Rare 8 pc set Peace Corps Ocepa Leather Furniture 1960's Ecuador

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Rare 8 pc set Peace Corps Ocepa Leather Furniture 1960's Ecuador

About the Item

This wonderful find is a testament to what can be accomplished with an eco-friendly and green initiative that the Peace Corps of the 1960's attempted. An unusual and wonderful 8 piece set of furniture designed by a Scandinavian artist named Mcgee during a 1960's initiative to develop leather furniture under the aegis of the USAID, the United States Agency for International development. They employed designers from Scandinavia to come to Central American companys and and develop furniture and handicrafts for the local trademen to build. These chairs are all made of hand tooled leather and local wood. The leather is pegged to the wood and the chairs were designed to break down for shipment. Each chair depicts a different scene and the ottomans are have different scenes as well. I believe the designs on the two table are similar. We contacted Charles Sensemen a Designer from Michigan and he explained the program. Before I quote from his answer let me give the individual dimensions of the pieces. The chairs are 24 inches wide, 27 inches deep 30 inches high and the seat height is 15 inches. The ottomans are 18 x 18 inches and 13 inches tall. The larger table is 31.5 inches in diameter and 19 inches tall the smaller table is 18 inches in diameter and 18.75 inches tall.
What follows is Mr. Senseman's response to our inquiry and explains in detail about these unique pieces and their relevance;
Hello,
I worked for OCEPA during a Peace Corps Assignment in Ecuador from 1967 to 1970. During that time leather furniture was developed through the United States Agency for International Development, USAID. The ALIANZA para el Progresso was also a project of USAID. They employed designers from Scandinavia during the early 1960s to come to Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador to develop handcrafts for the artisans to make. It is likely that the furniture that you mention was made in Cuenca, Ecuador. The designer was someone named McGee......and we knew the chair as the McGee Chair during our assignments as Product Developers for Handcrafts there. Our main goal was the promotion of handcrafts and our projects for OCEPA were many and varied. We designed the interiors of Ecuatoriana's new (used) aircraft from Cathay Airlines with all artisan products. I also worked on and designed the interiors of three retail stores in Quito, Ecuador, Cali, Colombia, and Buenos Aires, Argentina while there using all artisan materials. The Ecuatoriana Airlines office in Cali, was also one of our projects. We also initiated mail order catalogs of artisan handcrafts to Europe and the USA which were advertised in the magazines, House Beautiful and other shelter journals. OCEPA as it was then, probably no longer exists, as the government of Ecuador has gone through many many changes since 1970 and continues to go through turmoil every year it seems. Anyway, I hope you find this information useful, and interesting if nothing else. I still have the photos of the chair you mention in one remaining copy of the catalog that I designed. The chair was shipped all over the world knocked down, and that was one of the design requirements. The chairs could still be manufactured down there. At the time our project was going on the average income of a typical jeweler, potter, artisan, craftsman, etc. was less than $100. per year. I'm not sure that it has improved much even today.

Dimensions:
Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 27 in (68.58 cm)Depth: 27 in (68.58 cm)Seat Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 8
Materials and Techniques:
Leather,Wood
Place of Origin:
Ecuador
Period:
1960-1969
Date of Manufacture:
1960's
Condition:
The wood has been re-stained and sealed. The leather seating is great on 3 of the 4 chairs, the 4th had a tear that has been stabilized and is a little more worn than the others. One of the table has some staining, that blends in with the scene.
Seller Location:
Palm Springs, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: U0810208350560