Kartell revisits the classic 18th century Windsor chair in the new Comback designed by Patricia Urquiola. Whereas standard chairs were continuous at the back legs and the upright of the back, the Windsor chair’s legs and uprights were turned on a pole-lathe and round-tenoned into the seat.
In the contemporary take of the Comback (from comb-back) the back and arms are formed not from steam bent wood and spokes, but from batch-dyed thermoplastic technopolymer. This is shaped in a single mould into an array of ‘teeth’ emanating from a vertebrae of hexagons.
The seven ‘teeth’ of the upper back spread out towards the lumbar region, where the reinforced hexagonal rim acts as an axis from which the teeth of the lower back radiate down at a different angle to the seat.
This perfectly proportioned paean to times past is newly arrived in Australia. It asserts itself as emblematic of current times with its geometry, emphasised by colours such as Orangey Red, Yellow, Grey Blue, White, Black and Hazelnut.
The Comback is available in four versions. The Swivel chair, the Sled chair, the Wooden chair and, in an ultimate loveletter to the 18th century, the Rocking chair.
The Swivel chair has four legs and a swivel shaft in White or Black. The Sled chair has two slim, tubular legs in White, Black, Orangey Red, Yellow, Grey Blue or Hazelnut.
The Wooden chair has four oak-stained Ashwood or white or black painted Beechwood legs. The Rocking chair has two rocker runners in Oak-stained Ashwood.
The Comback embodies the artisanal elegance of design of the 18th century, with a new geometry that speaks to modern times and interiors.
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