Description

Provenance and Background Info

(This set of 6 chairs sold for $1650 in 2015. These days (2018) I’d price the exact same set of chairs at around $2000. I still don’t know the maker of these chairs.)

A set of 6 designer chairs that are some of the best chairs I’ve stocked in the 14 years I’ve been in this business. I usually don’t have to do extensive searches to identify furniture anymore but these baffle me. I’ve searched the net for 14 years (for this business) and searched specifically for this design just recently- I had to give up. I know they are special but I don’t know who did them or when. Normally I can pin-point design eras- these don’t fit into any era. They are CERTAINLY vintage (see below). They may be early 1980’s at the latest but could be as early as the 1960’s, maybe even late 50’s. They showed MANY years of use when they came in.
They tick every box (and I want them for myself). These are oak- solid oak. What’s intriguing is that the curved oak pieces in the back and the two pieces under the chair are all SOLID. They are NOT the layers of thin timber pressed together with adhesive as seen in furniture that came out in the 1970’s. The quality of these exceeds virtually everything you can buy. I have occasionally seen things go wrong with the layered timber but there’s nothing that can really go wrong with these. This is demonstrated by the condition of these chairs. There are NO cracks, NO breaks, NO repairs and NO movement in any joint. They’re ALL rock-solid chairs after many years of use.
So what is the origin of these chairs? I really don’t know. If I ever found out they were Australian I’d … (best to stop there). I just can’t see how they could. There are very few companies that have (or had) the capability of bending solid oak into curves (Thonet is an obvious choice- German- but I really don’t think these are Thonet). I think they are most likely late 1960’s and could be Italian. If not Italian, maybe Swedish. ?
The covering is actually LEATHER. This is nearly never seen in vintage dining chairs. (I’ve never seen it in vintage Australian dining chairs.) The solid timber construction points to exceptional design and construction capability but having leather upholstery just solidifies that these are HIGH-END chairs. You don’t come across this level of exceptional design, make and workmanship virtually ever.
These also have investment appeal. If you need to re-sell them down the track, approach me, hopefully I’ll be able to keep them for myself then but would also be happy to stock these in iNVISeDGE again. I really don’t see them coming back though. The final thing we want in chairs is comfort. Now what we require for dining chair comfort and lounge chair comfort are two entirely different things. I find the comfort for these great. Perfect curve in the back and nicely padded and leather feels nice to sit in (and this is high quality leather).
Alright I have to restrain myself and wrap this up. If chairs look like this and still pack a punch after ABOUT 40 years of use you’re guaranteed of the callibre of workmanship AND design. This type of design is genius- true timelessness, no whistles and bells but still noticed. There are very few better ways to invest in your home financially (good vintage design often increases in value with time over the years) AND reduce landfill.