Pierre Jeanneret Upholstered Dining Chairs from the Punjab University Type, Chandigarh, c.1958-59

Upholstered dining chairs by Pierre Jeanneret from the Chandigarh furniture program, circa 1958–1959, presented in contemporary camel hair-on-hide. The armless teak frames combine rectangular backs, compact seats and splayed compass supports. Jeanneret developed furniture alongside the architecture of Chandigarh, the new city created in post-independence India. Seating was an essential part of its offices, educational establishments and residential interiors. His designs brought modernist composition into direct contact with local woodworking: substantial timber members, economical joints and repeated forms gave ordinary furnishings a distinct architectural presence. The resulting furniture was made to be used, and its character emerges from the way a relatively small number of structural elements organize the body, the supporting frame and the spaces between them. The back uprights continue down to the rear seat rail, leaving an open band beneath the upholstered back. Broad diagonal leg members provide the characteristic A-shaped side profile, while the padded seat projects above them. The light covering contrasts with the darker teak and its visible grain. The photographed rear rail reads “PGGC (Nutrition)” with “210/3” below. PGGC is consistent with a Post Graduate Government College designation, and “Nutrition” identifies a departmental context. The code preserves a particular inventory history on the woodwork itself, connecting the marked chair to everyday educational use. The numerals are retained as part of the inscription rather than used to assign a room or building. The vintage teak retains variations in grain, color and surface wear, with softened edges and individual traces of use visible in the photographs. These details give the woodwork its material character and preserve the sense of a furnishing made for daily life in institutional or residential interiors. The present upholstery is a later treatment of the vintage structure. For related upholstered Chandigarh dining chairs, see Wright, Important Design, June 2021, lot 170. Dimensions: approximately 16.5 inches wide, 19.5 inches deep, 31.5 inches high. Provenance: private collection, Chandigarh, India, as recorded by Studio Balestra. Accompanied by a Studio Balestra Certificate of Authenticity. Dimensions: 16.5"W x 19.5"D x 31.5"H x 19"SH Product Type: Dining Chairs