Lot Essay
Mies' design was originally created as part of his project for the German Pavilion for the Barcelona World's Fair, 1929 ( see above).
The earliest versions of this chair, produced by Berliner Metallgewerbe Joseph Mller Berlin, are distinctive for their construction. As in the present example, the chair is made from separate, individually chromed sections, joined by lap joints and screwed with chromed bolts. The positioning of the lap joint with the back member lying over the upright in each corner dates this chair to the first production by Mller. From 1931, the production was taken over by Bamberg Metallwerkstätten, Berlin. The laborious production process involved in recreating Mies' design led to a very high unit cost, added to by the cost of the luxurious buttoned leather cushions. (Mies' MR 10 side chair, was retailed by Bamberg for 64 Reichsmarks in 1931; by contrast the Barcelona chair was priced in the same year at 540 Reichsmarks). In a time of world-wide recession, this high cost resulted in low demand and consequently relatively few examples were produced.
The companion to the present chair, acquired from the same provenance, is in the collection of the Vitra Design Museum.
See: Die Form, Vol. IV, 1929, p. 426.
Glaeser, pp. 46 - 49.
Van Geest and Mácel, p. 97.
Vegesack, 1986, p. 63.
Ostergard (ed.), exh. cat. no. 83, p. 292.
Vitra Design Museum, exh. cat. no. 90.
The earliest versions of this chair, produced by Berliner Metallgewerbe Joseph Mller Berlin, are distinctive for their construction. As in the present example, the chair is made from separate, individually chromed sections, joined by lap joints and screwed with chromed bolts. The positioning of the lap joint with the back member lying over the upright in each corner dates this chair to the first production by Mller. From 1931, the production was taken over by Bamberg Metallwerkstätten, Berlin. The laborious production process involved in recreating Mies' design led to a very high unit cost, added to by the cost of the luxurious buttoned leather cushions. (Mies' MR 10 side chair, was retailed by Bamberg for 64 Reichsmarks in 1931; by contrast the Barcelona chair was priced in the same year at 540 Reichsmarks). In a time of world-wide recession, this high cost resulted in low demand and consequently relatively few examples were produced.
The companion to the present chair, acquired from the same provenance, is in the collection of the Vitra Design Museum.
See: Die Form, Vol. IV, 1929, p. 426.
Glaeser, pp. 46 - 49.
Van Geest and Mácel, p. 97.
Vegesack, 1986, p. 63.
Ostergard (ed.), exh. cat. no. 83, p. 292.
Vitra Design Museum, exh. cat. no. 90.