Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964)
‘ZigZag Table’ with 6 ‘ZigZag chairs’
Design: Gerrit Th. Rietveld, Utrecht The Netherlands 1934-1935
Execution: Gerard van de Groenekan, de Bilt The Netherlands 1973-1975
Table:
Planed elm wood, transparent white stained, brass wood screws. 72.5 x 180 x 78.5 cm.
Chairs:
Planed elm wood, transparent white stained, brass bolts and nuts. approx.74.5 x 37.5 x 44.5 cm.
Chairs marked with the brand: “H.G.M., G.A. v.d. GROENEKAN, DE BILT, NEDERLAND”
The purchase receipt/invoice for the table and chairs has been preserved.
The ZigZag chair is one of the most famous designs by architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld. It is much less known that he also designed a ZigZag table in 1934-1935. Because only about twenty of these tables were ever made, the ZigZag table is a very rare piece of furniture that seldom appears on the market.
The table, like the chairs, is constructed with dovetail joints and a few brass screws. In this ingenious design, the relatively thin wooden top and base keep each other in balance through tensile and compressive forces. Just as is the case with the chairs, the construction appears to float in space.
We bought the set from the first owner who, together with her family, “lived” with the table and chairs for half a century. The transparent white stained finishing layer has aged and worn in a beautiful way due to this use, creating a beautiful patina that gives this set a unique look and character.
The first owner ordered this set of 6 chairs and a table in three steps from Van de Groenekan. In 1973 he first made 4 ZigZag chairs for an existing table. It was quickly decided to replace this table with the matching ZigZag table, but Van de Groenekan indicated that he was very busy and had to first complete such a table for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The table commissioned by the MOMA was number 18, which means the one here on offer must have been number 19.
In 1974, a year after the first 4 chairs, the table could be picked up in De Bilt. The receipt and invoice have been preserved for both the 4 chairs and the table. Due to the family expansion, it was decided to order two more chairs for the dining area around 1975. To be able to finish the extra chairs accordingly, Van de Groenekan sent them a sample of elm wood with different layers of stains, this sample has also been preserved.
What Van de Groenekan did not think about is that he had made the chairs 2 years earlier in a way that was common until about 1940, with 7 dovetail joints in the back. So he made the extra chairs, as he was accustomed to do at that time, with two dovetails in the back and 5 brass tension bolts, clearly recognizable by the round holes in the seat and back.
We showed the set at the Art fair PAN Amsterdam 2024 and sold it at the opening
