For over two decades, the Vitra Design Museum has been making miniature replicas of milestones in furniture design. The Miniatures Collection encapsulates the entire history of industrial furniture design - moving from Historicism and Art Nouveau to the New Objectivity of Bauhaus and Radical Design, and from Postmodernism all the way up to the present day. Exactly one sixth of the size of the historical originals, the chairs are all true to scale and precisely recreate the smallest details of construction, material and color. The high standard of authenticity even extends to the natural grain of the wood, the reproduction of screws and the elaborate handicraft techniques involved. This has made the miniatures into popular collector's items as well as ideal illustrative material for universities, design schools and architects.
Designed by Grete Jalk (1920-2006) in 1963, the Laminated Chair is regarded today as the Danish designer's best-known work. The chair, for which Jalk also created a companion side table, was realized in collaboration with the cabinetmaker Poul Jeppesen. Although it won first prize in a competition organized by the British newspaper Daily Mail during the year of its inception, the chair never went into industrial production.
Probably only a few pieces from the original series of approximately 300 still exist today. This explains the extremely high prices that have been paid for this model at international auctions in recent years. The expressive sculptural form of the chair, composed of two similarly shaped pieces of moulded plywood, marks a late highlight in the engagement of prominent designers with this material, which had commenced in the 1930s.
Each Vitra miniature is true to the original in construction and materials, and reduced in size on a scale of 1:6. Each miniature is packaged in a wooden box, accompanied by an informational booklet. Production notes: Each of the delicate objects are made by hand; on average, each miniature requires five hours of careful manual work. Ongoing quality control ensures that every miniature corresponds to its larger original in terms of finishing, details and materials.
Miniature Laminated Chair
By Grete Jalk, From Vitra.- Design + Manufacturing
- Design Grete Jalk, 1963
- Made in Poland by Vitra
- Dimensions
- 4.9" h | 4.1" w | 4.6" d
- Materials
- 1/6 miniature scale model
- Shipping Time
- usually ships in 8 - 12 weeks
- sustainable brand
- hand-made
- historically significant
- museum piece
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