This radical design of a chair without back legs (Freischwinger) was originally designed by the famous Dutch modernist architect Mart Stam. It was presented for the first time in Stam's project of social housing at the Werkbund Die Wohnung in Stuttgart in 1927. Two years later Anton Lorenz gained the licence from Stam to produce this type of chair and he started to produce them under his company Desta. At the same time the Thonet company started producing a similar design by the Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer. This resulted in court proceedings that lasted until 1932. At the end, the court decided that Mart Stam was not only the designer of this particular chair but also the inventor of the fundamental principal of a cantilevered tubular chair. After winning the case, Anton Lorenz sold his company Desta and the rights to make the Stam's design to Thonet and then  started working for Thonet himself as a specialist for the patents (Patentanwalt).  

The chair is truly a great example of the radical Bauhaus aesthetic. Original, yet simple and functional, it represents the ethos of the avant-garde movement.

This particular set was produced in late 1930's by The Slezak Company in Czechoslovakia. Slezak gained a licence from Thonet to sell chairs similar to original Thonet's B 43 chair. Slezak's furniture catalogues refers the chair as a S10 or 183 chair.

All four chairs are in great vintage condition with some minor wear and tear on the wooden sections and the steel frame.

Quantity: 1 set of four chairs

Period: 1930s

Designer: originally designed by Mart Stam

Manufacturer: Slezak, Czechoslovakia

Dimensions: w 40 cm, d 43 cm, h 80 cm

Materials: Veneered plywood and chromed tubular steel