Dining Chairs in Rosewood & Leather, Sergio Rodrigues for Bloch - Lot 291-883

Designed by Sergio Rodrigues and Joaquim Tenreiro for Bloch Editors, São Paulo, c. 1950s. Commissioned for the broadcaster’s headquarters, this suite exemplifies the utilitarian refinement of Brazilian modernism — a restrained, almost brutalist vocabulary rendered in the warmth of jacaranda (Brazilian rosewood). The composition is emphatically architectural: solid, rectilinear uprights support broad, upright back panels, while the seat is a sober, planar plane of leather. The result is a disciplined silhouette that privileges structure and proportion over ornament.
Form and construction are forthright. The rosewood frames read as an economy of means — honest, load-bearing members resolved into a compact, institutional profile. Legs are straight and squared with crisply pared edges; the backrests present a clean rectangular plane that reads as both support and visual datum. Joinery is executed with restraint, the hardware kept discreet so that grain and geometry remain primary.
Materials and finish reinforce the piece’s intent. Crafted in solid rosewood, the frames have been professionally refinished to reveal the species’ rich grain and tonal depth; the light-brown leather upholstery has been renewed in a sympathetic hue that preserves the original conception of color and tactility. Many examples retain the original Bloch heritage plaques mounted to the backrests, a physical marker of provenance that underscores the set’s institutional origin.
Three chairs are available and are offered individually at $3,000 each. This group is positioned for collectors and interiors that prize institutional provenance, material integrity, and the sober authority of mid-century Brazilian design.