Perriand’s design journey began in 1927, when she approached the famed architect Le Corbusier. Armed with her portfolio, she faced a frosty reception in his austere office. “What do you want?’ he asked ‘To work with you.’ He glanced quickly through my drawings. ‘We don’t embroider cushions here,’ he replied, and showed me the door.” However, after Le Corbusier saw her designs at the 1927 Salon d'Automne, he recognised her talent and hired her, beginning a ten-year collaboration in his Paris studio. 

At the 1929 Salon d’Automne, Perriand introduced a series of furniture designs, including this chair. Drawing inspiration from an office swivel chair, she softened the rigidity of the tubular steel frame with a plush leather seat and backrest resting on coil springs. The intricate combination of industrial materials and handwork made the chair a luxury item, produced in limited numbers at the time. 

This early 1980's example by Cassina, sourced from an Upper East Side residence and a part of the Museum of Modern Art’s esteemed permanent collection in New York City.