A rare coffee table by Willem Hendrik Gispen. As a pioneering advocate of the functionalist ideal Gispen was one of the most influential designers of the Netherlands. Already in 1927 he presented his Giso lamps at the Weissenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart where the tubular steel chairs by Mies van der Rohe were shown for the first time. In that same year he designed his own tubular chair and many other designs followed.
This coffee table model 502 was designed in 1933. It features a chromed, tubular steel base which is welded and polished by hand in the middle where the tubes cross. The top is stained black. it has obtained a beautiful patina of the years and it will last for many more years to come.
This prewar design is very hard to find. A version with a slightly smaller top is part of the collection of the Boijmands van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam
