Ref.12148
Henri Léon GREBER (1855-1941) - "La Printemps" sculpture in white Carrara marble

"Le Printemps" sculpture in white Carrara marble signed Henri Léon GREBER (1855-1941).

Ref.13467
Willy Guhl, Rare pair of tooth planters, circa 1954

This rare pair of planters was made by the Swiss designer, Willy Ghul in the 1950's in natural fiber cement. It's the edition « Eternit AG/Elo, 1954 » which is shaped as an abstract triangle reminding a tooth shape. « Willy Guhl was an inventor, an experimenter, a resercher and a visionary. Despite that, he did not get lost in utopia. He reveals himself to be pragmatic almost a genius. » Robert Haussman Willy Guhl was part of these historical designers historiques who have contributed to the international reputation of the Swiss design. He was one of the big representative of Neo-Functionalism. From a carpenter father, he follows a furniture maker formation in the Kunstgewerbeschule of Zurich – School of applied arts of Zurich here he teaches from 1941 -, and becomes the director of the interior architecture department 10 years after. He leads in the late 1940's pionneer reaserches in the plastic furniture field. He develops then a knowledge about moulding technical that we allow him to reveal himself by transposing them on a new material : the Eternit, also called fibercement, which he is one of the first to use in Europe. The Eternit is a kind of cement reinforce by asbestos and with a fiber texture which allows to create audacious pieces with new shapes. It takes the aspect of larges slabs to which it is possible to give a shape as long as they are not dried. Produced in the origin for the industry, it's a cheap material with an important resistance, so perfectly adapted for the fabrication of external furniture.

Ref.15652
Willy Guhl, Pair of Fibre Cement Urn-Shaped Planters, 1950s-1960s

This pair of planters is a fibre cement model designed in the 1950s and 1960s by Willy Guhl (1915-2004). These elegant planters are grey – leaning towards blue – with a patina resulting from natural ageing outdoors. Shaped like urns, they are decorated with three crests: at the base, at the mouth and on the widest part of the body. The base features an inventory number and a drainage hole. Willy Guhl is a pioneer of Swiss industrial design. Eternit, a fibre cement developed for roofs and pipes, appealed to Willy Guhl because of its fibrous texture, which resists traction, breakage and climatic variations. According to him, “no construction material used so finely gives as much stability as Eternit”. "Willy Guhl was an inventor, an experimenter, a researcher and a visionary. Despite this, he did not lose himself in utopia. He was pragmatic to the point of genius", Robert Haussman. Willy Guhl is one of those historic designers who have contributed to the international reputation of Swiss design. He is one of the great exponents of Neo-Functionalism. His father was a carpenter, and he trained as a cabinetmaker at Zurich's Kunstgewerbeschule – the Zurich School of Applied Arts, where he also taught from 1941 – before becoming head of the interior design department 10 years later. At the end of the 1940s, he carried out pioneering research into plastic furniture. He developed a knowledge of moulding techniques that would enable him to reveal himself by transposing them to a new material: Eternit, also known as fibre cement, which he was one of the first to use in Europe. Eternit is a type of asbestos-reinforced cement with a fibrous texture that can be used to create bold new shapes. It takes the form of large slabs that can be shaped until they are dry. Originally produced for industrial use, it is both very inexpensive and extremely hard-wearing, making it perfectly suited to the manufacture of outdoor furniture.