Cassina Zig Zag Chair
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian De Stijl Dining Room Chairs
Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
Metal, Steel, Chrome
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Leather, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric, Wood
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
2010s Italian Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
Fabric
Antique Mid-19th Century Italian Chairs
Wood
Early 2000s German Bauhaus Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1980s Dutch De Stijl Side Chairs
Cherry
Vintage 1970s Italian Modern Chairs
Elm
Vintage 1930s Italian De Stijl Dining Room Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1980s Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Leather, Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian De Stijl Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1980s Post-Modern Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian De Stijl Chairs
Wood
Mid-20th Century Dutch Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1960s De Stijl Chairs
Vintage 1930s Dutch De Stijl Chairs
Brass
Vintage 1960s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Sofas
Leather
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Living Room Sets
Leather
Vintage 1970s Dutch De Stijl Armchairs
Elm
Vintage 1920s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
Early 2000s Italian Mid-Century Modern Chairs
Wood
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Cassina Zig Zag Chair For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Cassina Zig Zag Chair?
Gerrit Rietveld for sale on 1stDibs
Best known for his Red and Blue chair, a modernist icon created using only two plywood plates and 15 connecting bars, Dutch designer Gerrit Thomas Rietveld trained as a cabinetmaker, and his bold vision for furniture was supported by his expertise in construction and craftsmanship.
Born in Utrecht, Rietveld learned goldsmithing in addition to the cabinetry apprenticeship he had in his carpenter father’s workshop. He studied draftsmanship with architect Piet Klaarhamer at the Utrecht Museum of Applied Arts and opened his own furniture workshop in 1917. In the 1930s, Rietveld began to experiment with then-unusual materials like plywood and aluminum, and he pursued intellectual concepts through his design, even considering a seat as a resting place for the body and the soul.
Designed in 1918, the minimalist Red and Blue chair is widely coveted by collectors and gained admirers in the likes of legendary American sculptor and designer Donald Judd over the years. (Examples of Rietveld’s designs can be found in Judd’s restored home-museum in New York City.) The Red and Blue chair is so stunning in its geometric simplicity that it is one of the most important symbols of the Dutch art and design movement of the early 20th century called De Stijl, of which Rietveld was an important part. De Stijl means “the Style” and was an effort to express utopian values through pure abstraction in design and the use of primary colors.
Another example of Rietveld’s celebrated seating furniture is the Zig-Zag chair, which was commissioned by the Dutch department store Metz & Co. and intended to be mass-produced. The resulting design — to which the rights to manufacture were bought by Cassina in 1971 — is the essence of the De Stijl movement and an example of Rietveld’s experiments with jointless chairs made from a single material, wood. The Zig-Zag chair’s armless, legless, elegant form is pure abstraction, yet it is also sturdy and comfortable.
Later in his career, Rietveld worked more often as an architect, designing buildings in prestigious settings like the Venice Biennale. He was a pioneer in more ways than one: The first building he designed, Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht in 1924, is a radically modern space and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
Find vintage Gerrit Rietveld furniture on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right Seating for You
With entire areas of our homes reserved for “sitting rooms,” the value of quality antique and vintage seating cannot be overstated.
Fortunately, the design of side chairs, armchairs and other lounge furniture — since what were, quite literally, the early perches of our ancestors — has evolved considerably.
Among the earliest standard seating furniture were stools. Egyptian stools, for example, designed for one person with no seat back, were x-shaped and typically folded to be tucked away. These rudimentary chairs informed the design of Greek and Roman stools, all of which were a long way from Sori Yanagi's Butterfly stool or Alvar Aalto's Stool 60. In the 18th century and earlier, seats with backs and armrests were largely reserved for high nobility.
The seating of today is more inclusive but the style and placement of chairs can still make a statement. Antique desk chairs and armchairs designed in the style of Louis XV, which eventually included painted furniture and were often made of rare woods, feature prominently curved legs as well as Chinese themes and varied ornaments. Much like the thrones of fairy tales and the regency, elegant lounges crafted in the Louis XV style convey wealth and prestige. In the kitchen, the dining chair placed at the head of the table is typically reserved for the head of the household or a revered guest.
Of course, with luxurious vintage or antique furnishings, every chair can seem like the best seat in the house. Whether your preference is stretching out on a plush sofa, such as the Serpentine, designed by Vladimir Kagan, or cozying up in a vintage wingback chair, there is likely to be a comfy classic or contemporary gem for you on 1stDibs.
With respect to the latest obsessions in design, cane seating has been cropping up everywhere, from sleek armchairs to lounge chairs, while bouclé fabric, a staple of modern furniture design, can be seen in mid-century modern, Scandinavian modern and Hollywood Regency furniture styles.
Admirers of the sophisticated craftsmanship and dark woods frequently associated with mid-century modern seating can find timeless furnishings in our expansive collection of lounge chairs, dining chairs and other items — whether they’re vintage editions or alluring official reproductions of iconic designs from the likes of Hans Wegner or from Charles and Ray Eames. Shop our inventory of Egg chairs, designed in 1958 by Arne Jacobsen, the Florence Knoll lounge chair and more.
No matter your style, the collection of unique chairs, sofas and other seating on 1stDibs is surely worthy of a standing ovation.
- How does the Zig Zag chair work?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Gerrit Rietveld’s iconic minimalist Zig Zag Chair, designed in the 1930s, features a legless design composed of four dovetailed, interlocking wooden panels at mathematically precise angles with very few nuts and bolts. On 1stDibs, shop a wide collection of expertly-vetted Zig Zag chairs from some of the world’s top sellers.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022The Zig Zag chair is made out of wood. Gerrit Rietvel created the first one out of four slabs of elm wood sometime between 1930 and 1934. Metz & Co. in Amsterdam, Netherlands, took over manufacturing and used a variety of hardwood, including pine. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Zig Zag chairs.