Pair of Anton Lucas Art Deco Armchairs in Oak and Macassar, Netherlands, 1920s

This rare pair of armchairs was designed by Anton Lucas and produced in Leiden, The Netherlands circa 1925. The frames are made of solid oakwood, with a geometric front detail in Macassar ebony.

The chairs have been reupholstered in a deep olive/dark mossy green Métaphores embroidered velvet. The oak frames are in a good, original condition, preserving a beautiful patina.

The details, materials and nearly modernist appearance of the design are exemplary for the Haagse School style. This style was not so much inspired by the Classic European Art Deco capitals such as Paris and Vienna but more by other national and international architectural developments such as the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. The influential magazine Wendingen published a series of articles on Wright still relatively unknown at the time in 1925 and the renowned architect Jan Wils also played an important role in the orientation towards Wrights work in The Netherlands. In its particular application of geometric shapes, primary colours and its sophisticated cubist division of the surface, the Haagse School designers were also aware of De Stijl movement, led by contemporaries such as Gerrit Rietveld and Piet Mondriaan.