1926, for Prague Castle, walnut veneer, leather seat, stamped: P. H. 13766 (Prague Hradčany)/PASEK-PRAHA XI–910, height 84.5 cm, width 48 cm, depth 52 cm, height of seat 42.5 cm. (DRAX)

Exhibited:
Die Prager Burg/Prague Castle & Plecˇnik, Architektur im Ringturm, Vienna 2016

Lit.:
A. Stiller, Die Prager Burg/Prague Castle & Plecˇnik, Salzburg/Vienna 2016, ill. p. 149

Provenance:
Prague Castle, apartment of Alice G. Masaryk, Ladies’ Salon, sold in the 1960s/1970s – private ownership, Vienna, since the late 1980s

Designed for the apartment of Alice G. Masary, Tomas G. Masaryk’s daughter, at Prague Castle, where this chair was placed in the so-called “Salon of Embroideries”. In the 1970s, the rooms at Prague Castle were successively modernised and the old furniture replaced by new one.
“The true value of these historical pieces was not appreciated. During this time there was a massive transfer of this furniture from the castle to other institutions, or the pieces were sold to antique shops.”
(Martin Hrda, director, Art Collection at Prague Castle)

Tomas G. Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia, chose the Slovenian architect Josef Plecˇnik for a large-scale reconstruction of Prague Castle. He considered Plecˇnik the best guarantor for symbolically translating the ideas of the new democracy into modern architecture. His daughter Alice was the link to the artist, and the overall concept for the castle’s modernisation was developed in close collaboration. Plecˇnik designed the chair offered for sale here for her Ladies’ Salon.