Vladimir Kagan for Selig Snail Coffee Table
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Vladimir Kagan for Selig Snail Coffee Table
About the Item
- Creator:Selig (Manufacturer),Vladimir Kagan (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 14.63 in (37.17 cm)Width: 42 in (106.68 cm)Length: 14.63 in (37.17 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1501215429042
Vladimir Kagan
The pioneers of modern furniture design in America in the mid-20th century all had their moments of flamboyance: Charles and Ray Eames produced the startling, biomorphic La Chaise; George Nelson’s firm created the Marshmallow sofa; Edward Wormley had his decadent Listen to Me chaise. But no designer of the day steadily offered works with more verve and dynamism than Vladimir Kagan. While others, it seems, designed with suburban households in mind, Kagan aimed to suit the tastes of young, sophisticated city-dwellers. With signature designs that feature sleekly curved frames and others that have dramatic out-thrust legs, Kagan made furniture sexy.
Kagan’s father was a Russian master cabinetmaker who took his family first to Germany (where Vladimir was born) and then to New York in 1938. After studying architecture at Columbia University, Kagan opened a design firm at age 22 and immediately made a splash with his long, low and sinuous Serpentine sofa. Furniture lines such as the Tri-symmetric group of glass-topped, three-legged tables and the vivacious Contours chairs soon followed.
Kagan’s choices of form and materials evolved through subsequent decades, embracing lucite, aluminum and burl-wood veneers. By the late 1960s, Kagan was designing austere, asymmetrical cabinets and his Omnibus group of modular sofas and chairs. For all his aesthetic élan, Kagan said that throughout his career, his touchstone was comfort. “A lot of modern furniture was not comfortable. And so comfort is: form follows function. The function was to make it comfortable,” he once commented. “I created what I called vessels for the human body.”
A diverse group of bodies have made themselves at home with Kagan designs. Among the famous names who commissioned and collected his designs are Marilyn Monroe, Gary Cooper, Andy Warhol, David Lynch, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, and firms such as Gucci and Giorgio Armani. His work is in numerous museum collections, including those of the Victoria & Albert and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Because of its idiosyncrasy, Kagan’s work did not lend itself to mass-production. Kagan never signed on with any of the major furniture-making corporations, and examples of his designs are relatively rare. As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, even decades after their conception, Kagan pieces still command the eye, with their freshness, energy, sensuality and wit.
Selig
As an importer and producer, the Selig furniture company helped popularize timeless and elegant postwar designs in the United States.
Selig created Danish-inspired chairs, sofas and other furnishings for the home that were cutting-edge, contemporary and airy. The brand was also among the first to introduce Scandinavian and European modern styles to Americans in the 1950s and 60s. The company imported and manufactured furniture known for its extraordinary design and style using high-quality, enduring and seductive materials.
Selig was founded in 1931 by Mandell Selig and Samuel Wexler. The pair started the business during the challenging economic times of the Great Depression prior to World War II. By the 1960s, under the leadership of Wexler's son, Robert, Selig peaked with manufacturing factories in five American cities.
Selig’s importing business had a meaningful impact on Italian furniture manufacturers. Wexler, the junior, had a hand in advancing and growing the manufacturing sector of the country’s Udine region. Due to this contribution, the Italian government saw fit to knight Robert Wexler with the title of “Cavaliere.”
After nearly four decades of influencing seating and lounging preferences in the United States with sophisticated mid-century modern and Scandinavian modern furniture — including its own chrome rocking chairs and leather club chairs — Selig sold to Simmons, the mattress company, in 1970, thus dissolving. Much of what they produced and imported is still available despite no longer being manufactured, and many collectors seek original Selig furniture.
On 1stDibs, find an array of vintage Selig furniture that includes lounge chairs, armchairs, tables and more.
- Vladimir Kagan Snail Coffee Table in WalnutBy Selig, Vladimir KaganLocated in Brooklyn, NYFor sale, the iconic design, the snail table by Vladimir Kagan. Freshly refinished walnut spiral base supporting glass top with rounded edges. The perfect minimalist coffee table wit...Category
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- Kagan Propeller Glass Top Coffee Table for SeligBy Selig, Vladimir KaganLocated in New York, NYVladimir Kagan design for Selig Propeller coffee table. Base consists of opposing curved Walnut veneer elements joined by a rectangular chrome support. Base without glass top 14 inch...Category
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- Coffee Table Attributed to Vladimir Kagan for Sika Mobler, 1960sBy Sika Møbler, Vladimir KaganLocated in Praha, CZRetro design coffee table attributed to Vladimír Kagan, made in Belgium, 1960s, wooden legs, smoked glass, original Mobler paper label.Category
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- Vladimir Kagan Propeller Glass Top Coffee TableBy Vladimir KaganLocated in Asheville, NCIndulge in the timeless allure of mid-century design with this exquisite coffee table designed by Vladimir Kagan and proudly manufactured by Selig in the United States during the 196...Category
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- Vladimir Kagan for Kagan-Dreyfuss Table w Alexandra Kasuba Tiles, c 1949, SignedBy Vladimir Kagan, Kagan-Dreyfuss, Inc.Located in Los Angeles, CAThis rare collectors piece is a documented and signed low table designed in 1949 by Vladimir Kagan and produced through the 1950's while Kagan was partnered with Hugo Dreyfuss. Signed underneath with the Kagan-Dreyfuss stamp as can be seen in the photos, which reads Kagan-Dreyfuss New York, A Vladimir Kagan Design. Featuring Alexandra Kasuba ceramic art tiles over rough-etched oak and brass sheet legs. The Kasuba tiles feature a design of modernist horses and trees in colors of red, orange, yellow and green over a black background. This example is the larger 84" width of the design and ideal either as a long coffee or cocktail table or a low console / media table placed against a wall. Excellent option to place a sculpture or pottery and plant while displaying the beautiful Kasuba art tiles. This piece is functional fine art for your floor. Extremely rare and sought-after by collectors, this early production Kagan design produced during the Hugo Dreyfuss years. Items stamped with the Hugo-Dreyfuss stamp are exceptional pieces held in collections of fine art and design connoisseurs. Interior designers, get this for your most difficult-to-please high-profile client. *The Paul Evans Patchwork Copper sideboard and the emerald green velvet Togo sofa...Category
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$10,500 Sale Price25% Off
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