Every time I go to Salt Lake, I come back thinking of carved wood handchairs. My stepfather collected a lot of art by Pedro Friedeberg, the guy who made those hand-shaped chairs, see, [Here's one in Mexican mahogany that's coming up for auction at Rago Arts in a couple of weeks.]
and so I always end up Googling around on Friedeberg to see what his story was.
These chairs from Germany are not, in my non-expert opinion, by Friedeberg. For one thing, they're made out of vinyl-upholstered foam. For another, they swivel. For a third, they're for kids, just 21.5 inches high. Maybe it's the idea of getting shagpad furniture for a kid's room, but for some reason, they're kind of freakin' me out.
The red one's in slightly better shape, it seems, and can be yours for $500+$95 shipping to the US. The white one's got a couple of small tears [didn't Ronco invent some kind of miracle vinyl repair kit?] and so goes for $450. They're both "buy it now," too, so no haggling or suspense.
Usually one for unusual furniture, I have never been a fan of the hand chair.
Hey if you read this I own many pieces of older Friedeberg furniture including some of the hand chairs. I would love to chat with your stepfather about his collection. Please pass along my cell number to him or vice-versa 214-228-6264
Hey ... If your step-father ever wants to sell his Friedeberg Collection please have him call me or email me his telephone number! I am crazy about Friedeberg's work and have quite a few pieces myself. I would be willing to pay a fair price and would even pay you a finders fee for putting me in touch with him. Thanks, Ryan Rucker 214-228-6264 rrucker@tx.rr.com