Set of 4 Poul Kjærholm Pk12 for E. Kold Christensen, 1964

About the Item

Very rare set of 4 Poul Kjærholm PK12 chairs in beautiful camel patined leather manufactured by E. Kold Christensen in 1964. More than his contemporaries, the designer Poul Kjærholm worked with metal, rather than wood, and generally with flat strips of solid steel that were either kept straight to form frames for chairs or table or bent to shape as the support or for the runners of chairs but with the PK12 made by Kold Chistensen they used steel tubing bent to form the legs and back of the chair in a style that echoes deliberately the form and character of bentwood chairs. As with a bentwood chair the seat is formed with an enclosing hoop that sits within the legs although here the frame of the seat itself is a steel band. With bentwood the legs sit hard against the outside of the hoop of the seat and are fixed directly to the seat, often by bolts that run through the leg and into or through the frame, but here, for the PK12, there are short neat spacing pieces that are welded between the leg and the seat frame. The seat itself - in most versions covered with leather - is not round and not an ellipse but is narrower at the back than at the front so it forms what is, in effect, a rounded triangle and the spacing of the back legs, respecting this shape, are much tighter or closer together than the front legs creating a distinctive form when seen straight on and a more dynamic form when the chair is seen from other angles. The back of the chair has two curves of tube that are horizontal and parallel but not connected … the lower element curved round and then bent down to form the two back legs and an upper tube bent to form the back rest and the arm rests as a single curve and then bent down at the outer ends to run straight down for the front legs of the chair. In some versions of the PK12 the upper tube of the back is bound round with leather tape. Normally chairs with vertical legs appear rather narrow or pinched and actually slightly unstable - they can be tipped backwards quite easily if the back legs are not angled or curved outwards - but here the generous width of the chair; its solid weight and the presumed strength of the steel tube together create a strong sense of stability.

Creator:
Poul Kjærholm (Designer),E. Kold Christensen (Manufacturer)
Design:
PK 12
Dimensions:
Height: 26.78 in (68 cm)Width: 24.81 in (63 cm)Depth: 20.48 in (52 cm)Seat Height: 17.33 in (44 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 4
Materials and Techniques:
Chrome,Leather
Place of Origin:
Denmark
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1964
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
L'Escala, ES
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1982329687302
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