A cohesive set of five solid teak dining chairs by Duros, one of South Africa's foremost producers of modernist furniture. The design reflects the Scandinavian influence that defined Duros at its mid-century peak: elegantly curved backrests, gently contoured seats, and clean rectilinear lines executed without ornament or excess. In a set of five, they are a rare find.
Maker Profile — Duros Furniture, Cape Town
Duros was founded in 1904 by Hyman Ospovat, a Latvian émigré who settled in Cape Town and opened his first workshop in Chapel Street, Woodstock. The name was a composite of the family name Ospovat and the word durability — a promise the furniture has largely kept.
In the 1930s the company relocated to Roeland Street, where it would remain for the better part of five decades. At its height, Duros was the most significant commercial producer of Danish Modern-influenced furniture in South Africa, offering a broad range that brought Scandinavian design sensibility — clean lines, quality materials, restrained joinery — to a local market at a time when such furniture was otherwise available only through import.
Ospovat gave the company a motto drawn from Keats: a thing of beauty is a joy for ever. It was an ambitious declaration for a furniture manufacturer, but one that the best Duros pieces continue to justify. The company closed in the 1980s, and its output is now actively collected as part of South Africa's mid-century design heritage.
Read more about Duros on the Vintage Club journal →
