The Bauhaus was a progressive German art and design school founded by the architect Walter Gropius that operated from 1919 to 1933. Authentic Bauhaus furniture — sofas, dining chairs, tables and more — and the school’s followers married industrial and natural materials in simple, geometric forms. The goal of the Bauhaus was to erase the distinction between art and craft while embracing the use of new technologies and materials.
ORIGINS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN
CHARACTERISTICS OF BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGN
BAUHAUS FURNITURE DESIGNERS YOU SHOULD KNOW
AUTHENTIC BAUHAUS FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS
The name Bauhaus is derived from the German verb bauen, “to build.” Under the school’s innovative curriculum, students were taught the fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, as well as practical skills like carpentry and metalworking.
The school moved from Weimar in 1925 to the city of Dessau, where it enjoyed its heyday under Gropius, then Hannes Meyer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The period from 1932 to 1933 when it operated in Berlin under Mies was its final chapter. Despite its brief existence, the Bauhaus has had an enduring impact on art and design in the United States and elsewhere, and is regarded by many as the 20th century’s chief crucible of modernism.
The faculty roster at the Bauhaus reads like a who’s who of modernist creative genius — it included such artists as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and László Moholy-Nagy along with architects and designers like Mies and Marcel Breuer, who became known for his muscular brutalist-style concrete buildings in the postwar years. In 1925, while he was head of the Bauhaus carpentry workshop, Breuer gave form to his signature innovation: the use of lightweight tubular-steel frames for chairs, side tables and sofas — a technique soon adopted by Mies and others. Breuer’s Cesca chair was the first-ever tubular steel frame chair with a caned seat to be mass produced, while the inspiration for his legendary Wassily chair, a timeless design and part of the collection crafted to furnish the Dessau school, was the bike he rode around campus.
Bauhaus design style reflects the tenets by which these creators worked: simplicity, clarity and function. They disdained superfluous ornament in favor of precise construction. Seating pieces such as side chairs, armchairs or club chairs for example, were made with tubular metal or molded plywood frames, and upholstery was made from leather or cane. Above all, designs in the Bauhaus style offer aesthetic flexibility. They can be the elements of a wholly spare, minimalist space, the quiet foundation of an environment in which color and pattern come from one’s own collection of art and artifacts.
Today, from textiles to typefaces, architecture, furniture and decorative objects for the home, Bauhaus creations continue to have an outsize influence on modern design.
Find a collection of authentic Bauhaus furniture on 1stDibs.
$410Sale Price|20% Off
Mid-Century Modern Silver-Plated Four-Light Candelabra, Denmark
By Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Carl Frederik Christiansen
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
Elegant mid-century modern silver-plated candelabra in the style of Carl F. Christiansen or Wilhelm Wagenfeld. This four-light candleholder features gracefully curved tubular arms th...
Silver Plate
$219Sale Price|20% Off
Modernist Triple Silver-Plated Candlestick by WMF, Germany, 1960s
By Carl Frederik Christiansen, Wilhelm Wagenfeld
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
This elegant modernist candlestick, crafted by WMF in Germany during the 1960s, features a striking geometric design with three conical candle holders arranged in a triangular format...
Silver Plate
A Brass Menorah By Ludwig Wolpert
Located in New York, NY
Brass Menorah by Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert is a reproduction of a minimalist branch menorah with a Bauhaus styling designed by Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert. Menorah is made up of nine long squ...
Brass
$447Sale Price|20% Off
Sculptural Brass & Copper Candleholder by Harald Buchrucker Bauhaus 1940s
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
Minimalistic designed candle holder for four candles made of solid brass with copper drip trays attributed to Harald Buchrucker dating to the 1940s.
Brass, Copper
$73Sale Price|20% Off
H 3.55 in W 10.63 in D 3.15 in
Silver-Plated Modernist Triple Candle Holder 1960s
Located in Debrecen, HU
This modernist triple candle holder was likely produced in the 1960s during the height of Mid-Century Modern design. The piece features a distinctive geometric base with an angular, ...
Silver Plate
Seven Candle Ceramic Menorah, 1970's
Located in Austin, TX
Seven candle handmade ceramic menorah or candelabra. Unglazed matte surface has a warm organic texture with natural earth tone coloring. Pedestal base...
Ceramic
Swedish Bauhaus Era Candleholder in Bronze by Oskar Olsson
Located in Esbjerg, DK
A heavy candlestick holder executed in solid bronze. For a regular sized candle. Signed/marked Oskar Olsson, 1935. Made in Sweden possibly by Skultuna. Measurements: H: 24 cm, Diam...
Bronze
Vintage Black Metal and Brass Candle Holder, Bauhaus Style, 1940s
Simplistic black metal and brass wall candle holder for two standard size candles. Slender black mount with brass cone shaped holders. Likely manufactured in the 1940s in the style o...
Metal, Brass
Large Pair Antique Edwardian Silver Plate Three-Light Candelabra
Located in Tarry Town, NY
Immerse yourself in the grandeur of the mid-19th century with our distinguished pair of Silver Plate Edwardian Period George III Style Three-Light Tableware Candelabra. This exceptio...
Silver Plate
$513
H 5.91 in W 6.7 in D 6.11 in
Modernist Sculptural Hagenauer Style Brutalist Copper Candleholder, Austria 1950
By Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien, Werkstätte Carl Auböck
Located in Kirchlengern, DE
Article: Brutalist candleholder Origin: Austria Material: Copper Decade: 1950s This original vintage candleholder, was designed and produced in the ...
Copper
Pair of Victorian Silver Plated Four Light Candelabra
Located in Montreal, QC
While unmarked, these seem to us to be in the style of Elkington. The prevailing motif is fruiting vine, the stem, arms and drip pans continue the theme, the three legged base is als...
Silver Plate
$929Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 11.82 in W 13.78 in D 5.91 in
Antique Candelabras Brutalist Menorah Jewish Judaica Golden Candle Holders Brass
Located in Wembley, GB
We are happy to offer you this brass-hammered menorah. With Hanukkah just a few weeks away, now is the time to treat yourself to a gorgeous new brass menorah. It has a hammered finish that is contemporary and yet classic. So light up your home and the festival with this beauty! Approximate Height 30 - 35 cm. We sell several of these candle holders through a year and because these items are unique individual handcrafted they would have a slight diffrences on each one. Rare Antique Solid Brass 7-Branch Menorah, Heavy Sweden Hanukkah Candelabrum, Jewish Candle...
Bronze, Brass, Metal, Sheet Metal
$711Sale Price / item|20% Off
H 13 in W 11.82 in D 5.91 in
Vintage Candelabras 9 Branch Menorah Jewish Judaica Golden Candle Holders Brass
Located in Wembley, GB
We are happy to offer you this brass-hammered menorah. With Hanukkah just a few weeks away, now is the time to treat yourself to a gorgeous new brass menorah. It has a hammered finish that is contemporary and yet classic. So light up your home and the festival with this beauty! Approximate Height 30 - 35cm. We sell several of these candle holders through a year and because these items are unique individual handcrafted they would have a slight diffrences on each one. Vintage Style Brass 9-Branch Menorah, Israel Hanukkah Candelabrum, Jewish Candle...
Metal, Sheet Metal, Bronze, Brass
$245 / item
H 3.55 in W 9.85 in D 1.19 in
Menorah G048 Abstract Candelabra Cast Brass Gold Coloured Made in Spain
Located in Benahavis, AN
The decorative Menorah was created by David Marshall, it is made of sand cast brass. Handmade, mounted and finished in our foundry and workshop in Spain from recycled materials. Ce...
Brass
Sterling Hammered Menorah
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Hand hammered and very modern in shape and design. Each arm is straight and looks like a pipe. It has an industrial, modern look that way ahead of its time. Young and cutting-edge bl...
Sterling Silver
$1,141 / set
H 9.45 in W 5.52 in D 5.52 in
Pair of vintage Orion candlesticks by Nagel & Stoffi for Bmf , Germany 1960s
By Bmf Nagel
Located in Delft, NL
Pair of vintage Orion candlesticks by Nagel & Stoffi for Bmf , Germany 1960s Dimensions: 24cm Height, 14cm Depth, 14cm Depth Conditon: Good Material: Metal
Metal
Pair of Silver Fairpoint Candlesticks, 1960s
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pair of 1960s silver plated fairpoint candlesticks. Elegant, beautiful addition to a modern home.
Silver Plate
$222
H 11.42 in Dm 12.6 in
English Silver Plated 5-Light Candelabra, Art Nouveau Style, Mid-20th Century
Located in Boven Leeuwen, NL
An elegant English five-light candelabra in silver plate, made in the flowing style of Art Nouveau. Four grooved arms curl out from the central stem and loop around each other in ope...
Silver Plate
$5,021 / set
H 5.52 in W 11.82 in D 2.37 in
20th Century Italian Sterling Silver Modern 3 Light Candelabras.
Located in VALENZA, IT
Pair of sterling silver candelabra with three lights. The structure has been realized by a smooth sheet of silver. The wave movement is realized with manufacturing by handmade. On the top three rounds candle-holders are placed to complete the object This modern style is suitable both for a house with minimalist furniture and in a baroque or empire style home, to lighten the visual impact and to stand out particularly from the dominant style. Italian silverware...
Sterling Silver
Sold
H 12.21 in W 11.42 in D 4.73 in
Mid-Century Bauhaus Rationaliust Deco Brass Candelabra, Italy 1930s
Located in Palermo, IT
Refined Bauhouse pair of turned solid brass candelabra with two curved lateral arms and a central one. Italian production from the 30s. Wear consistent with age and use.
Brass
Pair of Hagenauer Silver Plate Candelabra
Located in Astoria, NY
A pair of Austrian silver plate, dual-light candelabra, produced circa 1930s by Hagenauer Werkstätte, with curved stems in the style of Bauhaus. Markings include maker's stamp beneat...
Silver Plate