Ado Chale Furniture
Known to some as “the alchemist of high minerals,” Ado Chale uses semi-precious stones, metals and organic materials like fossilized sequoia and redwoods in his marvelous tables and decorative objects. Over the course of his long career, the prolific Belgian designer, sculptor and decorator turned a passion for mineralogy and love for the natural world into elegant, sculptural furniture.
Born Adolphe Pelsener in Brussels in 1928, the designer learned cabinetry from his woodworker father and trained in ironwork at a young age under local blacksmiths. During a trip to Germany in the late 1950s, he became enamored with minerals, and turned his attention to creating seating, tables and other furnishings with a range of unconventional materials.
At the beginning of the 1960s, Pelsener changed his name to Ado Chale and opened a gallery in Brussels with his wife, a gemologist named Huguette Schaal. He began to create sophisticated mosaic inlays for tabletops using pyrite fragments. He worked with malachite and turquoise and also worked in metal, producing decorative objects and furniture like his iconic aluminum goutte d’eau coffee tables. Chale used epoxy resin to lend his tables an opulent sheen. His incorporation of exquisite natural materials like agate and petrified wood rendered his furniture unlike anything else. Chale’s work was soon in high demand — his clientele included the Belgian royal family and notable architects and designers like Alberto Pinto, Peter Marino and Jacques Grange.
In 1967, Chale’s designs were included in the Universal Exhibition in Montreal. In the decades since, he has continued to exhibit his work, including at the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels in 2017.
On 1stDibs, find a range of vintage Ado Chale tables, lighting and more.
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Item Ships From: Brussels
Creator: Ado Chale
Huge Bronze sphere by Ado Chale mid modern century
By Ado Chale
Located in Bruxelles, BE
Ado Chale’s Bronze Sphere
This captivating bronze sphere, a testament to the artistic genius of Ado Chale, exudes timeless elegance. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, it ...
Category
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Materials
Bronze
Round Ado Chale Coffee Table, Oeil de Tigre, Belgium
By Ado Chale
Located in Brussels, BE
Round Ado Chale Coffee Table, Oeil de Tigre, Belgium
Category
1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Materials
Metal
Ado Chale Circular Coffee Table Black Resin and Petrified Wood
By Ado Chale
Located in Brussels, BE
Ado Chale circular coffee table black resin and Arizona petrified wood, circa 1980, signed by the artist. Very good condition.
Category
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Materials
Stone
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Previously Available Items
Large Ado Chale Coffee Table, Oeil de Tigre, Belgium
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Large Ado Chale Coffee Table, Oeil de Tigre, Belgium
Metalworker by training, Belgian designer Ado Chale discovered mineralogy during a journey in Germany in the 1950’s. He cultivated his passion alongside his wife, Huguette Schaal, who became a gemologist herself. Together they traveled the world in search of semi-precious stones and rare materials to create decorative items as well as exceptional and unique pieces of furniture.
More than a designer, Ado Chale can also be designate as a skilled craftsman and alchemist, always researching and experimenting combinations of chemicals that would allow him to give shape to his ideas.
From Brussels to Montréal, from Paris to Tokyo, Ado Chale was invited to exhibit his works internationally and became an emblematic figure of the world of art and design. Chale's creations notoriously attracts a sophisticated clientele and is much appreciated by members of the aristocracy in Belgium and all over the world as well as by representatives of the Haute Couture such as Dior...
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1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
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Table Lamp by Ado Chale, 1975, Belgium
By Ado Chale
Located in Brussels, BE
Ado Chale work puts naturalistic materials at the centre of his creation. The present lamp presents a petrified wood stone, rich in colors. Chale created the made to measure solid br...
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1970s Belgian Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
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Brass
Suite of four “vide poche”in bronze by Ado Chale mi
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Rare serie of 4 “vide poche”in casted bronze made in late seventies by famous Belgian designer Ado Chale .
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Mid-Century Modern Pepper Coffee Table by Ado Chale, Belgium, 1970s.
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Signed.
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Ado Chale Signed Polished Bronze Console, circa 1970, Belgium
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Table Lamp by Ado Chale circa 1965 with Rock Crystal and Tourmaline
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Ado Chale Signed Sculptural Gold Bronze Vide-Poche Vintage
By Ado Chale
Located in Brussels, BE
Nice sculptural Ado Chale bowl, designed circa 1970, Belgium.
Cast and polished gold bronze, signed Ado Chale on the inner rim.
Dimensions: 16 cm W, 14 cm D, 5 cm H.
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Resin Low Table with Bone Inclusion Signed Ado Chale, Belgium 1980
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Located in Brussels, BE
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Belgium around 1980.
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Ado Chale "Goute d'eau" Coffee Table
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Ado Chale furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Ado Chale furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of metal and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Ado Chale furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Ado Chale were created in the mid-century modern style in europe during the 20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Jean Claude Dresse, Lova Creations, and Etienne Allemeersch. Prices for Ado Chale furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $2,943 and can go as high as $105,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $28,538.