1stDibs ExpertNovember 13, 2024
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.