Super Rare Pair Of Pieter De Bruyne Leather Lounge Chairs, Arflex, Italy, 1960
bergen op zoom, Netherlands
£6,567 per set of 2
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Item details
Height
77.5 cm
Width
76.0 cm
Depth
78.0 cm
Wear conditions
Good
Wear conditions
Excellent
Shows little to no signs of wear and tear.
Good
May show slight traces of use in keeping with age. Most vintage and antique items fit into this condition.
Average
Likely to show signs of some light scratching and ageing but still remains in a fair condition.
Apparent Wear and Tear
Visible signs of previous use including scratches, chips or stains.
Please refer to condition report, images or make a seller enquiry for additional information.
Description
Stunning pair of leather and nickel-plated steel lounge chairs designed in 1960 by Belgian architect and design visionary Pieter De Bruyne (1931-1987) for Arflex Italy and in production from 1961. Photos of chairs prior to restoration available on request for serious enquiries.
These chairs are not only beautiful but extremely rare and were only in production for a couple of years following Arflex's decision in 1960 to also employ ,for the first time, foreign designers such as Pieter De Bruyne and famed French sculptor Maurice Calka.
Furthermore this elegant design has never been reissued and combined with the fact that it was only produced for a few years means means today these lounge chairs really are super rare and very very rarely appear on the market, especially as a pair.
These chairs have recently had their upholstery tastefully restored with new leather and new foam, the nickel plated frames retain their original finish and are in good order with only minor signs of wear commensurate with originality and age. We have kept a few photos during the restoration process for provenance.
This design featured prominently in De Bruyne's 'Blue room' in his own personally designed house in Aalst, Belgium which featured in many design journals of the period. Please see image 9.
Interestingly De Bruyne was also employed as a designer by another famous Italian designer, Gino Sarfatti, for whom he produced several stunning lighting designs for Arteluce during the late 1950s to mid-1960s period.
From 1970 onwards De Bruyne mainly focused on the production of highly crafted artisan produced, unique one-off, avant-garde sculptural furniture designs in an early postmodern style, these in my opinion are some of the most beautiful design works of the entire 1970s period and are as much works of contemporary art as design. De Bruynes's 1975 'Chantilly' cabinet proved to be one of the most admired and talked about pieces in the international press' reviews of the Victoria and Albert museum's 'Postmodernism style and subversion' exhibition held in London in 2012.
De Bruyne's small production output is highly sought after by the cognoscenti and there has been a huge amount of recent interest in his work following the V and A museum's exhibition and the huge retrospective exhibition of his work held at the Design museum in Ghent in Belgium during 2012, an exhibition which also featured in Belgian TV.
Literature :
'Domus' , October 1962, please see image 2.
'Rivista Dell'arredamento,' issue number 100, 1962, page 33.
'Pieter De Bruyne - 25 Jaar meubels', Catalog Stad Gent-Museum Voor Sierkunst (Design museum Ghent,Belgium) , 1980 , pages 50-51, 65, 81, 123.
'Pieter De Bruyne 1931-1987 - Pioneer van het Postmoderne', 2012, oage 228, book dedicated to the retrospective exhibition of De Bruyne's work 1931-87 at the Design Museum Ghent,Belgium in 2012. There was also TV coverage of this event.
De Bruyne Museum Exhibitions featuring this design :
1961 exhibition at the C. A. W (Commission for artistic working) museum in Antwerp Belgium.
1965 exhibition at the 'Centrum voor kunstambachten' (arts and crafts museum) at the St Peter's monastery in Ghent, Belgium). Please see image 10.
1980 'Pieter De Bruyne - 25 jaar meubels' (25 years of furniture making), Stad Gent-Museum voor Sierkunst, Ghent museum of modern design, Belgium.
2012 'Pieter De Bruyne (1931-1987), pionier van het postmoderne, (Pioneer of the post modern), Design museum Ghent, Belgium.
Seat Height: 16.15 in (41 cm)
Condition report:
Good. Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use. Newly upholstered in the finest quality leather, new foam, the nickel plating has minor wear consistent with age and use.
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Free collection available
Yes
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- Ships from bergen op zoom, Netherlands
Cancellations and Returns
Last updated: 24th March 2025
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