Lot: 95
Franz Ehrlich
'Radio hall' chair, c. 1955
H. 76 x 41,5 x 51.5 cm. Made by VEB Deutsche Werkstätten, Dresden-Hellerau. Beech plywood, green felt. Aluminium badge, marked: 16524.
Seat and back covered with felt to prevent creaking.
Hammer Price: 1,200 €
29. June 2021 at 3:00 PM CEST
Literature:
Since the end of the 1930s the workshop in Hellerau, under the direction of Bruno Paul, had tried to develop a method of chipless bending of plywood. After the second World War, the topic was revisited due to the shortage in material. In 1950, Erich Menzel's '50642' plywood chair came into production, a furniture classic of the GDR. "It was made of 29 layers of resin-drenched plywood, that are being moulded with the aid of a steam-heated forging die that exerts a hydraulic pressure of 60 kg/cm2 and bends 140 grades in 25 minutes (...)". A construction process that needed less material and thus cost less. The 'Radio hall' chair was produced this way, too. Franz Ehrlich was chief designer of the furniture department of Hellerau from the 1950s until the middle of the 1960s. Moreover, he was responsible for the construction and interior design of the central broadcast building of the former GDR. Around 100 chairs were produced for the studio. Arnold, Vom Sofakissen zum Städtebau, Dresden-Basel 1993, p. 117.
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