Italian ‘Elda’ Joe Columbo Swivel Lounge Chair, 60s
£7,500
Description
I have a pair of this iconic chairs but both listed separately. 1960s Italian āEldaā swivel lounge chair designed by Joe Colombo in 1963 (1930-1971 ) and manufactured by Comfort Italy. This is one of the most well-known, space-age and futuristic designs from this innovative and forward-thinking Italian designer and named in honour of his wife. The white fibreglass shell is fitted with seven deep padded black leather cushions which provide comfort from all sides. The four back cushions are designed to hug your back completely including your neck and head. ā āA modernist wing-backed chair with a womb-like plastic frame upholstered in thick leather padsā
The white body is made from fibreglass with the seated area from fitted smooth leather which the cushions clip on to. I have had the cushions re-made at great expense by an experienced upholsterer who used the originals as templates. She re-used the original chrome clips on every cushion to ensure theyāre securely fastened to the leather skin and in the correct place/position. There are some small scuffs to the original leather skin and one tear which are hardly noticeable and to be expected from a chair over 60 years old. The cushions are in perfect condition. There is a small crack at the very base of the shell on the back which I have illustrated in one of the images apart from that itās in very good condition.
The chair specifically the lower base section is very heavy where it is weighted to ensure itās counter-balanced whenever anyone is sitting in it. It does not wobble at all and spins around and around freely.
An interesting piece from Architectural Digest about the background of the chair and why itās a favourite with designers: āAfter Italian designer Joe Colombo visited a shipyard in 1963 that made fiberglass hulls for boats, inspiration struck: Why not use that same hand-molding technique for the base of a chair?
The resultsāa roomy, futuristic armchair in which seven detachable cushions hook into a molded plastic shell on a rotating baseāwould become an icon. He named it after his wife, Elda.
Colombo moved a white fiberglass and black leather modelāproduced by Italian brand Comfort in 1965āinto his own Milan apartment. And soon, after the design debuted at the Eurodomus 1 fair in Genoa, others followed suit. The strange chair (further documented in Joe Colombo: Designer: Catalogue RaisonnĆ© 1962ā2020, a new publication by Silvana Editoriale) captured the 1960s space-age sensibility of fashion designers like Paco Rabanne and Pierre Cardin, and was on its way to the silver screen, where AD100 designer Luis Laplace first saw it.
āIn the 1969 film Hibernatus, a man sitting in the Elda armchair explains the challenges and benefits of hibernation,ā recalls Laplace of his early-childhood encounter with the seat. He and partner Christophe Comoy now live with one in Paris. Elda went on to star in the 1977 Bond flick The Spy Who Loved Me, in the 1970s series Space: 1999, and in the 2012 movie The Hunger Games, proving Laplaceās point: āIt oozes power.ā
The appeal is wide-ranging. Designer Hollie Bowden, who snapped up a worn-in Elda in Morocco for a project in Ibiza, calls it āsuper comfy and quite bosslike.ā Meanwhile, designer Jonathan Adler, who lives with one in his Manhattan home, calls the seat āa strange mix of plastic futurism and organic brainlike channel upholstery in a commanding scale.ā Or, as he has deemed it, āexecutive squish.ā
Dimensions: W: 95cm D: 92cm H: 93cm Seat Height: 40cm
Additional information
City | |
---|---|
Period | |
Room | |
Style | |
Color | |
Delivery | |
Item Location | |
Material | |
Origin | Italy |
Designer |
Delivery Information
The seller will provide a delivery quote following order. Alternatively, contact the seller below for a quote using the āAsk Sellerā form.
Delivery can be arranged to anywhere within the UK, Europe and Worldwide.
They may also offer complimentary delivery around London. Collection is available.