Warren Platner - Rare Copper Tables
About the Item
- Creator:Warren Platner (Designer)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1962
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:
Warren Platner
Though his vintage furniture and interiors are icons of mid-century modernism, architect and furniture designer Warren Platner took his stylistic inspiration from as far back as 18th-century France, once saying about his seminal collection for Knoll that his design intent was to evoke “the kind of decorative, gentle, graceful kind of design that appeared in period style like Louis XV.”
Indeed, the marriage of modern sensibility and classical grace is a marker of Platner’s style across furnishings and interiors — both genres in which he left an enduring legacy.
Born in 1919 in Baltimore, Maryland, Platner studied architecture at Cornell before cutting his teeth working for design icons like Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche, eventually serving as head of interior design in the latter’s office. In 1965, Platner opened his own office, in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he continued to hone his particular brand of graceful modernism.
Knoll released the Platner Collection of seating and tables in 1966. (Originally designed in 1962, the suite took nearly four years of development to bring to life.) The decorative bent-metal-and-glass pieces — an armchair, a dining table and more — make certain nods to the trademarks of his former employers, but also to the shapes of historic European furniture. The sculptural elegance of his line recalls Saarinen’s iconic Tulip collection, which includes armchairs and dining tables, while his materiality aligns with Roche’s cutting-edge use of glass and metal for the headquarters of the Ford Foundation in New York.
Many of Platner’s Knoll pieces would go on to find homes in a certain fabled locale: the Windows on the World restaurant at the original World Trade Center, whose interiors Platner was tapped to outfit in the mid-1970s. Upon the opening of the restaurant in 1976, New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger dubbed its style “sensuous modernism” — an apt tagline for Platner’s oeuvre as a whole.
Platner died in 2006 at the age of 86. His furniture is still produced by Knoll, and original examples — along with idiosyncratic custom works he created for interior design clients — are coveted by collectors today.
Find vintage Warren Platner furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: San Francisco, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Tapio Wirkkala, Rare Leaf Inlay Coffee TableBy Tapio WirkkalaLocated in San Francisco, CAA rare coffee table designed by Tapio Wirkkala for Asko with three leaf pattern inlays of laminated padouk, birch, hazelwood and maple. Denmark, circa 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Tables
MaterialsBirch, Oak
- Rare Pair of Oak Stools for Les Arcs by Charlotte PerriandBy Charlotte PerriandLocated in San Francisco, CAA very rare pair of medium height oak stools with beautiful patina made for Les Arcs Ski Resort in Savoie France.Category
Vintage 1960s French Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsPine
- Raphael Décorateur Coffee TableBy Raphael FurnitureLocated in San Francisco, CAA coffee table by Raphael with X-base stretchers, France, circa 1956, made of gilded brass, birch, Lit.: G. Bloch-Chamfort, Raphael Décorateur, Pari...Category
Vintage 1950s French Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBrass
- Isamu Kenmochi Coffee TableBy Isamu Kenmochi, Tendo MokkoLocated in San Francisco, CAA rosewood coffee table by Isamu Kenmochi. This piece is longer and lower than standard models. Manufactured by Tendo Mokko. Literature: Japanese Modern, Mori, pg. 143.Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- Jindrich Halabala “Spider” Side TableBy Jindrich HalabalaLocated in San Francisco, CAA square side table with a walnut top and curved legs in beech. Model H259, designed by Jindrich Halabala, in 1930. Made by Spojene UP Zavody, Hodonin, Czechoslovakia. Retains the...Category
Vintage 1930s Czech Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsBeech, Walnut
- Giuseppe Scapinelli "Maracana" Coffee TableBy Giuseppe ScapinelliLocated in San Francisco, CAA circular "maracana" coffee table by Giuseppe Scapinelli in Brazilian jacaranda wood with an inset glass top. Brazil, circa 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Brazilian Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsJacaranda
- Warren Platner Coffee TableBy Warren PlatnerLocated in Chicago, ILCustom coffee table, architectural commissioned interior by Platner Studio, manufactured by Lehigh Leopold. Honed Luna Pearl granite top with bronze base.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGranite, Bronze
- Warren Platner Cocktail TableBy Warren PlatnerLocated in Chicago, ILCustom Platner coffee table, architectural commission by Platner Office manufactured by Lehigh Leopold. Honed Luna pearl granite top with bronze base.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsGranite, Bronze
- Platner Side Table by Knoll in Rare CopperBy Warren Platner, KnollLocated in Highland, INWith his "Platner Collection" for Knoll in 1966, Warren Platner introduced a richness and luxury to post-war American modernism that had not existed previously. The matching group included side chairs, lounge chairs, a settee and tables. They were offered in polished chrome, rich bronze, and for a single year in 1969, in copper. The smallest of the collection of tables Warren Platner designed for Knoll in 1966, this side table nonetheless has great visual presence. The wire rods of the base capture space, create shifting moire' patterns, and support the top. This rare copper...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern End Tables
MaterialsCopper
- Warren Platner Side Tables for KnollBy Knoll, Warren PlatnerLocated in Houston, TXWarren platner pair of side or occasional tables Knoll International USA, 1960s Oak, bronzed steel Measures: 18.5 height × 24 diameter inches.Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Pair of Warren Platner Side TablesBy Knoll, Warren PlatnerLocated in Chicago, ILPair of Warren Platner Side Tables, welded curved nickel plated steel rods to circular frames, simultaneously serving as structure and ornament with inset oak tops.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsNickel
- Warren Platner Marble and Brass Coffee TableBy Warren PlatnerLocated in Chicago, ILPlatner custom coffee table marble top with scalloped corners, brass base, swivels as shown. Provenance: Friedman residence , Greenwich, CT. 1989.Category
Vintage 1980s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMarble, Brass