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464
1396577

Bengt Ruda

(Sweden, 1918-1999)
Estimate
75 000 - 100 000 SEK
6 670 - 8 900 EUR
6 810 - 9 070 USD
Hammer price
115 000 SEK
Purchasing info
Image rights

The artworks in this database are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the permission of the rights holders. The artworks are reproduced in this database with a license from Bildupphovsrätt.

For condition report contact specialist
Jonatan  Jahn
Stockholm
Jonatan Jahn
Head Specialist Contemporary and Modern Design
+46 (0)703 92 88 60
Bengt Ruda
(Sweden, 1918-1999)

a rare 'Cavelli' easy chair, Ikea, Sweden 1958-59.

Base in teak-stained beech wood, upholstered in the purple original fabric, height 105 cm, seat height 40 cm, width 72 cm.

Minor wear. The upholstery partly dried.

Literature

Product catalogue, IKEA, 1959, pp. 10-11.

Siesing, Andreas: Svenska möbler – Folkhemsform i ull, jakaranda, furu och bok, Bokförlaget Atlantis, 2015, p. 136.

More information

The Cavelli model is the most expensive IKEA piece of furniture ever sold at auction. The armchair is extremely unusual and, according to IKEA's archives, has been manufactured in only very few copies.

Bengt Ruda came to IKEA from Nordiska Kompaniet in 1957. During the 1950s, Ruda had made himself known for pioneering furniture and reaped great success as a designer for Nordiska Kompaniet. In 1958, he designed the Cavelli model, which is considered one of the most progressive design pieces
that Ikea has presented in terms of groundbreaking aesthetics. Today, Cavelli is considered one of Ikea's most iconic models and can be found in the department store's own museum.

Description from Ikea's catalog 1958:

"Here, a confident designer has put his hand to the bold construction. Cavelli is a very extreme armchair: why not dare to have the 1963 lines already in 1959?
Cavelli will be noticed in your home - and admired. You have a wonderful feeling of luxury when you sit down inside its softly embracing armrests, sink deep into the foam rubber padded seat and let your neck rest against the neck pillow, which as it were growing up on an elegant neck. Cavelli is built on a strong frame with visible wooden parts in red beech, stained in teak colour. Elastic padded seat, completely padded with foam rubber / foam area as well as the entire back. Even the back is completely padded. No effort has been spared, no cost has been spared to make Cavelli an aristocrat in the world of the 60s ... "