This amazing “Inca” lounge chair by Swedish design icon, Arne Norell, is one of his most coveted designs thanks to its unique look and details. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then, that this model is also a personal favourite among several interior designers.

After mastering the “Safari Chair”, Arne Norell turned his attention to crafting a chair with the same simplistic structure but in a completely arresting silhouette. Designed for Norell Möbler, this “Inca” lounge chair is a stunning composition of stained wood dowels with brass and leather strapping. The dowels are visible throughout the wooden structure, showing the outstanding artistry. Equally interesting are the leather straps that can be adjusted, allowing customisation. The buckles are made of brass, which is an eye-catching feature as well. The slung support system is not only ingeniously designed but offers an extremely comfortable seating experience. The original patinated leather seat and back cushions bloom over the frame and include an easily removable head bolster. From every single angle, this “Inca” showcases Norell’s characteristic furniture features and his pioneering personality.

Like all Norell furniture, this lounge chair was manufactured by hand in the factory in Aneby, Sweden. The family company prides itself in the great deal of care that is put into every product that they create. The Inca characterizes Arne Norell’s unique idiom, which is still a guiding principle at the company.

SOLD  

Condition:

In good vintage condition. Wear consistent with age and use. The chair has its original patinated leather upholstery.

Dimensions:

34.64 in W x 32.67 in D x 38.58 in H; Seat height 17.71 in

88 cm W x 83 cm D x 98 cm H; Seat height 45 cm

About the Designer:

The Swedish designer, Arne Norell was born in 1917 in Åsele, Sweden, and was active in the post-war era, at the height of international fascination with Scandinavian design.

While little biographical information is available about his formative years, it is known that he opened a furniture workshop in Stockholm in 1954. In 1958, he launched his eponymous manufacturing company, “Møbel AB Arne Norell”, on a two-acre farm in Småland. Through the course of his prolific career, this idyllic setting remained Norell’s central source of inspiration and the site where he designed and produced all of his furniture until he passed away in 1971.

Norell is often praised for pioneering “conceptual” furniture, because he employed traditional materials - leather, turned wood, bentwood, and metal, for example - in unexpected forms, often with lyrical results. His designs have an affinity with those of Danish designer Kaare Klint (1888-1954), who, a generation before, brought time-honoured, vernacular forms into modernist expression. In fact, Klint’s iconic Safari Chair (1933) inspired Norell to create the Sirocco Safari Chair (1964), which is lightweight, collapsible, and held together by leather support straps instead of glue or screws. Norell’s wood-framed Inca Armchair, Indra Sofa, and Ilona Sofa (design dates unverified) are likewise held together by leather.

While Norell’s designs found a solid market within his lifetime, his greatest recognition came posthumously: The British Furniture Manufacturers Association awarded Norell’s low-slung, steel-framed, leather-clad Ari Chair (1966) “Show Piece of the Year” in 1973. Norell’s pieces have become increasingly collectible in the 2010s.

Today, Norell’s daughter and son-in-law, Marie Norell-Möller and Thomas Möller, carry on his work, operating under the name Norell Møbel AB. In 2014, the company celebrated its 60th anniversary. It is the only Swedish company that has continuously manufactured the entirety of Norell’s catalogue since the 1950s. ~H.