Three Centuries of Magnificent Chairs in Sotheby's Take a Seat Sale

This April, Sotheby’s auction Take A Seat showcases the extraordinary creative breadth that has gone into the design and making of good chairs over the course of three centuries, including as it does elegant eighteenth century giltwood fauteuils, various carved African stools and seats, an interesting assortment of nineteenth century Neo-classical armchairs and even a simple yet beautifully crafted Provençal Style corner-chair from the early twentieth century. It also features iconic chairs by Jean-Michel Frank, Alexandre Noll, Claude Lalanne or Tom Dixon.

Chairs Across the Centuries

A set of six Italian giltwood and polychrome painted armchairs, Genoa, circa 1750. Estimate €40,000–60,000

These armchairs are perfect examples of the Ligurian settecento production, with a design indebted to the Louis XV style in vogue in the neighbouring country. Seat furniture was often adapted to the social and architectural environment of Ligurian palaces: the decoration of the walls echoed the furnishings, whereby the carving of the furniture followed the design of the stucco-work of the room where the furniture was placed.

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Chaise, Sénufo, Ivory Coast. Estimate €10,000–15,000

The prerogative of men of high rank, this chair asserts itself as a work of prestige more than a simple everyday object; it attests to the power and social status of its owner. Among the Sénufo, chairs and stools had a special status: when individual property, they followed their owner wherever they went and were used during important events. Within its corpus this kafwokonolo chair asserts itself by the refinement of its construction and the beauty of its openwork décor, sublimated by a beautiful nuanced patina which attests to its archaism and its prolonged use.

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A Consulat mahogany fauteuil de bureau à l'étrusque by Jacob Frères, circa 1800. Estimate €8,000–12,000

After the turbulent Revolutionary period, the brothers George II Jacob and François-Honoré-Georges Jacob continued to produce, from 1796 until 1803, seats of highest quality. As this armchair demonstrates, their workshop made use of the finest mahogany, and the design was inspired by the best architects and ornemanists of that time, such as Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine. The tall gondola shape backrest is derived from the Etruscan style, highly fashionable in late 18th century Paris.

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Tabouret, Luo, Kenya. Estimate €4,000–6,000

This Luo stool emerges through the refined sophistication of its construction. The perfect balance of the four legs ending in fine domes responds to the perfectly balanced shape of the concave seat. This strikingly modern work is considered one of the most accomplished in its corpus.

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An Italian carved walnut "curule" armchairs by Luigi Frullini, Florence, late 19th century. Estimate €8,000–12,000

Trained by his father Agostino who was also a wood carver, Luigi Frullini became a professor at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts. He actively participated in the neo-Renaissance movement in Italy, admiring Michelangelo, and help to resuscitate the Florentine art of wood carving. His models served as a teaching for his students at the Academy and he met an immediate success at the Universal Exhibitions of 1862 in London, 1867 and 1878 in Paris, 1873 in Vienna and 1876 in Philadelphia. Following these, he received many commissions, including Baron Rothschild (branch of Vienna), the Italian royal family, the Court of England, the Russian nobility and wealthy Anglo-Saxon collectors.

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Robert Combas, Big Fun, Acrylic on canvas, 1982. Estimate €30,000–50,000

Robert Combas is the father of the widely recognized Figuration Libre movement that began in Paris around 1980. This work is one of the very early one made and is strongly representative of the cartoon style he uses in an attempt to produce a direct and honest reflection of contemporary society, often satirizing or critiquing its excesses.

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Tom Dixon, Pair of S chairs, 1991. Estimate €7,000–10,000

Easily recognisable by its typical curves, the S chair was born in Tom Dixon workshop in the 80”s. It has since reinvented itself in many different ways. Designed in various mediums and colors, it nowadays still evolves with technological progress. A similar example of our S chair is currently in the Moma’s collection in New York.

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Fernando Campana and Humberto Campana, Banquete Chair, 2005. Estimate €10,000–15,000

This chair is emblematic of Fernando & Humberto Campana’s work. This series of furniture, initiated in the early 2000, made from different types of stuffed animals is a great example of the designers’ interest in recycling objects while bringing playfulness to their designs. Without denying comfort, the Campanas definitely created a chair full of humor that will bring any adult back to its childhood.

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Fred Baier, Prisme chair, 2008. Estimate €3,000–5,000

Fred Baier was without any doubt ahead of his time when he designed the original Prism Chair in the mid-80s using 3D modelling on a computer. Thanks to this technology, he made a mix of design and craft that marked a step in history. Less than a dozen of these chairs have ever been produced. Although made at a later stage, in 2008, the chair presently offered was finished to represent the very first paper model that came out of the experimental programming. It almost looks like a Rubik cube and one could spend hours trying to solve the mystery of its complex geometry.

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Claude Lalanne, pair of Bambou chairs, 2016. Estimate €60,000–80,000

Claude Lalanne’s work is highly recognizable with its feminity and poetry. The Bambou Chairs are in that sense a perfect example of her sensibility and the source of her inspiration that is nature. Her creations are nowadays in major collections around the globe and these timeless chairs will without any doubt be transmitted from one generation to the next.

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