What is the Chandigarh Chair and Why Does it Sell for INR 14 Lakh at Auctions

Who doesn’t remember those ubiquitous wooden chairs found in every Indian school library, post office, and government office? We never would have guessed that decades later, the same chair — originally born from Nehru’s modernist vision and Pierre Jeanneret’s designs — would turn into a much sought-after luxury item in the world. 

Once dismissed as junk in Indian government offices and universities, Chandigarh’s teak-and-cane chairs now command over INR 14 lakh at global auctions. Their rise exposes how French dealers salvaged discarded furniture, restored it, and turned it into coveted design icons, while Indian collaborators like Eulie Chowdhury remain under-credited. 

What’s the History?

In 1951, Nehru commissioned India's first planned city, Chandigarh, as a statement of a newly independent nation moving forward. Le Corbusier designed the Capitol Complex. His cousin, Swiss-French architect Pierre Jeanneret, stayed on as the city's chief architect until 1965 and designed everything that went inside the buildings, including the desks, the beds, and the chairs. 

What followed was a body of work calibrated for the Chandigarh chair, designed with the city in mind. Burma teak, because it resists humidity and termites. Rattan cane, because it breathes in the heat. V-shaped legs, because local craftsmen could replicate them at scale without specialised tools. These chairs filled the High Court, the corridors of Punjab University, and government offices across the city.  

Who Actually Designed Them?

The furniture came out of a workshop that operated collaboratively. Eulie Chowdhury, the only Indian woman on Le Corbusier's team and later Chief Architect of Chandigarh, played a key role in managing furniture production and detailing. According to recent scholarship, it has been pointed out that the exclusive focus on the Jeanneret name, used to drive prices in Western auction houses, overlooks the contribution of Indian designers entirely. The Victoria and Albert Museum, which holds original pieces in its permanent collection, acknowledges this directly. 

How Did India Lose Them?

When Chandigarh modernised through the 1980s and 90s, the old furniture was cleared out and replaced with what was considered more contemporary. Some pieces were thrown on the streets. Some were broken apart in junkyards and used as firewood. Beginning in the late 1990s, Parisian antique dealers, including Eric Touchaleaume of Galerie 54, François Laffanour of Galerie Downtown, and Patrick Seguin of Galerie Patrick Seguin, began buying them up for almost nothing. Chandigarh's residents and officials considered the furniture junk. The French dealers knew otherwise. 

They restored the pieces and took them to Paris. From there, the chairs entered international galleries, design publications, and auction catalogues. Collectors in Europe and the US started paying serious money. Today, an original Jeanneret chair sells for upwards of INR14 lakh at auction, with top pieces crossing six-digit dollar figures at houses like Phillips and Wright. Kourtney Kardashian has them in her home office. Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt and French architect Joseph Dirand have long been collectors. Italian brand Cassina launched a licensed tribute collection called Hommage à Pierre Jeanneret.