Description
A fabulous 70s piece of mid century design by the British maker Pieff as part of their Mandarin series designed by Tim Bates. A stunning high quality square coffee table with a beautiful geometric chrome base in mirror-finish chrome and a rare rattan floor-level magazine rack. The smoked glass top completes the look perfectly.
Pieff furniture was a range of avant-garde furniture designed and produced in Cradley Heath near Birmingham from 1970 until 1983. The company was formed as Production Facilities Limited in 1953 by Frederick Bates and son David, and produced contract furniture for hospitals, coffee bars and canteens, and other commercial uses.
Tim Bates, David’s younger brother, joined the company in 1966, and in 1969 they introduced a new range of modern up–market contract furniture. Tim had studied design and gained experience by working in the factory, so was appointed to lead the Design and Development of this new product range. The new range was introduced to the trade at the Decor Furniture Exhibition in May 1970, and around this time the company changed its name to Pieff Furniture. Publicity photographs – created by marketing man Peter Donnelly and his company, Donnelly Burn – showed the new furniture against a background of Lamborghini supercars, and following this Italian connection the first two model ranges were named Eleganza and Suntuoso.
Although the Pieff range was originally aimed at up-market contract buyers, it was soon extended to appeal to retail customers and within two years was stocked by the leading retailers across the UK including Harrods, Heals, Waring & Gillow, John Lewis, House of Fraser and many more, and regular exports were also being made to customers in North America, the Gulf States, Australia and Hong Kong.
By the mid-1970s Pieff Furniture could be seen on television programmes such as “This Is Your Life”, “Blake’s Seven”, “The Good Life” and many more, and the British government’s Property Services Agency was buying Pieff Furniture for use in prestige locations in government offices and British Embassies around the world.
The table is structurally sound and in super vintage condition with, as is always the case, a few scratches to the glass. Chrome is bright and clean. An outstanding piece of vintage furniture.
W74 x D74 x H37cm
