“Space Age” dining table and chairs, Tabacoff and Rinaldi design

A spectacular dining set representative of 1970s French ‘Space Age’ design, based on Boris Tabacoff’s ‘Scimitar’ model for the chairs and Gastone Rinaldi’s design for the table. It comprises a round table with a glass top and four chairs with organic lines, upholstered in orange imitation leather that is particularly emblematic of that decade. The table’s base consists of four chrome-plated steel elements forming symmetrical arcs around a central column. These curved slats lend the structure a dynamic appearance whilst creating the impression that the top is floating above the floor. The four chairs feature a padded seat extended by a wraparound, slightly flared backrest. Their fluid silhouette contrasts with the geometric rigour of the circular top. The combination of glass, mirror-finish chrome and bright orange fully embodies the futuristic aesthetic of the 1970s. Despite its bold character, the use of glass lends the ensemble a genuine sense of visual lightness. A set of four Belgian ‘Idée 2000’ chairs, produced by Euro International Steel Furniture, based in Drongen, near Ghent. Some signs of wear and oxidation consistent with the age of the pieces; the leather has been cleaned and a few scratches repaired. Good condition.

Size: table diameter: 120 cm – table height: 72.5 cm – seat height: 45 cm

Lit: Boris Tabacoff, Bulgaria–France (1927–1985). Born in 1927 in Bulgaria, Boris Tabacoff was a Bulgarian designer who was part of the Post-War School of Paris (1945–2000). He was the very first designer from this school to create furniture and objects in Plexiglas. Tabacoff arrived in Paris in the 1950s, having not yet found his niche within the ‘Post-War School of Paris’ as a sculptor or craftsman. He went to a renowned sculptors’ studio, founded by the sculptor Philippe Scrive on Rue de Seine. Since 1948, Scrive had been renovating this dilapidated space to house his family, the abstract painter Françoise Staar (1933–2011) and his sculptor friends who lacked their own studios. Scrive thus welcomed up to 22 post-war sculptor friends from all over the world, who shared a passion for sculpture and the hope of better days ahead. In 1954, the Algerian War broke out. Scrive left his family and his sculptor disciples in a state of disarray and entrusted his studio to Boris Tabacoff, who took it over under his own name. Boris Tabacoff benefited from France’s ‘thirty glorious years’, and his studio designed and manufactured Cardin’s designs. He featured prominently in art magazines of the 1960s and 1970s thanks to Cardin, using Plexiglas to produce Cardin bathtubs, chairs, tables and clocks, as well as prestigious Plexiglas desks. Boris Tabacoff died in France in 1985.

Lit: Gastone Rinaldi (Milan, 1920–1999) was an Italian designer and a pioneer of post-war metal furniture and objects. Working mainly in Milan, he founded the company Rinaldi/Rima in the 1950s, focusing on chairs, tables and furniture that were lightweight, functional and clean-lined. His designs combined technical innovation, elegance and a modern sensibility, helping consolidate Italian industrial design.