Garden Egg Chair thumbnail 1
Garden Egg Chair thumbnail 2
Not on display

Garden Egg Chair

Chair
1968 (designed), 1971 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Hungarian émigré designer Peter Ghyczy designed this chair in 1968 when he was working for a polyurethane factory, Elastogran GmbH, in Lemförde, West Germany. It fully exploited the materials made by the factory, as the shell is moulded entirely from polyurethane. The chair was intended for use in the garden, and the folding lid protected the upholstery from the weather when it was not in use.

The West German manufacturer licensed production to an East German company, VEB Synthesewerk Schwarzheide near Senftenberg. It was mass-produced for only three years because the lacquering of the shell remained problematic and, at 430 DM, it was too expensive for the East German market. This example, acquired from the designer, is date stamped 9 June 1971, telling us it was a prototype made in West Germany before the licence to manufacture it in the East was signed.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGarden Egg Chair (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Lacquered, moulded polyurethane with synthetic textile upholstery over polyurethane foam padding
Brief description
Garden Egg Chair, designed by Peter Ghyczy, 1968, manufactured by Elastogran, Germany, 1971; yellow lacquered polyurethane, synthetic textile and polyurethane upholstery
Physical description
Yellow plastic oval egg-shaped chair with hinged top to reveal a yellow upholstered interior
Dimensions
  • Maximum height: 1000mm
  • Width: 740mm
  • Depth: 860mm
Dimensions taken from condition report
Production typePrototype
Marks and inscriptions
'In Ordnung / Abt. QK / 9 Juni 1971' (Stamped on the underside of the chair)
Object history
Acquired from the designer's family
Production
The date stamp on the chair indicates that it was a prototype made by the West German polyurethane company Elastogran prior to mass production by VEB Synthesewerk Schwarzheide in East Germany

Attribution note: see attribution note
Summary
The Hungarian émigré designer Peter Ghyczy designed this chair in 1968 when he was working for a polyurethane factory, Elastogran GmbH, in Lemförde, West Germany. It fully exploited the materials made by the factory, as the shell is moulded entirely from polyurethane. The chair was intended for use in the garden, and the folding lid protected the upholstery from the weather when it was not in use.

The West German manufacturer licensed production to an East German company, VEB Synthesewerk Schwarzheide near Senftenberg. It was mass-produced for only three years because the lacquering of the shell remained problematic and, at 430 DM, it was too expensive for the East German market. This example, acquired from the designer, is date stamped 9 June 1971, telling us it was a prototype made in West Germany before the licence to manufacture it in the East was signed.
Collection
Accession number
W.8-2007

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Record createdJuly 6, 2007
Record URL
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