Pretzel Chair by George Nelson, 1950s

Details

Description

George nelson pretzel chair, manufactured by herman miller around 1958. Backrest and legs made of hot-bent birch plywood. Unlike many … Read more George nelson pretzel chair, manufactured by herman miller around 1958. Backrest and legs made of hot-bent birch plywood. Unlike many models, this chair does not have factory-drilled ventilation holes.

h 76 cm x d 46 cm x w 67 cm x seat h 47 cm.
the underside of the seat shows old staple marks.

the pretzel chair, designed by george nelson around 1957, is among the most daring creations of american modern design. Designed during a period when experimental furniture sought to push the technical boundaries of molded wood, this chair perfectly illustrates nelson's desire to create a seat that was simultaneously extremely lightweight, structurally innovative, and visually striking. Its nickname, "pretzel," comes from the continuous, interlocking shape of its structure, reminiscent of a knot or a pretzel, in which the backrest, armrests, and legs appear to have been drawn with a single stroke. As noted in the book "1000 chairs," nelson's aim was for this chair to be liftable with just two fingers. (charlotte & peter fiell, taschen, p. 317)

made of molded plywood, often birch, the chair is distinguished by the complexity of its curves and its thinness. This remarkable technical feat for its time, however, led to significant production challenges. Shaping the wood required extreme precision, making large-scale manufacturing both expensive and fragile. For this reason, after only a year, original production was quickly discontinued, which explains the great rarity of vintage examples today.

the pretzel chair is not designed with a strictly functional approach: it embodies a vision of furniture as a sculptural object, where the structure becomes the primary decorative element. Despite its apparent lightness, the seat offers surprising comfort, the curve of the backrest naturally conforming to the body. Some examples came with a discreet seat cushion, enhancing ergonomics without compromising the clarity of the form.

produced in very small series in the 1950s, this chair is now considered a major piece of george nelson's design, on par with his better-known creations for herman miller. The original editions are clearly distinguished from later reissues by their quality of craftsmanship, proportions, and historical value. They are now highly sought after by collectors and regularly appear in leading private collections as well as in exhibitions dedicated to 20th-century design.

through its radical nature, the pretzel chair embodies a period of intense experimentation in modern design, where aesthetics, technique, and industrial innovation were inextricably linked. See less