Small Red Velvet Chairs

Three of the chairs lined up. Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

Wooden Legs and Framework
32.5 Inches Tall
22.5 Inches Wide
16 Inches Deep
Seat Is 15 Inches High
$250.00

I'm stumped! I found a batch of these chairs last September at one of the trader's yards. They were hidden in a storage area with just one sample up front. When I saw the sample, I bought all the chairs I could. The wooden framework is simple, but the lines are wonderful. The style is similar to chairs I have seen on the STEFAN BATORY and STATENDAM, but I know they did not come from STEFAN BATORY and I was told by the trader that he had them for years and did not know which vessel they came from. Far too early for STATENDAM, which was scrapped last year as HARMONY I.

Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

The chairs are from the 1950s at the latest and the swoop of the arms is typical of the German/Dutch/Belgian styles of the times. I suspect they may be from the ex Holland Africa Liner RANDFONTEIN since she was broken up at Alang in 1996 as the HERBERT, last sailing between Hong Kong and Shanghai as the HAI XING (which might explain the red velvet). However, I have not seen thse exact chairs in the few accessible images of RANDFONTEIN's interiors, so this initial hunch may not bear out. Other candidates could be one of the East German-built MIKHAIL KALININ class ships that went to India years ago, or, less likely, the ex East German FRITZ HECKERT. There were too many of these to be from anything other than a passenger ship, so hopefully one day, with a little more perseverance, their provenance will be certain.

Photo and copyright Peter Knego 2006.

In the meantime, they are wonderful, compact little time capsules. They will most likely need reupholstering if they are put back into active use and some will need some of their woodwork cleaned or revarnished. I will sell the best ones first, of course.