Pierre Jeanneret
Depth - 35 cm - 13¾ inches
Height - 60 cm - 23½ inches
Seat Height - 30.5 cm - 12 inches
Further images
An exceptionally rare Pierre Jeanneret child's chair, dating from circa 1958 and originally made for the children's orphanage in Sector 9, Chandigarh.
Constructed entirely from solid Burmese teak, the chair is essentially a child's-scale piece of Chandigarh furniture rather than a simplified children's design. Its diminutive proportions become particularly apparent when placed alongside one of Jeanneret's adult Box Chairs, as shown in two of our photographs.
For us, the most remarkable aspect of this particular example is its patina. The original slatted teak seat has been worn through decades of use, revealing the warmer colour and grain of the Burmese teak beneath the darker surface. The wear is irregular and completely natural, with each slat having aged differently according to where it has been repeatedly sat on and touched.
The back has aged equally beautifully. Years of handling have worn areas of the darker surface away, particularly across the upper backrest and along the edges, exposing warmer teak underneath. It is precisely this type of naturally developed surface that we look for when buying Chandigarh furniture and something that cannot convincingly be recreated through restoration.
We have encountered very few examples of this child's chair during nearly nineteen years of specialising in Pierre Jeanneret furniture. Those we have seen in India have generally either been too compromised to restore without replacing a significant amount of the original chair, or simply lacked the quality of surface and patina we look for. We have owned only two examples, this is an exceptionally good survivor.
Original examples very rarely, if ever have appeared on the market. At the time of writing, we have been unable to find another original example currently offered for sale.
The chair has been carefully restored by our trusted conservator and made structurally solid. All of the Burmese teak is original to the chair and has simply been cleaned and waxed, retaining the marks, wear and deep patina that have developed over decades of use.
At only 60 cm high, with a seat height of 30.5 cm, the chair is considerably smaller than Jeanneret's standard adult seating. The photographs alongside an adult Box Chair give a particularly good indication of its scale and show just how unusual this small piece of Chandigarh furniture is.
We have specialised in Pierre Jeanneret furniture for nearly nineteen years and have extensive experience in identifying, sourcing, restoring and selling his work. Given the number of later reproductions and incorrectly attributed pieces now on the market, we understand the importance of provenance, construction, materials and restoration when assessing Chandigarh furniture. We are always happy to discuss these aspects in detail and answer any questions regarding the attribution, provenance or restoration of our Chandigarh pieces.
Viewing is warmly welcomed at our West London showroom.
High-resolution photographs, detailed condition reports and video inspections are available upon request.
We offer local, national and international shipping.
Please contact us for further information or to arrange a private viewing.
- X
- Tumblr
This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.