Danish master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen is best known for a celebrated partnership with legendary Scandinavian modernist designer Hans Wegner that lasted half a century. The sophisticated and sculptural chairs, tables and cabinets that Wegner designed and Hansen built earned Wegner worldwide acclaim, and brought meaningful business opportunities to Hansen and his modest workshop.
Hansen was born in 1886 and apprenticed as a cabinetmaker in his early years, opening a workshop and showroom in Copenhagen. In 1927, he helped establish the annual Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition. Later, at the age of 55, Hansen began working with Danish furniture designer Hans J. Wegner, then only 26. With Wegner creating and Hansen executing on his partner’s complex designs, they developed furniture to sell in Hansen's showroom. A business relationship of this type was common in 20th-century Danish furniture making, and Hansen and Wegner enjoyed a prolific and renowned collaboration.
Wegner’s career began in cabinetry before he transitioned to furniture design in the 1940s. He is among the most celebrated figures for collectors of mid-century modern and Scandinavian works of the era. One of the first well-known entries for the Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibitions authored by Wegner and built by Hansen was the 1942 Lattice chair, a red Cuban mahogany dining room chair with an upholstered leather seat. The Peacock chair, an iconic design that followed in 1947, was the pair's take on a traditional English Windsor chair. It featured flattened spindles along the back resembling the feathers of a peacock tail — it wasn’t exactly an emblem of the pared-back functionality prioritized by Kaare Klint, Wegner’s former instructor at Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Wegner would go on to design nearly 500 chairs over the course of his life — among them are the Wishbone chair, the Papa Bear chair and the Round chair. The latter, which is often simply called “The Chair,” was manufactured by Hansen and made its debut at the Guild Exhibition in 1949. It was declared “the most beautiful chair in the world” by Interiors magazine a year later, and a pair of the iconic seats appeared on the first nationally televised presidential debate in the United States in 1960.
After Hansen died in 1961, his son, Poul Hansen, took over the business and continued working with Wegner. The company closed in the 1990s, but today, Hansen and Wegner's collaborative legacy endures in collections around the world.
Find vintage Johannes Hansen furniture on 1stDibs.
1940s Hans Wegner Tall Teak Cabinet, with 2 Carved Doors and Pull-out Leaf
By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes Hansen
Located in London, GB
1940s Hans Wegner Tall teak cabinet, front with two sliding doors and pull-out leaf. Doors with carved, fluted pattern in relief. Interior of ash with trays and adjustable shelves. B...
Teak
Hans Wegner Danish Modern Tall Sideboard or Buffet Tambour Doors
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Hans Wegner Danish Modern Tall Sideboard with lots of storage. Smooth tambour doors. 71w 19.25d 43.5h
Wood
Hans J. Wegner RY-33 Sideboard, Teak & Rattan, Denmark, 1961
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Southampton, NJ
An exceptionally rare Model RY-33 high-board designed by Hans J. Wegner for Ry Mobler. Teak case having detailed oak interior featuring 4 adjustable shelves to the left, 3 canter she...
Stainless Steel
Oak Credenza with Nine-Panel Carved Doors, France, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt, Gaston Poisson
Located in Kaštel Sućurac, HR
Large oak credenza made in France in the 1940s, where the heavy volumes of Brutalism meet the ordered geometry of Art Deco. Two wide storage compartments flank a central column of d...
Oak
$16,500
H 69.75 in W 65.75 in D 19.75 in
Rare Mid-century Danish Solid Teak Cabinet by Peter Hvidt, 1955
By Peter Hvidt
Located in Oakland, CA
This beautifully crafted solid teak cabinet, designed by Peter Hvidt in 1955, showcases exceptional craftsmanship and refined joinery—including expo...
Glass, Teak
$4,800
H 38 in W 104 in D 22 in
Jules Leleu Style French Bronze and Satinwood Marquetry Buffet 1940s Art Deco
Located in Stamford, CT
The long rectangular top with serpentine front above three pairs of cupboard doors opening to drawers and shelves and flanked by columnar stiles, raised on short cabriole feet. Docum...
Bronze
Hans Wegner Credenza for RY Mobler
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in San Francisco, CA
Hans Wegner design credenza or hutch for RY Mober, Denmark. High quality materials and use of construction techniques come together in an elegant storage cabinet. Intended for a dini...
Teak
$4,975
H 41.54 in W 74.61 in D 20.48 in
Early 20th Carved Walnut Sideboard with Four Doors and Two Drawers and Crest
Located in Miami, FL
Early 20th carved walnut sideboard with four doors and two drawers Elaborate carved walnut sideboard from Spain is topped with a wood top. Two do...
Walnut
Teak Cabinet by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes Hansen
By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes Hansen
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A credenza in warm teak with a bank of five drawers and twin sliding doors, floating on turned solid teak dowel legs.
Teak
Cabinet with Tambour Door by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes Hansen
By Johannes Hansen, Hans J. Wegner
Located in Sagaponack, NY
An oak cabinet with tambour door concealing open storage with shelves, on metal legs.
Chrome, Steel
$10,719
H 39.38 in W 70.48 in D 21.07 in L 39.38 in
French Oak Sideboard with Carved Organic Doors, 1940s
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
French regional workshop, three-door sideboard, solid oak, France, 1940s-1950s. The carving on each of the three door panels follows the same template. Two rounded spiral forms sit ...
Wrought Iron
$6,833
H 38.19 in W 74.81 in D 21.26 in
Oak Sideboard with Pyramid Carved Doors and Stepped Plinth, France, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
J.A.D.A Galerie presents: A French sideboard from the 1940s, made in the reconstruction years when workshops were working with limited materials and returned to solid oak and carved...
Iron
$5,694
H 39.77 in W 70.48 in D 20.87 in
Oak Sideboard with Faceted Grid Doors and Iron Pulls, France, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
J.A.D.A Galerie presents: A solid oak sideboard built in France in 1940, in the line of work associated with Charles Dudouyt and the French cabinetmakers who reduced ornament to rel...
Oak
$8,655
H 38.39 in W 74.81 in D 21.66 in
Carved Oak Buffet with Diamond-Point Doors and Floral Drawers, France, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Split, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija
J.A.D.A Galerie presents: a French oak buffet from the 1940s, in the style of Charles Dudouyt, where carving does the work of ornament. The flanking doors are faceted with crisp pyr...
Oak
Carved Oak Sideboard with Basketweave Doors, France, 1940s
By Charles Dudouyt
Located in Kaštel Sućurac, HR
Carved oak sideboard, French workshop, 1940s, in the style of Charles Dudouyt. The two doors are worked in a dense basketweave relief, each block cut by hand so the surface catches l...
Oak
$4,995
H 42.25 in W 52 in D 22.5 in
A French Carved and Painted 2-Door Buffet, Adorned with Beautiful Hardware
Located in East Point, GA
A French, 19th century carved and painted wood buffet. This French wood buffet features two drawers over two doors. The side posts, drawers, doors a...
Metal