Mid-Century Modern Furniture & Design: A Journey Through Design History

4 Sep 2025

Spanning the elegance of Art Deco, the rigour of Bauhaus, and the warmth of Scandinavian minimalism, Mid-Century Modern Furniture & Design celebrates the timeless innovation of 20th-century design. Presented as a timed online auction from 4 September to 1 October 2025, this sale brings together over a hundred lots—furniture, lighting, silverware, ceramics, rugs, and glass—each echoing the creative shifts that defined the modern era.

The sale pays tribute to South Africa’s mid-century design movement with standout works by Frystark, Hermann Kallenbach, and EE Meyer. A Burmese teak Status sideboard by Frystark (estimate R20,000–R22,000) speaks to the local reinterpretation of Danish aesthetics—an influence further reflected in furniture by Scandinavian icons like Kai Kristiansen, Ole Gjerlov-Knudsen, and Arne Jacobsen. Kristiansen’s extending teak dining table (estimate R45,000–R55,000) exemplifies the functionality and elegance that defined Danish modernism.

Historical designs by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand—such as the iconic LC4 chaise longue and LC1armchairs—embody the Bauhaus pursuit of harmony between form, craft, and industry. This modernist spirit is offset by the eclectic glamour of postwar Hollywood Regency, with pieces like a lucite console table and hand-tiedglass floor lamps in the style of Pia Manu.

Lighting in the sale offers sculptural innovation, from Carlo Forcolini’s theatrical Polifemo lamp for Artemide (estimate R8,500–R9,500) to the refined simplicity of Mauro Martini and Benny Frandsen’s playful Jaws lamp design. Silverware by Georg Jensen, including a Johan Rhode tea set (estimate R200,000–R250,000), showcases Danish artistry at its most refined.

Murano glass art features prominently, with works by Flavio Poli, Dino Martens, and Gianluca Vidal demonstrating masterful techniques like sommerso and bullicante. South African glass artist David Reade is represented with his signature hand-blown forms, rich in colour and clarity.

Ceramics span continents and styles—from whimsical vases by Bjørn Wiinblad’s and Bodil Manz to South Africa’s Kalahari Studio, where indigenous motifs meet modernist ideals. Rugs from Gonsenhauser’s Fine Rugs provide tactile grounding, with natural fibres and geometric patterns complementing various design styles.

Curated in collaboration with Simone Hirsch of Simone Katherine Interiors, the auction preview in Cape Town is presented alongside Strauss & Co’s Evening Sale: Modern and Contemporary Art, creating a unified visual conversation between art and design.

This auction invites collectors to explore a rich narrative of modern design—where artistry, innovation, and heritage converge in objects that remain as relevant today as when they were first conceived.

Strauss & Co’s Timed Online Auction Mid-Century Modern Furniture & Design runs from 4 September – 1 October 2025.

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