Description
SOLD for $2700 for all 6 chairs in 2024.
LOCATION- being sold under consignment by a private seller in Noosa, Sunshine Coast but can be transported Australia-wide by a specialist furniture carrier. Delivery to Sydney, for example, would be ABOUT $280 for all 6 chairs.
IMPORTANT NOTE- the chairs on the staged white background are for display only. They are the same design as the chairs on offer in this listing. The chairs on offer are photographed at our vendor’s home- they are black leather with black frames (in full original condition- NOT grey). The chairs on offer are in amazing condition for their age.
Provenance and Background Info
(Written in 2023)
A stunning set of 6 saddle-leather chairs made in Italy by Arrben / Arben (c. 1970’s or early-1980’s). (Price is PER chair.) Arrben chairs are highly-esteemed and sought-after because of their practicality, comfort and the exceptional quality. I’m pretty sure this model is called the “Canasta”. All 6 chairs have “Arrben Italy” branded into the leather underneath. There are only a few sets of these chairs for sale WORLDWIDE at the moment (all on international websites such as 1stdibs). I could find no sets of Arrben dining chairs for sale in Australia at the time of writing. In Australia, these chairs were stocked by ARTES Studios back in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Artes Studios later evolved to become SPACE Furniture so this is a SPACE Furniture equivalent of the 1970’s. There is a set of 4 of Arrben Canasta chairs in Spain (a set of 6 is much more desirable though) for AU $1,261 PER chair. When they come up on the big international sales platforms such as 1stdibs they tend to be priced over AU $1,000 PER chair. I actually prefer this design over Cassina Cab chairs from the same era. Cassina Cab chairs are now selling new for around AU $2,800 PER chair. This set is in the best condition I’ve ever seen this design in too! This makes the price here a very strong investment.
The saddle-leather here is THICK and top-quality. The stitching is meticulous. These chairs are about 40 – 50 years old and just look at them! Ready for another lifetime of use and enjoyment. The metal is also the best quality- there’s no noticeable corrosion to the frames. These have a nice minimalist look- very lean, stylish and modernist. It’s hard to believe this design is about 50 years old- that’s timelessness for you! Many designer pieces are brash and hit you in the face- these are more restrained which means they’ll be easy to put in any space (even a small apartment). It’s hard to get dining chairs that are noticed but won’t completely dominate or crowd your dining area.
Durability. Timeless, stylish design. Enduring quality. Solid INVESTMENT appeal. Which leaves us with practicality and comfort. Pigmented saddle-leather is a great choice for dining chairs- any spills are easy to wipe off and the inherent durability of saddle-leather needs little upkeep- a clean with a good leather cleaner particularly in Summer and a quick wipe over with a quality leather conditioner every now and then will keep these looking like this for another generation. These are also EXCEPTONALLY COMFORTABLE to sit in. The angles are perfect and the seat cradles your back nicely. This Arrben chair design is the best one they did in my opinion- you’d be very happy to spend hours in these chairs- the comfort of this design is extremely well considered.
After most modern “designer” chairs have ended up as landfill, this exceptional set of 50-year-old Arrben dining chairs will be passed onto another owner and very likely future generations. There’s no better way to help protect our environment and reduce your carbon footprint but to top it off, it’s also the smartest furniture investment I can think of from a financial standpoint. If they’re looked after this vintage set should at least hold their value in the future. Buying quality vintage furniture is arguably the best way to buy furniture (I doubt there could be any argument on that- after 20 years in this business I believe it’s fact).
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