Joaquim Tenreiro (Portuguese, 1906-92) was born to a Portuguese family of wood workers and emigrated to Brazil in 1928. He worked as a furniture maker and designer, eventually setting up his own workshop in 1943 called Langenbach & Tenreiro Ltda. Tenreiro’s lifelong desire to create a new Brazilian furniture based on indigenous materials and forms, together with his significant influence on other leading mid-20th century Brazilian furniture designers and artists, have led to him being considered the father of modern Brazilian furniture design.

The materials and techniques used in this rocking chaise longue convey the main characteristics of Tenreiro’s work. Firstly, the use of rosewood (also known in Brazil as jacaranda, from the tree of that name), a strong, native Brazilian wood, gives the piece the indigenous qualities that Tenreiro strived for in his designs. Secondly, plaited cane work is a feature used in many of Tenreiro’s furniture pieces. He used cane both because of its long history in colonial furniture-making, and also because of cane’s suitability for the Brazilian climate. Plaited caning had been a dying craft in Brazil when Tenreiro started using it in his designs.