At Ararity Auctions (28% buyer’s premium), a Hans Wegner (1914-2007) Model 19 Papa Bear chair hammered for $10,750 (£8000) against an estimate of $5000-7000 at the sale on July 30.
Lori James, owner of the Virginia saleroom, said the chair was covered in its original upholstery and green cloth. It “came with the dust of 70 years” but needed “no repair and was very sturdy”.
James recalled the moment she saw it in the house of the late owner. “I walked in the door and said ‘Everybody freeze – that’s a $5000 chair’. It had blankets on it and it didn’t even look green. I think I vacuumed it five times.”
Her diligence paid off. The lot received 42 bids before an individual in the US secured it using the LiveAuctioneers online platform.
While the Papa Bear chair is still in production, this mid-20th century iteration was produced with techniques that are no longer used. Constructed in hand-oiled walnut with mortice-and-tenon joins, it used horsehair upholstery. “This is really original, right out of the factory style, built by master artisans,” said James.
Ancient Greece re-imagined
One of a pair of Robsjohn-Gibbings Klismos chairs by Saridis of Athens, $8000 (£5960) at Hill Auction Gallery.
Meanwhile, at Hill Auction Gallery (30% buyer’s premium) in Sunrise, Florida, the ‘power of the pair’ was in effect when two Klismos chairs designed by the British-born architect and furniture designer TH Robsjohn-Gibbings (c.1903-76) hammered for $8000 (£5960).
He re-imagined the archetypal piece of ancient Greek furniture in the mid-20th century. This pair, bearing the manufacturer’s brass labels for the maker Saridis of Athens, dated to c.1961.
One of a pair of Robsjohn-Gibbings Klismos chairs by Saridis of Athens, $8000 (£5960) at Hill Auction Gallery.
Saleroom owner Michael Hill said the lot was part of a liquidation sale of the estate of “a single man who loved nice, quality stuff”. He added that they “exceeded my expectations by 100%”, although he said it was the first time he had offered a fully marked pair in close to 30 years.
They sold online via LiveAuctioneers to a buyer in London.
