Stool
1930-1935 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Isokon company was founded in London in 1929 by the entrepreneur Jack Pritchard (1899-1992), the architect Wells Coates (1895-1958) and others. The company designed, built and made up-to-date architecture and furniture, often using plywood. Stools, such as this, were sold by Isokon from 1933. The extraordinarily lightweight (1.1 kg) and surprisingly strong stools were manufactured by the Estonian company Luterma from the early 1930s and were imported by their British distributor Venesta.
Another object in the collection (V&A museum W.7-2017) made after the design of this stool presents a slight variation made by the same firm no later than 1933. It is also a rare example of a modernist object that has been personalised by the addition of distinctly un-modernist decoration.
Another object in the collection (V&A museum W.7-2017) made after the design of this stool presents a slight variation made by the same firm no later than 1933. It is also a rare example of a modernist object that has been personalised by the addition of distinctly un-modernist decoration.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Moulded 3-ply birch plywood with iron foot plates and screw |
| Brief description | Stool, designer unknown, manufactured by Luterma, birch plywood with iron foot plates and screw, Tallin, Estonia, 1930-35 |
| Physical description | Stool, base unit is comprised of three pieces of mouled 3-ply birch plywood and eight iron foot plates. The moulded plywood seat is secured at its centre to the base by a bolt with a square section beneath the head to prevent the bolt turning. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | This stool may well have been used in the 'Isobar', designed in 1937 by Marcel Breuer, in the Lawn Road flats, Hampstead, designed by Wells Coates |
| Production | It may have been manufactured in Estonia, the home of the Venesta Plywood Company |
| Summary | The Isokon company was founded in London in 1929 by the entrepreneur Jack Pritchard (1899-1992), the architect Wells Coates (1895-1958) and others. The company designed, built and made up-to-date architecture and furniture, often using plywood. Stools, such as this, were sold by Isokon from 1933. The extraordinarily lightweight (1.1 kg) and surprisingly strong stools were manufactured by the Estonian company Luterma from the early 1930s and were imported by their British distributor Venesta. Another object in the collection (V&A museum W.7-2017) made after the design of this stool presents a slight variation made by the same firm no later than 1933. It is also a rare example of a modernist object that has been personalised by the addition of distinctly un-modernist decoration. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.34-1992 |
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| Record created | January 31, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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