Antique folding Rex rocking chair by Niko Kralj, in steam-bent beech and slatted plywood, with seat and backrest of flat slats over arched rockers. It originates from Slovenia (former Yugoslavia), from the third quarter of the twentieth century, when the Stol Kamnik factory produced for decades the Rex system designed by the architect Niko Kralj.
The Rex system was born in 1952 when Niko Kralj (1920–2013), an architect trained in Ljubljana, patented an all-wood folding chair: light, stackable and made for serial production. The piece quickly became an icon of Yugoslav modernism: gold medal at the 1956 Milan Triennale, and a continued presence in the permanent collection of MoMA, New York. The rocking version extends the system into a folding lounge seat, built on the same industrial components.
The construction reads as a manual of industrial efficiency. The frame is in solid beech, turned and steam-bent, joined with exposed brass screws at the pivot points. Seat and backrest are two continuous panels of beech plywood pierced by parallel slits — the slits provide flexibility and at the same time draw the model’s characteristic silhouette. The arms are flat moulded plywood pieces, and the rockers are two curved arches that receive the legs through a wedge-and-pin system. The whole chair folds flat against the wall.
The patina is that of a well-used domestic piece: the original varnish retains most of its sheen, with localised marks on the armrests, small wear at the ends of the rockers and the brass pivots with their natural oxidation. The folding mechanism still operates smoothly and the rocking chair keeps its original firmness.
It sits naturally in mid-century, japandi, modernist or contemporary eclectic interiors. It works as a reading chair beside a window, as a lounge seat in a children’s bedroom, or as a folding auxiliary chair that can be stored flat against the wall when not in use. The dialogue between the turned curves and the parallel slits of the panels reads as the only graphic note of the composition.
Details
- Dimensions: Length 89 cm – Width 59 cm – Height 81 cm – Seat Height 40 cm
- Style: Yugoslav mid-century vintage (Niko Kralj for Stol Kamnik)
- Materials and techniques: Solid steam-bent beech and slatted beech plywood; brass screws; pivot-and-wedge assembly; natural varnish.
- Place of origin: Slovenia (former Yugoslavia) — Stol Kamnik
- Period: Third quarter of the twentieth century
- Date of manufacture: Circa 1970
- Condition: Good. Some marks consistent with use. Wear consistent with age and use.
This piece is part of the curated collection of Amaru Antiques, Barcelona.
ONE OF A KIND PIECE
