Upholstered teak sofa by Pierre Jeanneret from the Chandigarh furniture program, circa 1958–1959, presented in contemporary cognac hair-on-hide. A broad padded seat and inclined back are framed by generous upholstered arms above compass-form timber supports.
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 angled side members spread toward the floor and carry horizontal arm bars at their upper junction. Timber remains visible beneath the arm pads and along the lower structure, giving the cushioned body a clearly articulated base. The long seat and continuous back establish the sofa’s horizontal emphasis while preserving the geometry of Jeanneret’s related easy chairs.
A photographed lower rail reads “MLA(H)PWD/136/III.” MLA(H) is consistent with a Members of the Legislative Assembly Hostel designation, and PWD with Public Works Department inventory. The number and Roman numeral preserve the individual code. This painted inscription supplies a specific institutional association on the vintage frame, linking the sofa’s material history with Chandigarh’s governmental residential furnishings.
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. The present upholstery is a later treatment of the vintage structure.
For a related Chandigarh upholstered sofa and lounge-chair family, see Wright, Design, October 2025, lot 165.
Dimensions: approximately 61 inches wide, 26 inches deep, 30.5 inches high. Seat height: 16.5 inches.
Provenance: private collection, Chandigarh, India, as recorded by Studio Balestra.
Accompanied by a Studio Balestra Certificate of Authenticity.
