This sculptural chair was manufactured for a short period during which time it is believed that around only 100 of the chairs were manufactured. This one was purchased from the first owner and is in superb original condition with only minimal signs of age and use. . Tubular steel and thick leather 72x90x68cm
Plywood No.1 table/stool with its accompanying circular tray. Manufactured by Luterma. Both stool and tray are stamped/labelled Venesta.
The British furniture entrepreneur Jack Pritchard managed Venesta the import company for Luterma in England who later formed the Isokon furniture company which most notably employed Marcel Breuer. These tables/stools were distributed in England post 1933 until 1939 exclusively by Isokon alongside designs by Marcel Breuer and Egon Riss.
Although the designer of the stool remains anonymous, in 2004 the art historian Alastair Grieve described a modification of the original Luterma stool (of which this stool is one) when he wrote that the original design was subsequently re-designed by the architect and founder of the Bauhaus Walter Gropius (hired as a consultant to Isokon). The very slight alterations Gropius made was to include sharper curves to the cut-out squares of the stool. Gropius’s drawings for the redesign can reportedly be found in the collection of the V&A Museum, London.
The separate tray placed on top of the stool is unusual and rare in that it is much thinner than all other trays we have seen. This has led to some minor warping over time (which may have been why it was produced later with a thicker rim?) The thinner rimmed tray may suggest that this was an early production or at the least a more limited production?
h.46.5cm x w.44cm x d.44cm
Literature:-
Kermik, Juri (2004) The Luther factory: Plywood and furniture 1877-1940
Daybelge & Englund, (2019); Isokon and the Bauhaus in Britain
Pritchard, Jack (1984); View from a Long Chair: The Memoirs of Jack Pritchard
The model 020 ‘Stick’ chair was designed by Dutch industrial designer Bruno Ninaber van Eyben in 1977.
The design is made up of three constituent parts that fit together: two pieces of angled plywood and a length of stick with a round profile. The stick in the middle connects the plywood pieces and functions as the backbone and strength of the chair.
These rare chairs were manufactured in very limited numbers due to the production costs and difficulties. Only 150 of these chairs were produced. Apart from its low production numbers the other reason that so few exist is because they can easily get damaged – Due to the stool’s fragility we recommend that it should be purchased by a design lover that appreciates its sculptural qualities rather than its functionality!
Designed in the 1970s this is an early edition S34 chair. The chair comes with its original invoice as purchased at Seltz in Strasbourg, France in 1982.
Pair of 1970s Crate chairs manufactured by Gerard A. van de Groenekan. (Both with burnished marks to the underside). These particular chairs were commissioned by the original owner.
They are in superb condition; both having their original lightly whitened waxed surfaces.
This table designed in 1950 was made for a private residence in the Netherlands. The concept and plans for the table can be found in the archive of Den Boon’s work in the NAi archives in Rotterdam.