Tulip chair

E76322

The Tulip chair is a mid-century modern, pedestal-based dining chair designed by Eero Saarinen, celebrated for its sleek, sculptural form and innovative single-leg construction.


Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf chair
industrial design object
mid-century modern furniture
approximateDesignYear 1955–1957
associatedDesigner Eero Saarinen
surface form: Eero Saarinen for Knoll
baseFinish painted to match seat shell in many versions
category iconic 20th-century chair design
collection Pedestal Collection
colorOptions black
various cushion colors
white
commercialReleasePeriod late 1950s
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
designedFor Knoll
surface form: Knoll Associates
designer Eero Saarinen
designerStatement designed to eliminate the visual clutter of legs
feature armless version available
contoured seat
integrated armrests (in armchair version)
pedestal support
single-leg construction
swivel mechanism (in some versions)
hasAssociatedObject Tulip table
hasCushionAttachment removable seat cushion
hasPart molded seat shell
pedestal base
seat cushion
single central leg
hasVariant Tulip armchair
Tulip armless side chair
inCollectionOf Museum of Modern Art
surface form: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

various design museums worldwide
intendedUse dining chair
side chair
manufacturer Knoll
material aluminum base
cast aluminum
fiberglass-reinforced plastic
leather (for some cushions)
upholstery fabric
movement Modernism
Organic modernism
notableFor innovative use of pedestal base
reduction of traditional four-leg structure to one leg
sculptural, organic form
period 1950s design
seatConstruction molded shell
style Mid-century modern

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Eero Saarinen knownFor Tulip chair