Image source: Artek — Mademoiselle Rocking Chair
© Artek and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Mademoiselle Rocking Chair
Tapiovaara’s 1956 solid-birch rocking chair, shaped through Finnish tradition and modern design.
550 × 970 × 910 mm
1956
Finland
Official product information
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Go to the official product pageDescription
Overview
The 1956 Mademoiselle Rocking Chair adapts Ilmari Tapiovaara’s domestic chair concept to long curved runners. Artek identifies traditional Finnish chairs as the source that Tapiovaara approached with modern design.
Construction
The entire chair is specified in solid birch. Its spoke back is made with an age-old method, while the seat edge follows the smooth modernist curve described by Artek. White lacquer and black stain are the published finishes.
Specifications
Artek’s drawing gives W 55 × D 91 × H 97 cm and a 45 cm seat height.
Story
Rocking version
Mademoiselle was created in 1956 for domestic use, and Artek maintains this rocking model separately from the fixed lounge chair. Its extended 91 cm depth records the presence of the runners in the official dimensions.
Old method, new expression
Tapiovaara used the familiar spoke-back construction as a foundation, then set it against a rounded seat profile. Artek characterises the result as a modern approach to traditional design.
More by Ilmari Tapiovaara
Kiki Lounge Chair
Ilmari Tapiovaara's compact steel-framed lounge chair from the Kiki Collection, 1960
Kiki Sofa
Ilmari Tapiovaara's steel-framed Kiki Sofa for Artek, 2- or 3-seater, 1960
Aslak Chair
A stackable beech chair sketched in 1946 and brought into production by technical advances in 1958.
Mademoiselle Lounge Chair
A solid-birch lounge chair joining Finnish chair tradition with Tapiovaara’s modern approach.