Monday, February 20, 2012

Fellow Blogger "The Nomads" Over At She Finds Retro Contacted Me About A Strange "Brasilia" Table. Status: Mystery....Solved?


So since I put out the e-mail address to hit me with any crazy furniture ID inquiries you might have I've gotten quite a few!  I'm not always going to be able to figure things out but if I have the time, believe me, I'm gonna give it a solid shot.  She Finds Retro blogger challenged me (not through e-mail but via the comments on a posting a few days ago) to find out more about this table that she is convinced is a Broyhill Brasilia piece.  Well, I got news for ya....

She's Right!  At first I wasn't convinced.  I've seen other manufacturers copy details from

more popular companies (but change the details up just enough to not get a lawsuit dropped

on them) to be suspicious of a dining table like this that I've never seen before.  Especially

Broyhill Brasilia since I've bought and sold a lot of it and looked at lots of it on the web.



So like any good skeptic, I got my Sherlock hat on and got to searchin' 'round the web to

prove myself wrong.  When it comes to something as cool as this, I'd love to have my

skepticism dissuaded!  I got to looking through Google Images and after going through a

number of different search terms I FINALLY stumbled upon a very small thumbnail photo

that had been used on eBay but is no longer there.  It shows a table just like this surrounded

by a set of Broyhill Brasilia chairs that are equally bizarre and rare.




The chairs are similar to the standard Broyhill Brasilia chairs but instead of three spires running

down the back they have two and between them there is caning...yes CANING!  I've seen

these chairs on eBay before and they have much thicker seat padding as well as piping around

the upper edge of the seat.  The set I saw had the original upholstery material (gold, checks,

birds) so I feel very confident that they were in fact Broyhill Brasilia.


She Finds Retro blogger is wondering why she can't find any other pics of the set on the web

and is at a loss as to how to price the set.  Based on the chairs that I've seen, I'm going to

guess at this point that this is a Later Brasilia set and that is why it isn't shown on the PDF

document of the Broyhill Brasilia catalog that is floating around the web.  I think this is from

the Brasilia II (2) line.  I normally don't care for the Brasilia II line but this is obviously pretty

special since it appears to be pretty rare.  She says in her blog post that she has the matching

credenza but hasn't pictured it yet.  I personally can't wait to see it!  What do you think about

pricing the table?

(all photos by She Finds Retro and used by permission)

14 comments:

  1. Never seen that one before. Brasilia II seems a bit more "chunky" than the original. Regardless, it's still a pretty cool table.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nick. Yeah, that "chunkiness" threw me off at first giving me doubts as to it being Broyhill Brasilia. The odd thing is that the circular table (that has legs like this one but with fewer "spires") is kinda chunkier still if you think about the "skirt" and then the leg "thickness" is probably the same.

      Delete
  2. Beautiful table! We picked up a bedroom set of Brasilia over the weekend at an auction along with a couple of other random Brasilia pieces. One was a hexagon shaped end table/storage cabinet that is not on the original Brasilia catalog you referenced and I can't find an example of it anywhere on-line and it's marked Broyhill on the bottom. Didn't know there was a Brasilia II line but that would explain it as it does seem "chunky" as well. Not our favorite pice but still attractive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi BrendaG510. I have seen that storage end table before on the Chicago craigslist. It's kinda neat. I'd be happy to have one. These oddball pieces are going to be the most valuable some day. Hang on to them, I say!

      Delete
  3. Thanks for all your research. This does have a heavier look than the original set but still very nice lines! I'd probably have a hard time marketing without chairs for more than about $250 - $300 and be lucky to get that. If you could match up some nice chairs you could ask considerably more. Just my opinion...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi A Mod. I'm no expert on this stuff but love to help out where I can. I'm with you on the pricing, but from the perspective of a private seller. Normally I would price a table or single chair between $95 and $125 each but this one is kinda special.

      Delete
  4. Wow! Thanks for the input everyone! I am so amazed that everyone likes the other Brasilia tables and chairs better. They are so rickety!! LOL! This one is like an anchor. I love that about it! I always felt so guilty for selling the other tables for so much money when they feel like they're going to fall apart. :) I am on the hunt for some chairs to pair with it but nothing has really caught my eye. Thanks for the thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I suppose that the value depends on location as well. I can sell basically any old mid century dining table for $150 without chairs, so I'm expecting to sell this for substantially more. We shall see!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nomads. I think maybe everybody likes the "other Brasilia tables and chairs" (hold on now...we havne't gotten into the Brasilia II chairs!) because those are what we've always seen and are familiar with. Plus, most of the stuff we are all enamored with around here has a certain "delicate" quality to it. You got to admit, it's hard to call the Brasilia II line "delicate"! I have no doubt that if you are willing to wait for the right buyer to come along you will get substantially more for it!

      Delete
  6. I just thought I'd follow up to let you all know that I live in the Denver Metro area and Mid Century is very hot here so I sold the table for $900 with multiple parties interested. So if you ever find a table like that it's a sure deal!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nomads. Nice! Here's a link to some pictures of the Broyhill Brasilia (II I think) chairs that might have gone with that table. Ever seen this style before? I'm smitten by them. I personally would go with thinner pads though (more like the original Brasilia chairs).

      Delete
    2. Oh I am totally crushing on those chairs compared to the usual one's but I agree, I don't like tall cushions on Brasilia!

      Delete
  7. Thanks for this great resource and the photos of this beautiful Brasilia II dining table. I just picked up one up at my local Goodwill for $39.99. It doesn't have any leaves and the finish needs some touching up, but it's solid with no significant damage. Without the leaves, it's small enough to serve as a card/game table in my mid century loft. Now, I just need to find some chairs to go with it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi. Does anyone know if the cushion fabric on the cane back chairs from the Brasilia II line was the same as the initial Brasilia line (yellow with birds)?

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete