All Photos By Gail

The Harkonnen Capo Chair is one of the furniture designs by the late Swiss artist H. R. Giger (1940 – 2014). It is manufactured by hand chiefly out of aluminum or black fiberglass and made to resemble a human skeleton.

The chair was initially designed for an unproduced movie version of the Frank Herbert novel Dune that was slated to be directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky. Baron Harkonnen is the villain of Herbert’s novel. Many years later, David Lynch directed the film, using none of Giger’s designs.

The most prominent feature of the Capo Chair — intended to be used as Baron Harkonnen’s main chair — is a crown of three nose-less skulls stacked on top of each other in a column above the back of the chair. This feature is what distinguishes the Capo Chair from regular Harkonnen Chairs, which lack the triple skull crown as well as armrests.

Chair Spine Detail

Chair Seat and Armrest Detail

Chair Base Detail

Giger sold replicas for $30,000 (fiberglass) to $50,000 (aluminum). This aluminum model from 1981 is one of a series limited to 28 pieces.

Photographed at the Lomex Gallery located at 86 Walker Street, NYC, where it was on view as part of a larger exhibit of Giger’s work through March 12th, 2022.

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