José Zanine Caldas - Square sculptured socle

The Frank Wlasek collection, created by José Zanine Caldas in the late 1960s, contains the largest amount of custom-made furniture and sculptures by the architect-designer ever to be seen, and which has been kept together to this day. More than 30 pieces make up this collection, ranging from monumental dining tables made out of entire tree trunks or roots of tropical salvaged hardwood, large series of Caldas' well-known trunk chairs and several masterpieces of sculpture, large works that are spherical and elongated to be hung from the ceiling.

In the late 1960s, collector and shipping magnate Frank Wlasek settled in Joatinga near Rio de Janeiro, after buying the home José Zanine Caldas had originally created for his daughter. Upon acquiring it, Wlasek commissioned Zanine Caldas to expand the house, turning it into the most prestigious residence by his hand.