Undervalued

Gonçalo Mabunda, "The African Man Throne," at Perimeter Editions, Design Miami/Basel

€24,000 ($37,370)

Housed under the same domed roof as masterpieces by Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouvé, and George Nakashima, Mabunda’s low-slung throne, comprised of found and deactivated weapons from civil-war-torn Mozambique, is a great value at €24,000.

True, it may prove a tad uncomfortable, given that the backrest is a submachine gun, but the piece is not about grand comfort. A unique and, yes, functional object, the chair is one of a class of artworks sophisticatedly amalgamating brutal narrative and sensitive design. Arman did it in the sculptural realm with his Pop Art mélange of handguns, but Mabunda strikes even harder with these displaced trophies of war from his native Central Africa.

Some more sensitive souls may object to the literalness of the piece or the violent nature of its components, but these are exactly what make good art effective.

Though hopefully this won't beget replicas in gold patina in the future.

Courtesy Perimeter Editions