Antique Bench in Iron and Pine, Central Europe, 1920

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This antique bench in iron and pine wood is a Central European station bench with a cold-bent flat-bar frame and … Read more This antique bench in iron and pine wood is a Central European station bench with a cold-bent flat-bar frame and solid pine slats. It originates from Central Europe, from the first quarter of the twentieth century, when street furniture combined industrial forging with local timber.The platform and promenade bench was made with the minimum of material: a flat iron bar bent cold that serves as leg, arm and back support in one continuous piece, and three boards bolted on top. The whole structure holds by the geometry of that curve, without knees or braces.The two flat-bar supports curve into an inverted U and finish in a skid foot, which spreads the load over the ground and keeps the bench from sinking into earth. The seat is a wide pine board with rounded edges; the back, two slats of the same profile, bolted to the bar.The wood retains superimposed layers of paint: a dark green base, a red intermediate coat and traces of ochre, all worn back to bare pine across the seating areas. The iron carries a stable oxide patina, without deep pitting.That stratigraphy of colour is what gives the piece its character: each repaint corresponds to a maintenance campaign, and the wear maps exactly where people sat.At 150 cm, it works as an entrance bench, a terrace bench or a piece for the foot of a bed. It works indoors as readily as on a covered porch, and suits industrial, rustic and contemporary settings.DetailsRef.: AM35044Dimensions: Length 150 cm – Width 42 cm – Height 56 cmStyle: Central European industrialMaterials and techniques: Pine wood; rolled iron flat bar, cold-bent; through-bolted fixings; superimposed layers of green, red and ochre paint.Place of origin: Central EuropePeriod: Early twentieth centuryDate of manufacture: Circa 1920Condition: Good. Superimposed paint layers much worn and a stable oxide patina on the iron. Wear consistent with age and use. See less