G Plan ‘Brasilia’ Coffee Table by Victor B. Wilkins, England, 1964
Niemeyer’s Curves, British Cabinetmaking
A long, low coffee table from G Plan’s celebrated Brasilia range, designed by Victor B. Wilkins and made by E. Gomme Ltd in High Wycombe. The original gilt E. Gomme and G Plan stamp survives clearly to the underside.
The side apron is cut into a long, shallow arch that lifts away from the round tapered legs, so the top reads as carried rather than propped. It is a small piece of shaping, and it does most of the work. The top is a figured teak field framed within a solid afrormosia border, the darker African wood outlining the top and following its gently curved ends. The legs are afrormosia too, turned and tapered to a fine point. Sculptural without being showy, which is the whole ambition of Brasilia: Niemeyer’s curves brought under Scandinavian discipline and built to British standards.
At 137 cm it is long enough to anchor a seating arrangement, and at 49 cm deep it is slim enough not to crowd one. It works well in front of a long sofa in a narrower room, or as a low bench-height console beneath a window.
About the range
Brasilia was released in 1964 and set the Scandinavian language G Plan had established in its earlier 'Danish' range against the sweeping curves of Brazilian modernism and the architect Oscar Niemeyer. Wilkins's preceding ranges had begun to feel dated as the Scandinavian style took hold, and Brasilia was his answer. It remains among the most collected British designs of the decade.
Designer Profile — Victor B. Wilkins
Wilkins was G Plan’s in-house designer and its most consistent one, with a gift for reading where taste was heading and translating it for a conservative British market. His ‘Brandon’ range of 1953 was the company’s first, replacing dark stained furniture with light forms in blond oak. ‘Tola and Black’ followed in 1957, taking the edge off Italian modernism. When Scandinavian design took hold in the 1960s, he answered with the two ranges he is best remembered for: Brasilia in 1964, and ‘Fresco’ in 1967, which stayed in production for the better part of two decades. Brasilia set the Scandinavian language of G Plan’s earlier ‘Danish’ range against the sweeping curves of Brazilian modernism, and it remains among the most collected British designs of the decade. Little is recorded about Wilkins outside the work.
About the Maker — G Plan
G Plan was launched in 1953 by E. Gomme Ltd of High Wycombe, an established manufacturer reading the post-war mood correctly. Its innovation was as much commercial as aesthetic: coordinated ranges that could be bought a piece at a time, putting modern furniture within reach of ordinary households. Under Donald Gomme the company committed to clean lines and honest materials, and it backed them with brochures and showroom displays that taught a generation what a modern interior looked like. By the early 1960s it had brought in the Danish designer Ib Kofod-Larsen, whose teak and afrormosia range gave the brand a continental polish. G Plan fell out of fashion late in the century and has been thoroughly rediscovered since.
All Vintage Club pieces are carefully considered for authenticity, provenance and condition before acquisition. Restoration is undertaken in-house to the highest standard.
