{"id":325934,"date":"2026-03-12T12:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/325934\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T12:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:33:15","slug":"jony-ive-designed-a-new-rostrum-for-christies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/325934\/","title":{"rendered":"Jony Ive designed a new rostrum for Christie’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christie’s<\/a> rostrum \u2013 originally designed in the 1700s by Thomas Chippendale, with reproductions used in more recent times \u2013 has always been a central element of the auction house’s operations. Now, it is making way for a new design by Jony Ive<\/a> and LoveFrom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unveiled on 5 March 2026 on the occasion of the 20\/21 sale at London<\/a>‘s King Street, the redesign marks Christie\u2019s 260th year, and was produced by British woodworking specialist Benchmark<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jony Ive and LoveFrom\u2019s new rostrum for Christie\u2019s<\/p>\n

\n

\"christies\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: David Wilman. Courtesy Christie’s Images LTD 2026)<\/p>\n

‘Our collaboration with Christie\u2019s has been unforgettably special,’ says Ive. ‘This has been a wonderfully curious and challenging project requiring so much research and unexpected learning. The original Thomas Chippendale design is masterful and remains rather intimidating.<\/p>\n

‘We have designed a modest object that celebrates craft and material. The purpose of the rostrum is to literally and figuratively elevate the auctioneer, providing a stage for their authority and expertise that proudly carries the Christie\u2019s mark.’<\/p>\n

\n

\"christie's\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Christie’s Images LTD 2026)<\/p>\n

The rostrum is made of sustainably sourced oak, from the same forests that supplied the timber for the recent restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral<\/a>, with further elements in stainless steel. For the design, Ive worked closely with the Christie\u2019s team: essentially, the rostrum is conceived as a tool and the British designer approached it with the reverence one expects for a functional, utilitarian object.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The rostrum has to hold the auctioneer, be easily moved and stored, but at the same time, it commands a room during the auction, so its presence is paramount \u2013 Ive and his team thought of it as a stage more than a piece of furniture.<\/p>\n

\u2018The rostrum is at the heart of our business,\u2019 says Christie\u2019s CEO Bonnie Brennan. ‘I feel blessed that for our 260th anniversary, we can unveil this remarkable object as our legacy for Christie\u2019s future.\u2019<\/p>\n

Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Christie’s rostrum \u2013 originally designed in the 1700s by Thomas Chippendale, with reproductions used in more recent times…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-325934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}