How does one tell if they are genuine or knock off? I recently bought a stool, but it has no stamp underneath - The leg ends are tapered at the end, and both leg/top are made up of bent ply. Any help would be much appreciated! (I'll post a pic later).
I mainly buy/sell American design so don't have any experience with Aalto up until now.
Sounds inauthentic.
Aalto ...
Sounds inauthentic.
Aalto stools are not actually made of ply. The top is solid beech, with a veneer strip encircling it. The legs are solid as well. At the bend in the leg the wood has been sawn into strips and bent (like ply) - but this treatment is only at the bends, the rest of the leg is solid.
Also - I've not seen tapered legs on the 60 stool. I've seen some fan shaped legs on other Aalto pieces. Tapering sounds a bit more like something Thonet would do.
Incidentally - Below is Artek's booth at the Milan Furniture Fair to celebrate the 60 Stool's 75th birthday.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/04/16/artek-in-milan-stool-60-turns-75/
Hi Nick
There was this thread a while ago..might be some pointers in it ?
http://www.designaddict.com/design_addict/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/th...
Thanks for the help so far....
Thanks for the help so far. I bought the stools on ebay for £60 the pair ($120.00) the description was misleading i.e saying they were Aalto, and the images not great so I thought they were right. I have since complained to the seller, as these retail for £7.99 each in Ikea! And he has written back telling me they are made by Artek which upon inspection are not (99% sure of this). Not a happy situation thus far..
I did Robert. The listing is...
I did Robert. The listing is below, have a look and see what you think! Cheers 🙂
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250266425556&s...
How much would a pair of "authentic" marked Aalto stools go for?
If the answer is significantly more than you paid, then I wonder how it's fair for you to complain to the seller that the repros can be had from Target for less than you paid -- the starting bid was below the Target price, so it was the bidders who brought the price up. Why is that the fault of the seller?
I read the ad but did not see them claiming them to be "vintage" or "authentic" or "original" or marked or even who the manufacturer is. All that was said is that the stools were designed by Aalto - and is that true or not? If you cannot tell the difference except for a label, then I'm guessing they are certainly of the Aalto design.
Maybe the seller does not know the fine details of which manufacturers produced "authentic" Aalto stools, or what the label might look like. I don't understand how the seller misrepresented this item. You know how many people put "Eames chair" in their ebay ads, but clearly don't mean that the chair is an original Eames -- check out how all of the Plycraft lounges are listed. Honestly, some people don't even know the difference and they think they have an actual "Eames" chair. It's the buyer who has to beware, as the old saying goes.
If I had seen that ad, I don't think I would have thought I was bidding on an authentic Aalto stool - the use of the phrase "originally designed by Aalto" was the biggest tipoff I think. Plus, no maker's marks were noted in the ad, and none were evident in the photos.
Is it the wood that was misrepresented? It said "birch ply" - is that what the stool is? If not, then yes, you do have a legit complaint I think.
That's just my take, as a novice - I'm still trying to understand how all of the new/knockoffs/repros/etc fit into the bigger picture.
ART DECO ALVAR AALTO 4 LEG STOOL TYPE 60 IN BIRCH PLY
nope
File for 'item significantly not a represented' in paypal
I would, the listing is misleading, and deceitful
The price is irrelevant, it is an auction
I would ask for a refund first though, then file with Paypal if they refuse.
eBay changed the system to make the buyer king, even though the it's the sellers swell their coffers..you may as well use it..
He can't neg you!
I would imagine that it is an...
I would imagine that it is an honest mistake on the part of the seller although of course he/she should have satisfied themselves that it was authentic before describing it so. The price should perhaps have set alarm bells ringing - I would contact the seller to inform them of their mistake and request (then demand) a refund. Incidentally quite a lot of Aalto furniture is not marked, especially early pieces where the importers labels (Finmar in the UK) were routinely removed by retailers some of whom would even replace them with their own store labels.
Doubtful
It is very doubtful that this seller "honestly" mislabeled the stools. The copy of the listing very carefully skirts any claims that they are original. Its classic parsing of words that may leave the seller in the right.
Your strongest course of action is that the auction title says "alvar aalto stool #60". The fact that he knows the number designation of the stools is a sign that he's done some research. His eBay store lists many various 'antique' type things - he's beyond just being an amateur seller.
In fairness to the seller, the top of the stool reads as being ply in the images. That should be a warning bell to any buyer.
However, I would raise holy hell about this. What you paid is WAY too much for a coupla pieces o shite made in China.
Thanks for the replies. The...
Thanks for the replies. The seller won't and doesn't want to give me a refund, and even emailed me a link to Artek's site claiming that is the stool I have bought. I'm in the process of complaining to eBay/PayPal and shall let you know how I get on. The seller in my eyes is a conman and knows exactly what he is doing! The email replies from him have been nothing short of a joke.
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