Iconic Isokon Furniture at Auction

Bruun Rasmussen's design auctions are best known for the furniture classics from the Scandinavian countries, but this time the auction house broaden the perspective and dives into international design history with a series of furniture pieces from Isokon by the distinguished Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer.

"Today, Breuer's Isokon furniture is featured at the world's leading museums, and at the auction we have several examples, including the ”Short Chair” – the iconic chaise longue designed in 1936," says Peter Kjeldgaard, head of design from the 20th century. 

Isokon's marketing was also taken care of and launched the chair's corresponding predecessor the "Long Chair" with the following description: "The ISOKON LONG CHAIR gives scientific relaxation to every part of the body, immediately creating a sense of well-being. It is even a better aid to digestion than any medicine under the sun. Admirable for those who take forty winks after lunch." The auction's furniture pieces by Breuer were until recently with their original owners who acquired them in the 1930s.

Breuer, Bauhaus and Isokon

Marcel Breuer was educated at the Bauhaus School, but left Germany due to the rise of Nazism during the mid-1930s and immigrated to London. In 1935, he moved into the English equivalent of the Bauhaus, the Isokon Building, which was founded on a philosophy of the modern, urban and free lifestyle. The founders were the innovative furniture manufacturer John Pritchard and the architect Wells Coates, who were inspired by Le Corbusier's vision of "the home as a machine". The result was an experiment in Modernist design, where food, cleaning and laundry were all included in the rent.

Isokon – a Sanctuary of the Inter-War Period

Isokon served as a sanctuary for architects, artists and writers of the inter-war period and housed a wealth of famous names such as the architects Walter Gropius and Egon Riss, the artist László Moholy-Nagy and the crime novelist Agatha Christie. During Breuer’s time with this creative community, he further developed his tubular steel furniture pieces and transferred the forms to a softer material. He designed a series of furniture for Isokon in moulded, laminated birch wood, which was part of the building's interior and was produced at a furniture factory in Estonia. The idea of recycling was certainly present at Isokon, since the boxes that the furniture pieces were transported to England in subsequently became part of the completed furniture in the shape of armrests.

Axel Salto’s Sprouting, Budding and Fluted Forms

At the upcoming design auction we are lucky to be able to present no less than 14 of Axel Salto's ceramic works, a handful of which are in an international league of their own. This includes a large vase from 1955 modelled in the sprouting style and decorated with oxblood glaze. The beautiful blue Butterfly Wing glaze can be found on a colossal floor vase, modelled with "living stone" - Salto's poetic expression for a spider in its web.

As an artist, Salto achieved his breakthrough in 1925 after presenting his ceramic works at the World Exhibition in Paris. Today, he is considered one of the most renowned Danish artists of the 20th century, and his efforts within the field of ceramics cannot be overestimated – he exceeded the limits of ceramics and transformed it from pottery to genuine art. Salto's sublime stoneware is often seen on the auction market, but the larger, significant and iconic works are becoming rarer and rarer. 

International design auction

Auction: 6-7 December at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, Bredgade 33, Copenhagen

Preview: 23-27 November at the same address

View the design lots offered at our evening sale on 6th December

View the design lots offered at our afternoon sale on 7th December

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