Chrome-plated tubular steel frames with molded wood seat and back
Czechoslovakia, 1925; produced circa 1932
Mart Stam (1899-1986) – Pioneering Dutch architect, furniture designer and urban planner
Robert Slezàk – Czech furniture manufacturer and licensee of the German manufactory Thonet
Designed by Mart Stam in 1925
Manufactured by Slezak under a license from Thonet Germany, circa 1932
Pair of tubular steel chairs
Underneath both seats with manufacturer's mark ‘Slezak’
Dimensions: 84 x 39 x 38 cm, seat height: 45 cm
Good condition
Provenance: Private collection, Great Britain
Uncommon survivals from the Slezak production; Stam’s model is the epitome of Bauhaus tubular steel furniture design

This pair of tubular steel chairs was designed by Mart Stam in 1925. Stam was a central figure of modernism who worked alongside such luminaries as El Lissitsky, Max Taut, Hans Poelzig and Ernst May. The chairs were produced in Czechoslovakia by Slezàk, a licensee of the German manufactory Thonet. The company primarily manufactured designs by Mart Stam and Marcel Breuer, for which Thonet held the rights.



The two chairs are in good condition with traces of age and wear. Both seats bear the maker's mark ‘Slezak’ on the underside. The chairs have a back height of 84 cm, a width of 39 cm, a seat depth of 38 cm and a seat height of 45 cm.



Mart Stam (1899-1986)

Mart Stam (1899-1986) was a Dutch architect and designer. He designed the famous form of the cantilever chair. In 1939, he was appointed director of the Institute of Industrial Arts in Amsterdam and later took a professorship at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. In 1950, he became director of the Advanced Institute of Art in Berlin. His works shaped the history of European architecture and design.

Robert Slezàk

The Czech manufacturer Robert Slezàk in Bystrice pod Hostynem was among the most important manufacturers of tubular steel furniture in the 1930s. Situated next to Thonet Mundus numerous collaborations occurred. For example the cantilever chairs B 62 and B 64 designed by Marcel Breuer were produced by Slezàk under license from Thonet.

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