Design 
12 December 2013
Design 
154

Eero Saarinen

mold for occasional table model 160

Knoll Associates
USA, c. 1955
lacquered wood, bronze 36½ h × 19 w × 6½ d in (93 × 48 × 17 cm)
estimate: $10,000–15,000
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provenance: Gift from Knoll | Carl Gustav Magnusson, New York

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Early Industrial Production

Knoll and Saarinen

This mold for Eero Sarrinen’s table model 160 is exemplary of early industrial production at Knoll. Meticulously crafted of Honduran mahogany, it exhibits the quality and expert craftsmanship employed in the fabrication of the Knoll’s designer furnishings. Saarinen’s Tulip line, the series for which the mold was made, went on to become one of the most iconic examples of mid-century furniture. This mold was a gift from Knoll to Carl Gustav Magnusson, former Director of Design at Knoll.

Eero Saarinen 1910–1961

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Born in 1910, Eero Saarinen was surrounded by design his entire life; his father, Eliel Saarinen was an architect and director of the Cranbrook Academy of art and his mother, Loja Saarinen, was an acclaimed textile artist. In 1929, Saarinen traveled to Paris to study sculpture at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière before enrolling in the Yale architecture program. He returned to Cranbrook in 1934 where he met fellow designer and friend, Charles Eames. In 1947, Saarinen won a competition to design a monument for Thomas Jefferson in St. Louis. His Gateway Arch would mark one of the many triumphs of his short but incredibly productive career.

Auction Results Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen

Custom Tulip table from the bar of the Grill Room

estimate: $5,000–7,000

result: $45,000

Eero Saarinen

Custom Tulip table from the bar of the Grill Room

estimate: $5,000–7,000

result: $35,000

Eero Saarinen

Custom Tulip table from the bar of the Grill Room

estimate: $5,000–7,000

result: $35,000

Eero Saarinen

Custom Tulip table from the bar of the Grill Room

estimate: $5,000–7,000

result: $35,000

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