Lot 316 Dα

This chair design was commissioned by Steltman, a jeweller in The Hague, for whom Rietveld designed a new shop interior in 1963. The original chair was completely upholstered with rubber foam and covered with white imitation leather, the seams of which ran along the edges of the wood. The version with the wooden seat was only produced after Rietveld's death in 1964. With this last and more simple version, the 75-year-old created one of the most striking pieces of furniture in the history of design.



Gerard A. van de Groenekan began working in Gerrit Rietveld's workshop in Utrecht in 1917 at the age of fourteen. In 1924, Rietveld decided to concentrate on architecture and left furniture production in the hands of van de Groenekan, who then continued to build many of Rietveld's models, including older ones, under his own name. Van de Groenekan played a decisive role in the development of many designs, including this version of the Steltman chair with its wooden seat.

In 1971, van de Groenekan sold the production rights to Cassina.

The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam owns another version by Gerard van de Groenekan produced after 1964, acc. no. V 1040 (KN&V). A foam-upholstered example from the jeweller's shop is housed in the Museum Kröller Müller in Arnhem.