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.
1980s Belgian Futurist Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Agate
Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Ado Chale Furniture
Metal, Bronze
1980s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Steel, Brass
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary German Organic Modern Ado Chale Furniture
Bronze
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Metal, Chrome
1970s Belgian Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Brass, Bronze
1970s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Stone
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Bamboo
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary German Modern Ado Chale Furniture
Bronze
1980s American Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Glass, Walnut
1980s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Metal
1980s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Modern Ado Chale Furniture
Steel
1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Aluminum
1970s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Iron
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Bronze
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Bronze
1970s French Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Resin
1980s Belgian Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Precious Stone, Resin
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Agate, Brass
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Jade
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Precious Stone
1980s Belgian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Ado Chale Furniture
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Belgian Ado Chale Furniture
Precious Stone, Resin, Wood