$840.00

Full 3-piece suite (2-seater sofa and matching PAIR of armchairs) SOLD to Frances for $1,350 in 2019. The first 3 photos are display photos showing a similar pair of Tessa T6 chairs we sold through iNVISeDGE in 2006. The final photos (IN BURGUNDY LEATHER) are of the chairs we SOLD under consignment from our client’s home in WEST MELBOURNE. Contact us if you have interest in buying or SELLING a similar suite.

 

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Description

Full 3-piece suite (2-seater sofa and matching PAIR of armchairs) SOLD to Frances for $1,350 in 2019.

The first 3 photos are display photos showing a similar pair of Tessa T6 chairs that we sold through iNVISeDGE in 2006. The final photos (IN BURGUNDY LEATHER) are of the chairs we’re selling under consignment from our client’s home in WEST MELBOURNE. This suite has since SOLD- iNVISeDGE organised the full sale on behalf of our client.

Background Info and Provenance

(Written in 2019)

A PAIR of single-seater Tessa T6 lounge chairs from the late-1970’s (matching 2-seater sofa is available separately). These chairs were designed by Fred Lowen in the mid-1970’s. Prior to the 1970’s, Fred Lowen had had much success with FLER. This suite has the same or very similar quality to the Danish and Norwegian designs of the era (such as the Falcon chair). I am as certain as I can be these were made in the late-1970’s. The owner told me the previous owners told him they’d had this suite since the 1970’s (yes, it’s a bit like Chinese whispers in this job) but on top of that I have photos of the labels on this suite and I’m 100% certain from the labels this particular pair of chairs were produced between 1977 and 1981. You may be asking,’ “What’s the big deal? – Who cares?” It impacts on the value of this particular suite quite a bit. The timber frames of Tessa Furniture has always been the same quality and long-heralded for both the look and DURABILITY; so it makes little difference in that department but in the 1990’s Tessa customers could choose cheaper leathers for the upholstery to attempt to compete in price with the cheap overseas imports flooding the market (mainly from China). To my knowledge Tessa eventually phased this back out again. This is my knowledge from studying the second-hand Tessa Furniture over the last 18 years and talking to other dealers. Occasionally you come across Tessa Furniture in cheaper leathers (and the leather looks very shabby) but this is impossible with this suite. This is late-1970’s (because of the labels) so it has to be 100% FULL-GRAIN LEATHER- the best quality leather you can get.

You may be saying, but look at the wear. But this is exactly how QUALITY FULL-GRAIN LEATHER will wear. There’s a lot of wear to the colour-finish of the leather (to be expected over 40 YEARS OF USE) but if you look closely, the actual leather itself is in great condition. It has no noticeable cracking into the leather and obviously no rips, splits or tears. The bad cracking, splits and tears happen in cheaper leather when they’ve had as much use as this or if quality leather is not looked after (I will write a blog on how to look after quality leather and post it on the iNVISeDGE website over the next 6 months- it’s not hard to look after quality leather). These chairs are over 40 years and leather is still brilliant.

I really like the patina of the leather. The type of history shown in furniture like this really appeals to me- it shows that this suite has been much-loved but because of the quality is ready to serve yet another owner and generation. I am trained as a leather technician and if I owned these chairs, I would simply keep conditioning the leather or make up a tinted colour-correction crème that can be applied to even out the colour and give the leather a bit more protection (this can only be purchased from some leather technicians). I can do this for you- enquire if you have interest. Alternatively, you could call any leather technician and get the seats re-coloured. It’s not a hard process to tidy up the paint finish- leather technicians have got special tools to achieve a tidy and durable finish- these cushions would look close to new again and ready to serve you for the long-term. (I can do this for you for about $220- enquire if you have interest.)

The Tessa T6 is one of Tessa most successful designs- the T6 combines stylish grace with refined fluidity, with a touch of boldness. A derivative of the T6 came onto the market in the mid-1970’s (the T8). The T8 design was still being produced in 2018.

The comfort box is also ticked- great angles, great support with a nice amount of plushness. This leaves durability and investment appeal. Another two ticks. Because they’re Tessa the durability of the construction is assured. Research Tessa on-line for a few minutes and you’ll see that Tessa developed its reputation because of top-quality construction. Derivatives of the Tessa T6 retailed new a few years ago for around $4200 a PAIR- so at this price, this is an extremely solid investment. Tessa couldn’t even make these chairs for this price. I heard rumours just recently that Tessa (an iconic AUSTRALIAN brand) has recently closed after a 50-year stint in the marketplace. It’s a very sorry state of affairs but if this rumour is true- if you’ve got Tessa Furniture the values can only go up.

Buying vintage furniture that has already stood the test of time is, in my opinion, the best way to invest in your home and reduce your landfill. (It would be very hard for anyone to argue that it’s not!) Tessa has told stories for about 50 years and will continue to do so after both you and I are long gone. (Description written in 2019.)

1907

This suite is structurally solid and sturdy with NO wobbles, NO splits, NO cracks, NO damage in any joint area. There are no repairs to the suite at all. Cosmetically the full suite presents very well overall. The top timber surfaces have no significant damage that needs noting. The side edges to the armchairs have various knocks, marks and small scratches to the dark finish that Tessa applied to the edges back in the 1970's when the suite left the factory. The worst edge is shown in the photos- some edges are pretty good with nothing noticeable, others have wear in the corners only. These edges would be very easy to tidy up if it bothered you. I would probably sand off the edges and then just oil the timber. It's purely cosmetic and easy to fix and this may not even be noticed set-up in your space so you may be able to continue enjoying the suite exactly as it is (like the previous owner has). ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The leather on the cushions is QUALITY leather from the 1970's (proper FULL-GRAIN leather). Two cushions present very well overall for the age of the suite. THE CUSHIONS ARE ALL INTERCHANGEABLE- IE. THE SOFA CUSHIONS COULD BE PUT ON THE ARMCHAIRS INSTEAD. The other 2 cushions show wear to the final burgundy colour only. There are NO deep cracks that go into the leather, NO holes, NO unsightly scratches or other damage- the leather just shows that the chairs have been used and loved- NOT abused. The colour finish can be rectified by a leather technician if this is your preference- a new paint finish would protect the leather for another 40 years. If you opt to leave the leather as is- it must be conditioned immediately- once the leather has no paint finish it must be conditioned regularly (maybe every 3 months or so depending on how/where it is used). This prevents the leather from drying out and cracks going deeply into the leather. This vintage leather will not deteriorate quickly if it's kept conditioned. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ There's also a gouge to a corner of the timber (not shown in the photos). It's small- about half the size of a 5-cent piece. A little putty and timber stain would make it disappear but a brown felt pen or brown marker pen would probably do just as much. Again it's a small cosmetic issue and can be quickly rectified- the previous owner was obviously not that way inclined. I think from the photos I can see one button missing- again not readily noticed because the leather puckers in as if the button is still there anyway.
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