Following the success of its French design auction on March 20, PIASA is offering a new event, this time dedicated to Brazilian design. While the catalog features around a hundred lots, the selection is characterized by a remarkable array of exceptional pieces designed by the greatest names in Brazilian design, including Joaquim Tenreiro.
In 1949, the carioca playwright Silveira Sampaio stages his new play, "Da Necessidade de Ser Polígamo," the story of a love triangle between a man, his wife, and his mistress. To symbolize the romantic triangle, he comes up with the idea of using a three-legged chair representing the three protagonists united by a single feeling: desire. Sampaio then enlists Tenreiro, who enthusiastically responds to the commission.
In an interview published in 1969, Tenreiro declares: "This chair instinctively became the mascot of my workshop, because it represented not only a new facet of furniture at the time but also a response to the stagnation in furniture creation by rococo supporters." Initially designed for Sampaio's play using the laminated wood technique with two types of wood, it was later developed using three, four, or even five types of wood. Legend has it that the "cadeira tres pes" was never offered for sale, with Tenreiro only giving it to his clients when he completed a full interior design project for them, with the number of woods used depending on the size of the order. However, some known specimens, produced under the Tenreiro Movéis e Decorações era, bear an identification label with a selling price under the seat, suggesting that the chair was indeed sold.
Joaquim Tenreiro (1906-1992)
Cadeira de três pès
Three-footed chair
Estimate : 100 000 / 150 000 €
