A set of four Knoll Bertoia Side Chairs by Harry Bertoia - Sold for £850
Modern/Contemporary Furniture Bestsellers from our Fine Sale
Our recent Fine Sale saw a large amount of modern interior bestsellers from our modern saleroom. We did have a very interesting mix of modern design in our saleroom and a lot of interest in luxury names that could be bought for a fraction of the retail cost including Knoll, George Smith, Linley, Porta Romana, Fendi, Cassina and more which are shown below. One such bestseller with an interesting history according to our Modern Saleroom manager Maureece are a set of four Knoll Bertoia Side Chairs by Harry Bertoia.
For some background history...
Legendary designer Harry Bertoia was an accomplished artist which according to Maureece, lends the sculptural quality to his designs. Whilst overlooked at times against other designers such as Eames, in California in the 1940s, Harry was instrumental in the design of a certain well-known plywood chair, which we now know as the Eames chair. It was at this time that Harry began to play with his wire grid concept that would materialise into the design we are so familiar with. It was Eames who later developed this into the DKR design for Herman Miller. Not receiving any credit for working with Eames, Harry moved on and received an offer from Florence Knoll to work with her. Before this, he took a detour to the point Loma Naval Electronics Laboratory. It was his work here that got him interested in the study of ergonomics, the study of the human body in relation to its surroundings. This would contribute greatly to the evolution of his designs to follow.
The Bertoia side chair is unique due to its grid nature of the design. The largely open structure allows one to see through it, to see more space. Harry said that he liked to think of his chairs being 'madly made with air'. This design sculpturally hugs its surrounding without overpowering it and this sculptural quality makes sense considering the designer's background.
The Bertoia chairs were Lot 357 in our March Fine Sale and sold for £850.
