Item Description
Charles and Ray Eames were fascinated by elephants. Many images of these gentle giants are found in Charles’ photographic documentations of Indian culture and the circus world. The plywood elephant was designed in 1945 as a playful offshoot of their molded plywood experiments. To celebrate the 100th birthday of Charles Eames in 2007, Vitra introduced a limited edition molded plywood elephant, which would be the first time this coveted piece was commercially produced. Only two known prototypes were made in 1945, and only one remains in the Eames Archives. This limited edition is a highly sought after collectible, as only 1000 in both natural maple and red stained maple were produced for the first time ever. Each molded plywood elephant was packed in a special collector’s box and with its serial number engraved on a small aluminum plaque. This pristine example is the low number 0098, marked with a plaque and complete with the original box.