"The Golden Egg" by Arne Jacobsen
View Similar Items
"The Golden Egg" by Arne Jacobsen
About the Item
- Creator:Fritz Hansen (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 40.95 in (104 cm)Width: 35.04 in (89 cm)Length: 40.95 in (104 cm)Seat Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Leather,Patinated
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2008
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Copenhagen, DK
- Reference Number:Seller: 10452271stDibs: LU1008415678151
Fritz Hansen
When the Copenhagen-based furniture maker Fritz Hansen opened for business more than 140 years ago, the company — which today styles itself The Republic of Fritz Hansen — adhered to the traditional, time-honored Danish values of craftsmanship in woodworking and joinery. Yet thanks to the postwar innovations of Arne Jacobsen and others, Fritz Hansen would become the country’s leader in Scandinavian modern design using new, forward-looking materials and methods.
Fritz Hansen started his company in 1872, specializing in the manufacture of small furniture parts. In 1915, the firm became the first in Denmark to make chairs using steam-bent wood (a technique most familiar from birch used in the ubiquitous café chairs by Austrian maker Thonet). At the time, Fritz Hansen was best known for seating that featured curved legs and curlicue splats and referenced 18th-century Chippendale designs.
In the next few decades, the company promoted simple, plain chairs with slatted backs and cane or rush seats designed by such proto-modernist masters as Kaare Klint and Søren Hansen. Still, the most aesthetically striking piece Fritz Hansen produced in the first half of the 20th century was arguably the China chair of 1944 by Hans Wegner — and that piece, with its yoke-shaped bentwood back- and armrest, was based on seating manufactured in China during the Ming dynasty. (Wegner was moved by portraits he’d seen of Danish merchants in the Chinese chairs.)
Everything changed in 1952 with Arne Jacobsen’s Ant chair. The collaboration between the architect and Fritz Hansen officially originated in 1934 — that year, Jacobsen created his inaugural piece for the manufacturer, the solid beechwood Bellevue chair for a restaurant commission. The Ant chair, however, was the breakthrough.
With assistance from his then-apprentice Verner Panton, Jacobsen designed the Ant chair for the cafeteria of a Danish healthcare company called Novo Nordisk. The chair was composed of a seat and backrest formed from a single piece of molded plywood attached, in its original iteration, to three tubular metal legs. Its silhouette suggests the shape of the insect’s body, and the lightweight, stackable chair and its biomorphic form became an international hit.
Jacobsen followed with more plywood successes, such as the Grand Prix chair of 1957. The following year he designed the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen and its furnishings, including the Egg chair and the Swan chair. Those two upholstered pieces, with their lush, organic frames made of fiberglass-reinforced polyurethane, have become the two chairs most emblematic of mid-20th-century cool. Moreover, the Egg and Swan led Fritz Hansen to fully embrace new man-made materials, like foam, plastic and steel wire used to realize the avant-garde creations of later generations of designers with whom the firm collaborated, such as Piet Hein, Jørn Utzon (the architect of the Sydney Opera House) and Verner Panton. If the Fritz Hansen of 1872 would not now recognize his company, today’s connoisseurs certainly do.
Find a collection of vintage Fritz Hansen tables, lounge chairs, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Egg with footstool by Arne JacobsenBy Arne JacobsenLocated in Copenhagen, DKAJ 3316 - 'The Egg' lounge chair in original black leather, tilt function and on an old aluminium base with matching footstool. Arne Jacobsen / Fritz HansenCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- The Swan office chair by Arne JacobsenBy Arne JacobsenLocated in Copenhagen, DKAJ 3323 - Reupholstered 'The Swan' lounge chair in olive-tanned aniline leather (Vitoria 7348) on an old four-star base with tilt function and on wheels. Arne Jacobsen / Fritz HansenCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Office Chairs and Desk Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Dining Table by Arne JacobsenBy Arne JacobsenLocated in Copenhagen, DKShaker dining table by Arne Jacobsen / Fritz Hansen.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Coffee table by Arne JacobsenBy Arne JacobsenLocated in Copenhagen, DKRectangular coffee table with rosewood top and chromed steel frame. Arne Jacobsen / Fritz HansenCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Rosewood desk by Arne JacobsenBy Arne JacobsenLocated in Copenhagen, DKDesk in rosewood with black lacquered drawers, chromed steel legs and solid rosewood shoes. Arne Jacobsen / Fritz HansenCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Desks and Writing Tables
MaterialsSteel
- Set of two easychairs by Arne VodderBy Arne VodderLocated in Copenhagen, DKAV 53 - Easy chairs in new aniline leather (Victoria, colour: Ebony) with legs in solid Rio rosewood. Arne Vodder / Ivan SchlechterCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsRosewood
$14,120 / set
- Arne Jacobsen Egg ChairBy Arne Jacobsen, Fritz HansenLocated in Esbjerg, DKArne Jacobsen set of lounge chairs model Egg. New upholstered with Dakar black aniline leather. Four star base with tilt function. Made by Fritz Hansen. This iconic chair is one of the most famous chairs in the world and is recognized by design lovers in all countries. It is the classical midcentury Scandinavian designer...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
$8,858 - Arne Jacobsen Egg ChairBy Fritz Hansen, Arne JacobsenLocated in Esbjerg, DKNew Arne Jacobsen set of lounge chairs model Egg. New upholstered with Dakar black aniline leather. Four star base with tilt function. Made by Fritz Hansen. This iconic chair is one of the most famous chairs in the world and is recognized by design lovers in all countries. It is the classical midcentury Scandinavian designer...Category
2010s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
$13,287 - Arne Jacobsen Egg ChairBy Fritz Hansen, Arne JacobsenLocated in Esbjerg, DKArne Jacobsen set of lounge chairs model Egg. New upholstered with Vacona Sahara aniline leather. Four star base with tilt function. Made by Fritz Hansen. This iconic chair is one of the most famous chairs in the world and is recognized by design lovers in all countries. It is the classical midcentury Scandinavian designer...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
$8,858 - Arne Jacobsen Egg ChairBy Arne Jacobsen, Fritz HansenLocated in Esbjerg, DKNew Arne Jacobsen set of lounge chairs model Egg. New upholstered with walnut aniline leather. Four star base with tilt function. Made by Fritz Hansen. This iconic chair is one of the most famous chairs in the world and is recognized by design lovers in all countries. It is the classical midcentury Scandinavian designer...Category
2010s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
$13,287 - Arne Jacobsen Egg ChairBy Arne Jacobsen, Fritz HansenLocated in Esbjerg, DKArne Jacobsen lounge chair model Egg. New upholstered with black butter aniline leather. Four star base profilated base. Made by Fritz Hansen. This iconic chair is one of the most...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
$8,858 - Arne Jacobsen Egg ChairBy Arne Jacobsen, Fritz HansenLocated in Esbjerg, DKArne Jacobsen lounge chair model Egg. New upholstered with mokka butter aniline leather. Four star base profilated base. Made by Fritz Hansen. This iconic chair is one of the most...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
$8,858