Floating-back office armchairs by Pierre Jeanneret from the Chandigarh furniture program, circa 1955–1956. Teak compass frames carry woven cane seats and backs beneath broad, horizontal timber armrests, giving the chairs a clear and open architectural profile.
Jeanneret developed furniture alongside the architecture of Chandigarh, the new city created in post-independence India. Seating was an essential part of its offices, educational establishments and residential interiors. His designs brought modernist composition into direct contact with local woodworking: substantial timber members, economical joints and repeated forms gave ordinary furnishings a distinct architectural presence. The resulting furniture was made to be used, and its character emerges from the way a relatively small number of structural elements organize the body, the supporting frame and the spaces between them.
The back is lifted above the rear seat rail, leaving a band of open space that makes the separate parts of the construction apparent. Angled side members spread toward the floor, while the long armrests extend forward beyond their supports. The fine cane grid introduces a lighter surface within the substantial teak outline.
The photographed group retains several painted inventory codes. A clearly visible rear rail reads “PSA/AC/C/18/II,” and additional back rails carry “ADMN” followed by individual numbers, including 604 and 633. These marks preserve an administrative inventory history in Chandigarh; the lettered rails and differing numerals identify individual frames within the group. Their placement on the exposed woodwork makes this history part of the chairs’ visible form.
The vintage teak retains variations in grain, color and surface wear, with softened edges and individual traces of use visible in the photographs. These details give the woodwork its material character and preserve the sense of a furnishing made for daily life in institutional or residential interiors.
Dimensions: approximately 20.5 inches wide, 20.5 inches deep, 31.5 inches high. Seat height: 17.5 inches.
Provenance: private collection, Chandigarh, India, as recorded by Studio Balestra.
Accompanied by a Studio Balestra Certificate of Authenticity.
