February 26, 2009
Friends of furniture, gather round
and gaze at this chair that has just sold for 22 million euro.
That’s just a shade over $28 million, folks. Yes. That’s $28 million, not $2.8 million which, I think you will all agree would be a reasonable price to pay for a pretty chair. As Ross said this morning,
If that chair doesn’t shit gold eggs while tap dancing, they got overcharged.
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Granted, Lucy, it is pretty, but, what the fuck!?!?
Oh and it’s by Eileen Gray, a Wexford woman who died in 1976, aged 98, who lived in Paris most of her life.
I’ll bet she knew Yves.
Cindy, when a feisty Wexford woman with a knack for making $28m chairs meets an apostrophe stenciling Frenchman, you just know there’s got to be fireworks. Far. Away. From. The. Chair.
I actually love this. It’s fucking transcendent.
It is, indeed, a marvelous chair. I think I’d spend my $28M elsewhere, though.
I will gladly help you spend it, Cindy. I know all the best elsewheres.
Those arms are apostrophes! This chair should be donated to a Birmingham museum to remind them of their sins.
But when I said I loved this, I meant the whole ridiculousness of spending 28 million dollahs on a chair. It’s so fucking beyond. Apparently the new owner had a bidding battle with someone on a telephone, and he raised his bids in 500,000 EURO increments until the line went ‘click, burrrrr’. And then he took his chair home.
I think he had bought the chair from Eileen originally, years ago, though it doesn’t say that in the article. Anyway, the buyer had owned it at some point, because he sold it to Yves Saint Laurent, whose household knick knacks were being sold in this auction.
I’ve embedded a link in the text now. I thought I did it for the image, but it didn’t seem to go through. A sideboard of hers also sold for 4 million euros.
Deron, will you make me one of these, please? I’ll give you fity dollahs.
…because he sold it to Yves Saint Laurent…
Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s the name of that Bastille feller.
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I’m with you, Lucy. I love over the top craziness like this. Although it is somewhat mind boggling that a person has $28M to spend on a chair.
When I either win the lottery or, better still, am left a vast fortune by a wonderfully rich eccentric whom I do not remember meeting, I will give huge sums to everyone I know, including my clusterflock family, and we will go to all of the good elsewheres and spend it happily.
then yes.
Grand. Send me the pictures as it comes along. DO NOT LOSE FURTHER FINGERS. If you need a $20 in advance to keep ya sweet, I will by all means paypal ya.
Y’all, you know a 19.6% VAT was tacked on to that 22 million euro, which was the hammer price ‘plus’.
Now would you still pony up?
I wonder if the owner realised about the vat. It’s feckin easy to forget about the vat.
But again, the sheer sensual deliciousness of there being vat applied to the beyond. Oh God. I am coming over all cat like.
Lucy, do you think Deron will have to vat you?
You know in Denmark, vat is called ‘moms’. So I suppose in Denmark, one such as Deron would have to moms me. Now, I wouldn’t have anticipated being got in the family way for a chair, but as it will be worth 22 million euro plus vat/moms, um…. it will probably all work out in the end. Ta dah.
I’m pretty sure the momsvat in Texas for handcrafted items sold to anyone outside the state is 764%. But I won’t mention it to Deron.
Cindy, would you want to have that chair recovered in tofurkey?
Look, I’m giving the brother fity dolla and a sweetener. We’ll have to talk momsvat thru amongst oursel.
Very very good point, Sheila. Very fucking astute of you.
No, if I’m payin fitty dolla for a chair, it gotta be real cow. Even I know that.
Not that Deron’s making me one of these chairs or nothin. Hell, I aint even talk to him about it. I dont know where he got that idea of makin me a chair.
Oh, the sheer beyondness of a 28 mil dolla tofurkey refurbished Eileen Gray original. I’m gonna start singing Aquarius again. I can feel it.
I prefer Quorn to Tofurkey.
We’re going to have to have a explete-in in the mud for the chair, Cindy.
People can throw tofurkey slices at us to show their appreciation.
I’m fucking winning that contest.
ahem.
Cindy, that’s brave of you to specify ‘real cow’ — but how about Naugahyde? Deron, you got a line on any deep-discount Naugahyde suppliers?
Ooo, I do love a nice Naugahyde. Or Pleather. Mmmm, that’ll do just fine.
Deron – What?
Now, see, this is classy. Pleather, on the other hand, is a miracle.
Pleather it is, then.
Deron, we’ll take pleather.
Deron, you better make two. It’s gonna get fucky in the mud.
Deron
I’ll take fitty on Cindy and fitty on Lucy. Clusterflockstock-fucky-in-the-mud. Who’s going to call the match? (Don’t look at me, I got money innit.)
What I know of Eileen Gray is this table.
When Saks here in KC closed, three years ago, they liquidated, but someone came in to select things to ship to other Saks stores. We had one of these tables for every dressing room in the store. I secretly hoped they’d be sold here instead of shipped away, I wanted two for night stands in our bedroom. Alas, seems the company might have known their worth. All were carted away. Still the look can be boughten for $167 apiece.
I don’t think I know how to fix the first link, but it seems the second link show the table just fine.
He said “show” he meant “shows.”
Ok, that seems to have fixed the link, but:
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! tubular steel! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarggh!
Yes, but as put forth in the product description, it is one of the “rational designs for which Gray later gained notoriety.” I would have never guessed the chair above was Gray’s by looking at this table or conversely that the person who designed the table would be likely to meld pleather and bakelite mastodon tusks into an easy chair for Beowulf.
For the record, I think they’re both fabulous. I’d like to see them used side by side.
Re unlikely Beowulf tubular steel rational notoriety: indeed, Rick.
Did you see this, Rick? Gal could get 25 years in jail for giving kickbacks to customers at Saks http://is.gd/l6WY
As a visual merchandiser, I was never given a code to open a cash register, thankfully. And as a visual merchandising manager, had little to do with jewelry. And purposefully had as little to do with the cosmetics department as possible. Seemed I always had at least one staffer who loved those ladies.