leah's ebay finds: klismos chairs
Klismos chairs are design classics that have also managed the neat feat of being incredibly au courant. (They’ve popped up in Domino and in House Beautiful of late, and don’t miss the recent Klismos slideshow from Southern Accents.)
Based on Greek forms dating from the 5th century B.C., modern-day Klismos chairs have both a refined stateliness and a bit of swaggering attitude, with a neoclassical shape that features splayed saber legs and a curving backrest that cradles the body. Pristine examples from the early 18th to the mid-20th century run several hundred to several thousand dollars at high-end auction houses and on sites like 1stdibs, while new versions from companies like Donghia and Michael Berman will set you back nearly as much.
Or you could try eBay. This set of four midcentury-model Klismos up for auction looks like it’s in excellent shape, and will add a bit of stylish pomp to your dining table or a touch of sculptural elegance when employed as occasional seating elsewhere.
Current bid: $212. (Shipping for the entire set via Greyhound is an additional — and quite reasonable — $90.) The auction ends on Thursday. — Leah H.
Leah, from the blog More Ways to Waste time, is sharing her eBay finds with us once a week. She’s got a great eye. so be sure to check out her site!
Great chairs! Speaking of shipping via Greyhound…anyone on here ever done that? It always seems so risky to me…the few times I’ve taken the bus my suitcase has been man-handled. Do they just lob your item under the bus in the suitcase/cargo area? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
I’ve purchased a couple of pieces on eBay that were shipped via Greyhound, with no problems. And yeah, I’m pretty sure they do just lob them under the bus — but have you seen how the USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. handle their packages? It’s no better. (Our old mailman made a point of *dropping* on our doorstep every box marked “fragile” from a height of four feet.)
The key, as always, is good packing (furniture shipped via Greyhound has to be boxed or crated — so it’s not like they’d just be tossing the unwrapped chairs in with the suitcases) and buying shipping insurance.
Good luck!
Leah
They are klismos-like or klismos in style, but definitely not klismos. In a traditional klismos (ie the ones depicted on Greek vases as well as the reproductions by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings back in the 1930s), the legs are very like sabers, dramatically curved to the front and back. In the chairs pictures, only the backs are klimos-like. I’d say the ones shown here are actually midcentury reproductions/adaptations of an English Regency design.
[...] See more about Klisomos chairs here. [...]