“Mole” Armchair with Stool in Hardwood & Leather, Sergio Rodrigues, 1957 - Lot 699-709
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Description
Sergio Rodrigues (1927-2014) signature piece designed in 1957, the "Mole" Armchair – which means "soft" in Portuguese – is composed of a solid rounded Rosewood frame, adjustable leather support straps, and floppy, oversized luxurious leather cushions. Although it was not well received in the beginning, the “Mole” armchair would soon become an icon, perhaps the most well-known piece of Brazilian design. Its forms allow the user to shape the body anatomically when sitting in comfort.
Robust and extremely comfortable, the Mole sparked an international design trend that favored comfort, and new attention to scale, over the rigid and antiseptic concurrent design trends. In 1961 the Mole Armchair was awarded at the IV Furniture Biennale in Italy. Today, Mole is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.
The wood has been refinished and displays vibrant yellow veins. The upholstery is new was done by the same group of upholsters who worked for Sergio Rodrigues in the seventies.