Barcelona Chairs (circa 1970 - designed by Ludwig Miles van der Rohe, manufactured by Knoll). Icononic…it’s that simple. If you don’t agree or don’t like these chairs, then you have no taste…it’s like that.
The chair was designed by Ludwig Miles van der Rohe in 1929. It was exclusively intended for the German Pavilion as one of Germany’s entry into the International Exposition which was hosted by…Barcelona, Spain. Along with the other entries, this piece was intended to show that Germany was back baby. The chair is still in production today…I think Germany has shown well.
I found these chairs posted online in my area. The listing noted “Authentic” chairs. This usually means one of two things: (i) they are authentic (and some items are worth noting in this context, these chairs among those, as knockoffs are all around - yes Fred C, I am looking at you as I type this) and the seller is a real guy; or (ii) they are so fake it hurts, but claiming authentic will stop people from asking questions. Vintage always is its own safety net. Most reproductions are new or more recent build (they were not in production years ago, and if they were, they are not going to age well given the lower quality materials). If something is obviously vintage, that alone should provide comfort.
Luck for me, this was (i) above. The chairs retained their labels. The seller also had the tag from when the chairs were shipped to the original owner. After checking the label versus others and confirming it with Knoll, I felt good about the chairs. The leather is also an atypical color (these chairs seem to be mostly black and white)…I was able to find others with the same label and leather color. It is impossible to be 100%, but the mosaic suggested that these are the real deal.
The story is also fun, as always. The seller purchased them when he found them in the storage area at his firm. This architecture firm purchased the chairs for their offices and had since moved on. His parents had Barcelona chairs when he was young and he felt an attachment to them. I didn’t ask about his purchase price, but I imagine he is in the money. He had them before he was married. Now with two kids (I suspect he had the chairs for maybe 10 years), his family was moving and his wife was making get rid of “the boys” as he called them. Side note – ladies, if you find a guy who’s bachelor furniture is in this realm…he is either a catch, maybe gay (not mutually exclusive I guess), or not single. He had posted them at a slightly higher price than we discussed. I negotiated him down a little as I need to have a small cut fixed. He was also happy that these chairs are going to live happily next to my other period items (these and the Sofa Compact in the same room…oh yeah).
The seller thought these were 1940s builds…and so did I, until I started to think about it and “do the work”. The leather has some great “patina” (note: nice stuff has patina while low grade stuff is worn), but it seemed hard to believe that it is ~70 years old. I estimate the build date based on the following:
· They are Knoll production, which means no older than 1953.
· Knoll office at New York office at 745 Fifth Avenue, New York. These tags appear on pieces in the 1960s and 1970s. The latest reference I found was on a catalog for the 1976 year. It would be cool if these chairs were born the same year as me, but I don’t think that is the case.
· Leather color. The color is kind of funky. I found single chairs in the same color way that claim build from 1961 to the 1970s.
I have not decided on refurbishment yet. The frames are in fine shape for the age (some small scratches, but mostly in need of a good polishing). My guy DL is going to review the cushions for me. At the very least I want to have the small cut repaired to prevent spreading and the leather could use some reconditioning (to soften it). Beyond that, I may have some of the deeper patina re-dyed to protect the leather (if needed), but I also want to be mindful so as not to remove the story from the chairs.
I am into the chairs for $2,300. I think this is my biggest pre-work ticket to date. A pair of new chairs can run up to $16,000. Vintage chairs like these in interesting colors (browns, reds, etc. with patina) go for ~$3,500 for singles and more than $8,000 for pairs at higher end dealers. I jokingly call these projects/finds PA trades (personal account – that probably tells you more about my day job that I wanted to let out) when I discuss the value with my coworkers…this is another nice trade. These are not for sale, but if you want to leave a comment supporting the iconic nature of the chairs, please do.
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