Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Nanna Ditzel was the most versatile and creative female designer that Denmark produced in the 20th century. Ditzel brought her talents to bear on a staggering array of forms — she designed furniture, jewelry, tableware and textiles; and she shaped her pieces using an equally astonishing variety of materials, from wood and wicker to silver, ceramics and fiberglass.
Born in Copenhagen, she trained as a cabinetmaker at the Royal Academy's furniture school — overseen by the great craftsman of the day, Kaare Klint — and graduated in 1943. Ditzel’s early work adhered to the classic Danish modernist tenets of simplicity, comfort and quality, and her armchairs, with their softly curved backrests are much in the spirit of Hans Wegner. Ditzel’s signature piece of that time is her Ring chair. Designed along with her husband, Jørgen Ditzel, a fabric maker, the chair has a semicircular padded armrest that seems to embrace the sitter. Ditzel began designing in wicker and in 1959 produced the Hanging chair. The piece, suspended from the ceiling by a chain, became a favorite for fashion shoots and may be as iconic of the 1960s as Eero Aarnio’s plastic Ball chair of 1963.
In 1956, Ditzel began designing for the Danish silverware firm Georg Jensen. In an association that lasted some 40 years, Ditzel would create organically shaped jewelry, barware, ceramic tableware and even tablecloths. Like her fellow Dane Verner Panton, Ditzel was not afraid to embrace industrial materials, and she began designing fiberglass chairs in the mid-1960s. Some of her most flamboyant work came toward the end of her career, in pieces such as 1989’s Bench for Two, with its shocking Op-art finish, or the Trinidad chair of 1992, with it’s sunburst-like, cut-though backs. Such feats of creativity were a fitting coda to one of the most imaginative, prolific and remarkable women of modern design.
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fiberglass
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Rattan, Glass
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Oak
1960s Danish Space Age Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fiberglass
20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1960s Danish Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Wood
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fabric, Oak
1960s European Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Bamboo, Cane
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1990s Danish Mid-Century Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Stainless Steel
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Oak, Teak
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Oak, Teak
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Cane, Teak
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Mid-Century Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Metal
1960s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Wood, Beech
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Wood
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fabric, Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Rosewood
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Sterling Silver
1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fabric, Maple
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Beech, Teak
1950s Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Rosewood
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1990s Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1990s Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Chrome, Steel
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fabric, Upholstery, Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Bamboo
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Leather, Oak
1990s Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1980s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Metal, Aluminum
1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fiberglass
1990s Danish Mid-Century Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Metal
1950s Scandinavian Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Rattan
1950s Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Wool
1970s Danish Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Bentwood
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fabric
1960s Italian Bohemian Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Wicker
1950s Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Rosewood
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Wool, Oak, Teak
1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Bouclé, Teak
1960s Danish Space Age Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fiberglass
1990s Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Leather, Beech
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fabric, Oak
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Teak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Wool, Oak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fabric, Wool, Oak
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Faux Leather, Teak
1960s Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Fiberglass
1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Rosewood
1960s Italian Bohemian Vintage Nanna Ditzel Furniture
Wicker