Saarinen's model 61 "Grasshopper " chair was the first lounge chair he designed for Knoll in 1946. Responding to what he saw as the relaxed posture a sitter desires, he sought to support the seat, back, shoulders, and head in an organized way. His desire to simplify a form to its fewest elements resulted in the arms and legs all being connected and formed of laminated birch. This is a rare prototype example in original condition that as its original upholstery Dimensions Height: 34.75 in...

From our African Collection: An Old Base with Yoruba Spiritual Figure, the base measures 12" across x 30" h. Circa 1940. "The Yoruba people (Yoruba: Ìran Yorùbá) are an ethnic group that inhabits western Africa, mainly the countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The Yoruba constitute around 30 million people in Africa...

From our African Collection: A Nigerian Eket Figure, circa 1950. 5 x 18". "The Eket are a people who live in this region. They are a sub-group of the Ibibio people. Eket is also the name of the main sub-language that they speak, a Benue–Congo language. Both languages are similar, but sufficiently distinct to give away the precise district the speaker originates from...

From our African Collection: A Luba (Lubua) figure from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 7 x 27"h. "The Lulua tribes people, also known as Bena Lulua, migrated from western Africa during the 18th century and settled in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). They number 300,000 and live in small regional chiefdoms and in times of crisis elect a single common leader. The role of the village chief is to ensure juridical, political and social cohesion...

From our African Collection: A Nkondi nail figure from Congo, circa 1950. 12" x 24" h. Nkondi (plural varies minkondi, zinkondi, or ninkondi)are mystical statuettes made by the Kongo people of the Congo region. Nkondi are a subclass of minkisi that are considered aggressive. The name nkondi derives from the verb -konda, meaning "to hunt" and thus nkondi means "hunter" because they can hunt down and attack wrong-doers, witches, or enemies...

From our African Collection: An Ibibio Movable Jaw Mask from southeastern Nigeria. Ibibio, people of southeastern Nigeria, mainly in the Cross River state. They speak dialects of Efik-Ibibio, a language now grouped within the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Ibibio comprise the following major divisions: Efik, Northern (Enyong), Southern (Eket), Delta (Andoni-Ibeno), Western (Anang), and Eastern (the Ibibio proper)...

From our African Collection: A Male Rhythm Pounder of the Senufo peoples, Ivory Coast Africa, circa 1960. The Senufo people, also known as Siena, Senefo, Sene, Senoufo, and Syénambélé, are a West African ethnolinguistic group...

From our African Collection: Ivory Coast Figure, circa 1960. Côte d’Ivoire was inhabited in the Neolithic era and possibly earlier, although the humid climate has effaced most traces of the country’s earliest civilizations. Portuguese explorers arrived in the early 1600s, and French missionaries landed near the Gold Coast (Ghana) border in 1637. European contact was limited until the 19th century, mainly due to inhospitable geography along the coastline...

From our African Collection: An Eastern Congo Stool, circa 1950.

From our African Collection: Salampasu Ceremonial Mask with Rafia straw, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Circa 1950. '“The 60,000 Salampasu people live on the frontier between the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and Angola. They maintain strong commercial and cultural relations with their southern neighbours, the Tschokwe (Chokwe) and the Lunda, to whom they pay tribute...

From our African Collection: A Zande figure, circa 1960. From Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 16" h. Zande, also called Azande, also spelled Asande, a people of Central Africa who speak a language of the Adamawa-Ubangi branch of the Niger-Congo language family...

From our African Collection: African Teke Figure from the Republic of Congo. 18" h. “The Teke people settled in a territory lying across the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and Gabon. During the 15th century, they were integrated into the Tio kingdom, but attained independence in the 17th century. Today, they live in villages led by a clan elder known as the Mfumu, who answers to a hereditary land-chief called Mfumu na tzee. Their economy is mainly based...

African Drum Democratic Republic of the Congo, 24" long.

From our African Collection: A 3 Part Dogon Wooden Sculpture from Mali, circa 1960. 24" h. The Dogon are best known for their religious traditions, their mask dances, wooden sculpture, and their architecture. Since the twentieth century, there have been significant changes in the social organisation, material culture and beliefs of the Dogon, in part because Dogon country is one of Mali's major tourist attractions The Dogon (or Kaador, Kaado) are an ethnic group indigenous to the central plat...

From our African Collection: African Baule Statue , circa 1960. Colon statues, a term derived from the French statues colon ("colon" is the French noun for a colonist), are a genre of wooden figurative sculpture within African art which originated during the colonial period. The statues commonly depict European colonial officials such as civil servants, doctors, soldiers or technicians or Europeanised middle-class Africans. They are often characterised by recurrent decorative motifs, such as pit...

Danish maker MIK Pair of Carved figure all lamps 16 inches tall

An African Makonde Kneeling Figure, circa 1900. 1.5" w , 10" h. The Makonde are known as master carvers throughout East Africa, and their statuary can be found being sold in tourist markets and in museums alike.The name Makonde art refers to East African sculptures or, less frequently, to modern paintings created by craftspeople or artists belonging to the Makonde people of northern Mozambique and southern Tanzania, separated by the Ruvuma river. Art historians, dealers and collectors have c...

African Baule Figure, 3" x 12"h, circa 1900. The Baule create art in several media, including wooden sculpture, gold and brass casting similar to their Asante ancestors, and mask and figure carving, which have been greatly influenced by their Senufo and Guro neighbors. The Baule belong to the Akan peoples who inhabit Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Three hundred years ago the Baule people migrated westward from Ghana when the Asante rose to power. The tale of how they broke away from the Asante has b...