Bauhaus 103
German Design

With around 140 lots, this year's summer auction 'Bauhaus - German Design' ties in with some important dates in Germany's design history.

The 120th anniversary of Bauhaus master Marcel Breuer, who was born on May 21, 1902 in Pécs, Hungary, sets the tone for the upcoming auction. Important designs and style icons of the 1920s are on offer: from the 'B-35' armchair to a one-of-a-kind lounger and the important 'ti 1a' slatted chair; Last year, one of the first versions of the chair was sold for a record price of €110,000. The chair from the upcoming auction is covered with a geometrically patterned woven fabric typical of the time and will be called up for a realistic estimate of €50,000 - €60,000. A later, but no less exciting design by the world-famous Bauhäusler is the '313' deck chair from 1932-34, estimated at €14,000-18,000. The model, made of aluminum rods alloyed with Anticorodal and dark wooden armrests, manifests the simplicity and longevity of the German design of the 1920s and 1930s.

Following this, the 'MR 20’ cantilever chair, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1927 for the Weissenhof estate in Stuttgart will come up. The armchair, upholstered with the original iron yarn fabric, is available for €6,000 - €7,000. The rare wicker chair by the Bauhaus student Erich Dieckmann is on offer for the same estimated price. The model made of bamboo cane and rattan can also be found in the collection of the Vitra Design Museum, Weil/Rhine. A true museum piece is also the side table attributed to Margit Téry-Adler (a student of Johannes Itten). The table comes with two of her graphic works from the preliminary course at the Bauhaus in Weimar, which are signed with the artist's monogram. Until recently, the table was on permanent loan to the Klassik Stiftung Weimar and can now be purchased for an estimated €5,000 - €8,000.

Arts and Crafts is also well represented. Table culture objects by well-known designers such as Margarete Heymann-Loebenstein-Marks (service 'Norma', 1930s, €800 - 1,000; seven-piece doll service, around 1930, €500 - 600), Hayno Focken (tea caddy, around 1935, 550 - 600 €), Wilhelm Wagenfeld (candlestick, 1952/53, 500 - 1,200 €) and others. Numerous fabric coupons by the major German textile designer Elsbeth Kupferoth are also important. Each lot is available for purchase at low estimates between 600 - 800 €.

On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Summer Olympics in Munich and the 100th birthday of Otl Aicher, the year 2022 marks an important milestone in Aicher's oeuvre and aftermath. His design concept for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich enjoyed international fame. In addition to the posters and plans, Aicher designed the extensive and distinctive pictogram system, which, in addition to the organization, also included the various sports. In our offer you will find pieces of furniture from Otl Aicher's workshop (900 - 5,000 €), design sketches (1,700 - 1,800 €) and a three-dimensional model of the Munich Olympic Park (4,000 - 5,000 €).

In the chapter of New German Design of the 1980s, the rare shelf installation by the Cologne designer group Pentagon, designed by Reinhard Müller and Meyer Voggenreiter, is a particularly important highlight. The 34-piece shelf installation from 1988 comes with the original purchase documents and is being offered for an estimated €6,000 - €8,000. The MAK in Cologne dedicated an important solo exhibition to the Pentagon group in 2020. The unique pieces of furniture by the renowned German writer Helme Heine also date from the 1980s. The great master of stirring children's stories has captivated the hearts of countless children and their parents worldwide since the 1970s. We are pleased to be able to offer artistic furniture designs from his hand, which reflect his fairytale stories in their language of form and appearance. The pieces of furniture are called for estimates between €900 and €3,000.

The preview of the auctions starts on June 23rd.

Marcel Breuer is back en vogue.

Whilst the market reacted relatively hesitant to tubular steel furniture from around 1930 in the past, this time, the interest in furniture by Bauhausler Marcel Breuer and his contemporaries was very high. It started with a beautiful set of four of Breuer's nesting tables 'B 9', 1925/26, in blue, that went to an Italian private collection for a hammer price of EUR 4,600 (lot 7). The armchair 'B 35' 1928/29, in a Thonet version, was called up at a reasonable EUR 700 and effortlessly doubled its estimate. It is now going to a German collector for EUR 1,500 (lot 10). The 'B 91' desk in dark walnut veneer also received almost double its asking price and was sold at EUR 5,500. It, too, is going to go to Italy (lot 30). The auction culminated in another iconic piece penned by Marcel Breuer: His 'TI 1A' - Lattenstuhl' confirmed its estimate of EUR 50,000 and found a new home in Paris (cat. no. 20).

You can find more furniture and furnishings from the Bauhaus and post-war German era in our after sale till 29 July 2022.