Rex (furniture)
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| Rex (furniture) | |
|---|---|
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| Name | Rex |
| Type | Chair |
Rex (furniture) is a historic furniture line noted for its distinctive chair and seating designs that influenced 20th-century interiors. Originating in the interwar period, the line intersected with major design movements and prominent makers, shaping domestic and institutional spaces across Europe and North America. Rex pieces appear in museum collections, auction records, and period interiors alongside works by leading designers and firms.
History
Rex emerged amid debates between proponents of Bauhaus, De Stijl, Art Deco, Arts and Crafts Movement, and advocates linked to Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, and León Ferrari. Early production involved workshops associated with Wiener Werkstätte, Thonet, Cassina, Fritz Hansen, G-Plan, Knoll, and IKEA precursors. During the 1930s and 1940s Rex undertook commissions for institutions like Museum of Modern Art, Vitra Design Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and private clients including families linked to Rockefeller family, Rothschild family, Baroness von Hügel, and industrialists collaborating with Alvar Aalto and Hans Wegner. Postwar production was influenced by reconstruction initiatives spearheaded by entities such as UNESCO, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and national agencies in Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Germany, and United Kingdom.
Design and Construction
Rex designs reflect dialogues with figures like Charles and Ray Eames, Eileen Gray, Arne Jacobsen, Isamu Noguchi, Wright Patman, Poul Henningsen, and firms such as Knoll, Herman Miller, Vitra, Poltrona Frau, and Cassina. Construction techniques show affinities with steam bending innovations credited to Michael Thonet, metalwork traditions associated with Paul T. Frankl and Gio Ponti, and upholstery practices paralleling work by Florence Knoll and Hans Wegner. Many pieces use joinery and frame systems comparable to those developed by George Nakashima, Shiro Kuramata, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand.
Materials and Finishes
Rex furniture employs timbers and composites sourced from regions tied to makers such as Scandinavia (including Sweden, Denmark, Norway), Italy (including Biella, Milan), and United Kingdom workshops in London and Manchester. Common woods include species associated with Alvar Aalto and George Nakashima projects, while metal finishes recall patinas used by Le Corbusier collaborators and chrome plating favored by Art Deco firms. Upholstery textiles used in Rex pieces were sometimes produced by mills linked to Liberty of London, Kvadrat, Maharam, Marton Mills, and Dedar, with leather sourced from tanneries in Florence, Valladolid, and Cordoba. Surface treatments parallel varnishes and lacquers seen in works by Isamu Noguchi and Arne Jacobsen.
Variants and Models
Rex lineups include lounge chairs, dining chairs, armchairs, stools, and benches that mirror typologies established by Barcelona Pavilion seating, Eames Lounge Chair, Womb Chair, and Paimio Sanatorium furnishings. Model series carried alphanumeric designations similar to practices at Thonet, Fritz Hansen, Cassina, Knoll, and Herman Miller. Special editions were produced for exhibitions at Paris Exposition Internationale, Milan Triennale, Documenta, and venues like Tate Modern and Centre Pompidou, and collaborations involved designers from studios associated with Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, Marcel Breuer, Arne Jacobsen, and Raymond Loewy.
Use and Cultural Impact
Rex seating appeared in domestic interiors alongside furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier and in public spaces such as airports, hotels, and offices linked to brands like Hilton, Ritz-Carlton, BBC, British Rail, Pan Am, and IKEA showrooms. The line featured in film and television productions from studios such as Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., BBC Television Service, and in photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Cecil Beaton, Ansel Adams, and Irving Penn. Criticism and praise came through journals and periodicals including Domus, Architectural Digest, The Architectural Review, Dwell, and Designboom.
Collectibility and Market Value
Rex pieces are sought in auctions at houses like Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams, Phillips, and regional salerooms in New York City, London, Paris, Milan, and Copenhagen. Provenance tracing ties some items to estates of collectors associated with Rockefeller family, MOMA trustees, and patrons linked to Tate acquisitions. Condition, rarity, and documented exhibition history affect prices; comparable market trajectories reference sales of works by Eames, Wegner, Jacobsen, Le Corbusier, Breuer, Knoll Studio, Cassina, and Poltrona Frau.
Category:Chairs Category:20th-century furniture