Key facts

Product:
Diamond chair [prototype]
Manufacturer:
Wright
Architonic ID:
4105991
Country:
United States
Category:
Furnishings

Product description

Welded steel wire
33.25"w x 26.75"d x 30.5"h
This chair was handmade by Harry Bertoia in his studio in Bally, Pennsylvania and it precedes the earliest stages of the wire chairs manufactured by Knoll. This prototype has a deep seat with armrests that rise in a very steep manner, differing from the final form. Because it was intuitively constructed by hand, the form is slightly asymmetrical along the perimeter. In 1952, Knoll developed a multi-weld jig that secured all of the separate wires into a form, allowing the chair to be manufactured. The Diamond chair has become one of the most recognized chair designs of the twentieth century and has been in constant production since 1952.
Provenance:
Collection of Harry Bertoia
Thence by descent