Princely price for chairs

Two highly collectable and distinctive red chairs from the investiture ceremony for the Prince of Wales at Caernaforn Castle, Wales, in 1969 were of the highlights of a recent three-day sale in Sussex.

Bellmans‘ January Interiors auction offered the 54cm wide x 78cm high chairs, complete with their original cardboard shipping box and supporting paperwork. They sold for a hammer of £1,050.

These chairs was designed by Lord Snowdon for the investiture of Prince Charles on 1 July 1969. 4,600 of these chairs were made for seating guests inside Caernarfon Castle. The chairs were offered for sale after the ceremony and sold flat-packed for £12 each via a promotional advertising leaflet that encouraged guests to re-assemble the chairs for themselves, Ikea-style. Snowdon bought six.

Elsewhere in the sale, other highlights included:

• A pair of mid-20th century laminated beech-framed open arm easy chairs, after a design by Alvar Aalto, sold for £1,600

• An early 20th century French rouge leather upholstered three-seater sofa, on turned mahogany supports, sold for £2,600

• A French oak buffet, the stripped ‘D’ shape top over a painted four cupboard base, sold for £720