Hello. I found a vintage Ludwig Mies van der Rohe MR20 today. The rattan seat needs a little attention on one side. Is there a good craftsman in town who can recane it for me? I really would prefer it to be repaired instead if possible to maintain its patina and original parts. Any help is appreciated!

Previously jakob clark wrote:

Hello. I found a vintage Ludwig Mies van der Rohe MR20 today. The rattan seat needs a little attention on one side. Is there a good craftsman in town who can recane it for me? I really would prefer it to be repaired instead if possible to maintain its patina and original parts. Any help is appreciated!

 

Hello Jakob,

I am currently restoring a later version of your chair for a customer of ours. She had the same concerns as you and after much soul searching we did finally decide to replace only the damaged sections that would lead to support failure elsewhere.
We were able to salvage some cane in excess of 50 years old to do the repair with but still there were differences in patina, as we expected there to be. To our client, usability and preventing any potential future damage from light usage dictated the repair methodology.

From the close-up image you posted, I can see that the damage is localized but to the point that further use of the chair could jeopardize the integrity of the bottom woven section. Once more than 3 or 4 horizontal sections are broken the strain on the remaining cane causes them to fail rapidly. Unfortunately cane, by its very nature does not lend itself well to repair. That is not to say that it cannot be done.
Your chair, based the posted images is an early version of the MR 20 and you are correct in seeking conservation over replacement.

You can contact me to review some options to pursue.

Bill Niblick

reverenceforwood@verizon.net