter or coffee table designed by Florence Knoll for Knoll international in Walnut wood and Chrome Steel. Excellent vintage condition with slight signs of use, United States, 1950’s...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Center Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Florence Knoll T-Bar Coffee TableBy Knoll, Florence KnollLocated in Kalamazoo, MIThis Florence Knoll T-Bar Coffee Table was designed for Knoll International in the 1960s. Its base is crafted from steel, and it boasts a Formica top that is in good shape for its ag...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
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.