Brussels Expo 58 Armchairs by Jiří Jiroutek for Jitona, 1960s, Set of 2

About This Piece

Vintage Design

These unique looking bentwood armchairs are fully refurbished with brand new upholstery in a black and white speckled fabric with matt black wooden finishes.

W: 59cm

D: 50cm

H: 70cm

JITONA a.s. occupies a significant position on the European furniture market. It is the largest Czech furniture manufacturer and exporter. It produces furniture for:

The business activities aim in particular at export, which accounts for 96 per cent of the company's sales. The most significant export countries are Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria and Denmark. The company's total sales exceed CZK 1.2 billion. JITONA a.s. employs 840 people in its three production plants. It is a genuine Czech company with a long tradition. JITONA a.s. continues the tradition of the furniture companies Tusculum Rousínov and Spojené umělecko průmyslové (UP) závody Brno (the Joint Artistic and Industrial Plants, Brno), established in 1920.

The extraordinary position of the predecessors of the modern-day JITONA company is supported by the fact that the Spojené umělecko průmyslové závody was the largest furniture manufacturer in Europe in 1937. The history of JITONA a.s. itself dates back to 1951 when small furniture manufacturers from Southern Bohemia were united into a state-owned enterprise called “Jihočeská továrna nábytku” (Southern Bohemia Furniture Plant) that carried on the more than one-hundred-year history of furniture production in this region.

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Creator	Jiří Jiroutek
Manufacturer	Jitona
Design Period	1960 to 1969
Production Period	Unknown
Country of Manufacture	Czech Republic
Identifying Marks	This piece has been attributed based on archival documentation, such as vintage catalogs, designer records, or other literature sources
Style	Danish Design, Vintage, Midcentury, Scandinavian Modern, Design Classics, Italian Modern, Hand-Crafted, Modernist, Bauhaus
Detailed Condition	Very Good — This vintage/antique item has no defects, but it may show slight traces of use.
Restoration and Damage Details	Reupholstered, Completely restored, Reupholstered
SKU	TBY-1858786
Materials	Bentwood, Fabric
Color	Black, grey
Width	59 cm 59 cm
Depth	50 cm 50 cm
Height	70 cm 70 cm

Shipping & Delivery

Ships from	United Kingdom
Returns	Returns accepted within fourteen days of delivery, except for Made-to-order items

Sustainability

Carbon Neutral	For every purchase made, Pamono offsets 100% of estimated carbon emissions from global shipping.
Vintage	Choosing vintage and antique furniture reduces your carbon footprint by cutting down on waste and reduces demand for new materials and extends the life of the products we use.

Delivery Options

Front Door Delivery: (Included in Every Order)	A skilled driver will unload the item(s) from the delivery truck and bring it to your building’s doorstep. You will be responsible for further transport beyond that point. We recommend asking a family member or friend for an extra hand; alternatively, you may upgrade to In-Home Delivery (see below). The delivery partner will email and/or call you at least one day in advance to arrange a delivery time. A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection. Item will be left in its packaging after delivery. A signature will be required upon delivery.
In-Home Delivery: (For in-home delivery service, additional fees apply. Please get in touch)	A skilled driver or a team of two will bring your item(s) inside your home and place it in the immediate entryway. For unusually large or heavy items, we recommend asking a family member or friend for an extra hand, as we cannot send more than 2 drivers. The delivery partner will email and/or call you one day in advance to arrange a delivery time. A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection. Item will be left in its packaging after delivery. A signature will be required upon delivery.

Front Door Delivery:
(Included in Every Order)

A skilled driver will unload the item(s) from the delivery truck and bring it to your building’s doorstep. You will be responsible for further transport beyond that point. We recommend asking a family member or friend for an extra hand; alternatively, you may upgrade to In-Home Delivery (see below).
The delivery partner will email and/or call you at least one day in advance to arrange a delivery time.
A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection.
Item will be left in its packaging after delivery.
A signature will be required upon delivery.

In-Home Delivery:
(For in-home delivery service, additional fees apply. Please get in touch)

A skilled driver or a team of two will bring your item(s) inside your home and place it in the immediate entryway. For unusually large or heavy items, we recommend asking a family member or friend for an extra hand, as we cannot send more than 2 drivers.
The delivery partner will email and/or call you one day in advance to arrange a delivery time.
A wooden crate may be used for intercontinental shipments for maximum protection.
Item will be left in its packaging after delivery.
A signature will be required upon delivery.

*Important Note

Please examine every order upon delivery. In the event that there are visible signs of damage or missing or incorrect pieces, please indicate the problem on the Delivery Note and contact us within 48 hours of delivery. A signed delivery receipt without notations of missing, damaged, or incorrect item(s) represents your acceptance of the complete order in perfect condition.

About the Creator

Jiří Jiroutek

Jiří Jiroutek is a Czech furniture and interior designer whose renown culls from his midcentury tenure at Interier Praha, during which he orchestrated the firm’s famed U-450 series of modular sideboards—today, perhaps the leading exemplar of Czech “Brussels Style” furniture.

Born sometime around 1912 or 1913 (his specific birth date remains unpublished), Jiroutek spent his adolescence in the provincial Bohemia town of Chrudim, where he attended secondary school. Like seminal Czech industrial designer Jindrich Halabala, Jiroutek completed his professional studies at Prague’s Academy of Applied Arts (today, the Academy of Arts, Architecture & Design). In 1951, Jiroutek began his career at the just-born Interier Praha. In contrast to Halabala and the other midcentury Czech modernists, Jiroutek, it seems, never worked for the other prominent national furniture manufacturers like TON, and UP Závody.

On the heels of early successes, Jiroutek became the head of design at Interier Praha in 1958 and soon after began work on the U-450 series. The designs were heavily inspired by the watershed ’58 Expo in Brussels, which moved Czech postwar design generally toward a “softer” modernism—one characterized by pastel colors, new geometries, and the use of modern materials like engineered composites, glass, and concrete. Jiroutek became know especially for the simple morphologies of oak-veneered sideboards and cabinets with sleekly color-blocked sliding doors and drawers.

Immensely popular, the U-450 series pushed Jiroutek and, subsequently, Interier Praha to focus mainly on the large-scale production of modular furniture. Onward into the 1970s—even after the design-stunting Prague Spring in 1968—Jiroutek continued to add new editions to his already robust oeuvre, contributing opaline glass tables, and armchairs, as well as entire kitchen suites (his KU-550 series) and living room suites (his U-550 series) sets to Interier Praha’s catalogue.