furniture, art & design
Sori Yanagi (Jap.1915-2011)
Rosewood veneer/plywood with brass fittings
Classic ‘Butterfly’ stool. Manufactured by Tendo Mokko. 1980s.
It has the Tendo Mokko label (Tendo) to the underside and the measurements conform to the slightly smaller Japanese scale. Good condition with minor edge wear only.
Price: 1.800 euro
Gino Sarfatti (Italy 1912-85)
Iconic Gino Sarfatti Model 213 wall lamp designed for Arteluce in 1956. Aluminium shade.
A rare classic Italian modernist lamp in all original, vintage used condition.
Price: 6.800 euro
Heinz Witthoeft (Germany 1935-2021)
Pair of ‘Tail 4’ lounge chairs. 1959. Witthoeft Stuttgart 1960s.
Pine frames with slung leather/hide. 64.5 x 64.5 x 54cm high.
Radical modernist lounge chairs that are almost never to be found as a pair – the ‘Tail 4’ design has an architectural cube frame that each houses a low slung thick leather seat. The combination of a rigid external frame and flexible seat define and enhance the seating experience. (These chairs almost cross over into the realm of sculpture – and as sculptures they pre-date and anticipate some of the later minimalist art of Sol le Wit, Donald Judd or other minimalist artists of the 60s-70s).
Trained at the prestigious Ulm School of Design, Witthoeft embodies the functionalist and minimalist spirit characteristic of German modernism from that era. His varied output as a designer included furniture systems, drawings, photographs, and graphic designs all contributed to his utopian urban vision in Post-war Germany and are embodied in the design of these chairs.
Completely original condition with a distinctive warm patina commensurate with their age.
Price: 9.500 euro (pair)
Alvar Aalto (Finland 1898-1976)
Model 70 two-tier side table. Birch and birch faced plywood.
O.Y. Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas A. B., Turku, Finland.
A classic 1930s-40s early Aalto production circular table. This table is in superb condition, with restored table top and a wonderful honey glazed colour.
Price: 3.200 euro
Alvar Aalto (Finland 1898-1976)
Manufactured by the firm O.Y. Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas A. B., Turku, Finland. 1930s.
A rare model 21 cantilever chair with a karelian birch moulded plywood seat. Designed in 1933, this is a 1930s chair.
This design by Aalto actualises many of his modern ideals: the object is composed of three shaped components that are free of any ornamentation, and has an easily legible logic to its construction – The design represents Aalto at the height of his creative powers.
The structure of the chair is strong and robust. The surface is a later varnish that has been well aged and used so that it now has a natural age and use related honey-tone patina commensurate with its age. (more detailed photos are available on request)
Price: 8.000 euro
Preben Fabricius & Jørgen Kastholm (Denmark c20th)
BO-561 Easy Chairs for Bo-Ex, Denmark 1960s
Nickel-plated steel frames with loose down/feather filled aniline leather cushions.
Engineered to the highest degree, these rare 1960s leather easy chairs are in immaculate vintage condition. The leather down filled cushions are soft and comfortable and the frames beautifully engineered to the finest possible standard – and very comfortable!
These chairs typify and embody Scandinavian design at its very best.
Price: 10.000 euro (pair)
Angelo Lelli (Italy 1911-1979)
Metal structure body with lacquered base with oxidised steel magnetised lamp/ball. 61.5cm high
‘Cobra’ lamp for Arredoluce, Italy. 1962 by Italian light designer and founder of Arredoluce Angelo Lelli.
This table lamp/sculpture model ‘12919’ known as ‘il Cobra’ by the workers at Arredoluce for its association with the form of the snake has pivoting black oxide steel magnetized “eyeball” socket set into what is in effect a midcentury biomorphic standing sculpture.
The quality of manufacture of these lamps is outstanding – they have a good substantial feel and weight to them. This one is completely original and in superb condition (no deterioration of the original finish as is common with these lamps, and with original plug and bulb).
Price: 7.500 euro
Cornelius L. (Cor) Alons (Nl.1892 – 1967)
Oak side table. 75 x 49 x 65cm high. 1920s.
Cor Alons was a Dutch interior, industrial and book cover designer in the early c20th. Like several of the Dutch designers of the era he was inspired by the work of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1923 he established a design agency with designer Frits Spanjaard (1889-1978). Dedicated to the construction and renovation of private houses, the pair belonged to the first generation of interior designers, designing not only furniture, but also the space in which the furniture inhabited. As an advocate for functionalism, Alons often sought out simple furniture with sober forms in his interior design. He preferred clear, simple, and often enduring shapes from dark, mostly valuable, building materials and colours.
Over the course of his career, Alons focused on avant-garde developments in both the Netherlands and abroad, and was a proponent of the De Stijl movement, some elements from which can be seen in his coffee tables, dining chairs, and lounge chairs.
In 1929, Alons was appointed a lecturer at the Department of Furniture Design at the seminal Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. Under the Bauhaus’ influence, new departments emerged at the Academy, including graphic design, advertising, photography, industrial design, and furniture design.
Although we do not know the maker of this table, it is typical of aesthetic he and Frits Spanjaard brought to Dutch design of the era. It has been fully restored and is in superb condition.
Price: 3.000 euro
[merzbau] 