Zig Zag Shelves

Gerrit Rietveld’s iconic minimalist Zig Zag Chair, designed in the 1930s, features a legless design composed of four dovetailed, interlocking wooden panels at mathematically precise angles with very few nuts and bolts. On 1stDibs, shop a wide collection of expertly-vetted Zig Zag chairs from some of the world’s top sellers.

The Zig Zag chair is made out of wood. Gerrit Rietvel created the first one out of four slabs of elm wood sometime between 1930 and 1934. Metz & Co. in Amsterdam, Netherlands, took over manufacturing and used a variety of hardwood, including pine. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Zig Zag chairs.

The zig-zag chair is called the Zig Zag Stoel, but the most commonly used name among English speakers is the Zig-Zag chair. Introduced in 1934, the Zig-Zag chair resulted from Dutch department store Metz & Co. having enlisted Gerrit Rietveld to create a chair for mass production. “It is not a chair but a designer joke,” Rietveld famously said of the piece that would, ironically, become perhaps his most recognizable chair design. In the chair’s form, he delivered one of the earliest examples of a cantilevered seat. However, unlike cantilevered models by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, Rietveld’s didn’t rely on a metal frame. In fact, the Zig-Zag chair is constructed completely from wood, and its graphic shape is a result of exceptionally precise craftsmanship. On 1stDibs, explore a collection of Gerrit Rietveld Zig-Zag chairs.