Description
LOCATION- being sold under consignment by a private seller in Spotswood, MELBOURNE but can be transported Australia-wide for a reasonable additional price (ABOUT $280 to Sydney if you can help the driver get the piece inside).
Provenance and Background Info
An authentic Eames La Chaise lounge produced in 2001.
If you know, you know. And even if you don’t, you still know. But for true connoisseurs, not all editions are created equal. This specific piece boasts that rare, first-generation fibreglass heft that makes modern iterations feel like lightweight garden furniture by comparison.
The Eames La Chaise isn’t just furniture- it is a universally recognized cultural landmark. A piece of high-art sculpture that happens to let you sit on it. To the design elite, it is a holy grail. To everyone else, it is that instantly recognizable, jaw-dropping statement piece that signals elite taste before a single word is spoken. It sits comfortably on the throne of mid-century design icons, much revered by collectors and curators globally.
Back in 1948, Charles and Ray Eames entered a MoMA competition with a wild idea: a cloud-like, biomorphic lounge sculpted in homage to Gaston Lachaise’s Floating Figure. MoMA loved it. Manufacturers wept, throwing their hands up because it was far too expensive and complex to actually build. So, the design took a 40-year nap. When Vitra finally brought it to life, they built these coveted first-generation icons using a robust, heavy-duty double-shell of fibreglass- long before modern production methods swapped it for lighter, less substantial materials.
This specific piece has lived a charmed life. Stationed in a high-end commercial sanctuary, it was treated less like a chair and more like an untouchable gallery exhibit. It spent 25 years mainly being deeply admired from afar, dodging the general wear and tear of domestic life. After its 25-year life, it remains gleaming and completely undamaged.
Why It Belongs in Your Space
Instant Visual Gravitas: It is an immediately recognizable design icon that commands the room, effortlessly elevating even the most ordinary furniture.
Museum-Grade Pedigree: It bridges the gap between functional furniture and investment-grade art, holding its value like a blue-chip painting.
The Posture Paradox: You can sit upright, drape yourself sideways like a 1920’s silent film star, or recline like you’re sunbathing in Bermuda.
Bulletproof Provenance: Comes with the complete paperwork to prove it’s a genuine, first-generation Vitra artifact from 2001- not a modern replica or later plastic version.
This isn’t just an acquisition, it’s an inheritance.
2608
