So have I got a valuable Alvar Aalto or a tacky old Ikea Poang here?!

[lardconcepts]

Hello - first post, be gentle

I was about to flog two of these chairs we inherited, for a fiver each in the local facebook group, as Mrs Concepts thought they might be Ikea Poang, hence worth only that.
But I googled them, and they don't seem to fit any of the pics I can find. The ikea range seem to have much more "square" bends.

There's a range from Alvar Aalto which I found, which more closely resemble the curve of the legs and go nicely on ebay!

So, is there anything more to these two chairs, or should I just consider myself lucky if I can get a fiver each?!

[mart]

 Welcome to the group !!  Don`t worry,, we are gentle with everyone !!
Can you remove the covers and take another pic ??  Can`t see much with it hidden !!

[awhitetriangle]

on most of aalto's chairs i have seen you can't see the fixings, however i'm not an expert on his works though i do have a collection modernist chairs.

[nj-antiques.com]

I have not have or seen too many aalto's chairs, but I have to agree with awhitetriangle.  On the ones I encountered, hardware was not visible. 

[mart]

That said,, there is a good collector base for mid century/retro furniture !! You might check on the interest in AU before going with that fiver !!

[awhitetriangle]

sorry i couldn't be of more help, i have looked through some of my books and can't find a design the same, what model number do you think these are? btw the books i have on aalto are not catalogues of his entire works, in my experience the ply is a fair bit thicker [on the originals than on the ikea aalto inspired ones.) if you can post some more pics that would be good. there were a lot of manufacturers producing bent ply furniuture in the 50s and 60s.

[mart]

I like the chairs !!  With a bit of a re-do would look great !!  Many people like the retro look but do not care if it has a name or not !! 

[lardconcepts]

Thanks so much for the replies, and sorry for my delayed response.

You might check on the interest in AU before going with that fiver !!

AU?

Can you remove the covers and take another pic ??  Can`t see much with it hidden !!

Looks like I'd need to unscrew the hex nut to get the cover off, as the cover has two "eyes" in it through which the hex bolts go.

If it matters, I can do so, but do either of these pics help at all? And also, yes, they look shabby. But would it actually be worth my time/while/effort to get them tidied up?

[Ipcress]

The design is the same as this

http://www.naturalliving.co.uk/acatalog/Canvas_chair_armchair_bentwood_in_black.html#.VOpDFy4-7IU

but yours look older. I would ask over at the Designaddict forums.

[mart]

AU ??  Sorry about that was working on another item in AU !!  Different furniture though !! I typed before checking which was which !! 

[lardconcepts]

AU ??  Sorry about that was working on another item in AU !!  Different furniture though !! I typed before checking which was which !!  

I'm still none the wiser about what AU is or stands for?!

The design is the same as this

http://www.naturalliving.co.uk/acatalog/Canvas_chair_armchair_bentwood_in_black.html#.VOpDFy4-7IU

but yours look older. I would ask over at the Designaddict forums.

Ah! OK, looks like a perfect match right down to the position of the fittings. Now I've got some better description to go on ("bentwood" etc), it seems like there's plenty on ebay, and if they're only £70 new, I'd consider myself lucky to get £10 locally if I could.

So, I think I'll try for a tenner first, and the a fiver. But the bottom line is, I think it's reasonably safe to assume that I'm not going to be losing out on a piece of vintage furniture which would have attracted 6 figure telephone bids from Dubai if sold at Sotheby's auction

Incidentally, if anyone wonders why I asked in the first place, it's because I nearly put a shabby looking Garrard 301 turntable on Freecycle, and a visiting friend saw it by the front door and said "I'd try that on eBay first", and I ended up getting £250 for it! So as I couldn't find a close match for these chairs on Google, or even ebay at first, I thought I'd ask here.

Once again, thank you all, and particularly to Ipcress for finding that match. Incidentally, how DID you find it? I spend hours doing "similar image search", and using terms like "curved wooden chair" etc.

[mart]

AUstralia !!

[Ipcress]

AU ??  Sorry about that was working on another item in AU !!  Different furniture though !! I typed before checking which was which !!  

I'm still none the wiser about what AU is or stands for?!

The design is the same as this

http://www.naturalliving.co.uk/acatalog/Canvas_chair_armchair_bentwood_in_black.html#.VOpDFy4-7IU

but yours look older. I would ask over at the Designaddict forums.

Ah! OK, looks like a perfect match right down to the position of the fittings. Now I've got some better description to go on ("bentwood" etc), it seems like there's plenty on ebay, and if they're only £70 new, I'd consider myself lucky to get £10 locally if I could.

So, I think I'll try for a tenner first, and the a fiver. But the bottom line is, I think it's reasonably safe to assume that I'm not going to be losing out on a piece of vintage furniture which would have attracted 6 figure telephone bids from Dubai if sold at Sotheby's auction

Incidentally, if anyone wonders why I asked in the first place, it's because I nearly put a shabby looking Garrard 301 turntable on Freecycle, and a visiting friend saw it by the front door and said "I'd try that on eBay first", and I ended up getting £250 for it! So as I couldn't find a close match for these chairs on Google, or even ebay at first, I thought I'd ask here.

Once again, thank you all, and particularly to Ipcress for finding that match. Incidentally, how DID you find it? I spend hours doing "similar image search", and using terms like "curved wooden chair" etc.

I've seen plenty similar before but not that particular design where the arms are more curved at the front. Just did a Google image search and voila.

' bentwood ' is more commonly reserved for the older, late Victorian and early 20th chairs and does have relevance but people still use it for any wood which is bent