Hans Wegner Molded Walnut Plywood Shell Chair
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Hans Wegner Molded Walnut Plywood Shell Chair
About the Item
- Creator:Hans J. Wegner (Designer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)Depth: 32 in (81.28 cm)Seat Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:2006
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Leather shows wear.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU843026493682
Shell Chair
Also known as the “smiling chair,” the Three-Legged Shell chair — now merely called the Shell — is an example of Hans J. Wegner’s rare forays into plywood. The pioneering Danish furniture maker, whose works of Scandinavian modernism are among the most celebrated designs in the world, much preferred solid wood, a material with which he had extensive experience.
Wegner (1914–2007) was the son of a cobbler and apprenticed to a cabinetmaker for much of his youth. He went on to study at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (then the Danish School of Arts and Crafts) and then worked as a designer for Erik Møller and Arne Jacobsen in the 1940s before opening his own studio. Chairs became Wegner’s specialty, and over the years he designed over 500 of them. More than 100 of his designs, such as the Wishbone chair and the Papa Bear chair, went into production.
In terms of both process and aesthetics, the Shell chair was ahead of its time when it was introduced in 1963. The expressive seat and back are made out of form-pressed oak or walnut laminates and topped with upholstered cushions for maximum comfort. Wegner made scale models to test various leg configurations and eventually landed on the tapered three-leg structure that gives the chair a feeling of lightness. Nevertheless, the structure is very stable, featuring two front legs made of one continuous piece and a separate hind leg that supports the backrest.
Often described as being “wing-like,” the chair’s radical fluid lines were considered a bit too futuristic when the chair was first introduced during the 1963 Furniture Guild Exhibition in Copenhagen. Initially, mixed reviews from critics as well as the general public along with production difficulties resulted in a very limited early run. Twelve new models were produced for a retrospective exhibition celebrating Wegner’s 77th birthday in 1989, and the design began garnering renewed attention — a photograph of the chair was even selected to grace the cover of the exhibition catalog.
In 1998, nearly a decade following the piece’s reemergence at the retrospective event, Carl Hansen & Søn reintroduced the Shell chair 35 years after it was first released and it has felt relevant ever since. Sculptural and sleek — and “beautiful from all sides and angles,” as Wegner intended for his seating — the Shell chair makes an immediate statement in any interior.
Hans J. Wegner
Best known for his chairs and seating pieces — though a master of many furniture types like sofas and tables — Hans Wegner was a prolific designer whose elegant, often ebullient, forms and devotion to the finest methods in joinery made "Danish Modern" a popular byword for stylish, well-made furniture in the mid-20th century.
Wegner considered himself a carpenter first and a furniture designer second. Like his peers Arne Jacobsen and Finn Juhl, Wegner believed that striking aesthetics in furniture were based on a foundation of practicality: a chair must be comfortable and sturdy before it is chic.
In keeping with that tenet, several of Wegner’s best chair designs, seen in dealer listings below, have their roots in traditional seating forms. The Peacock chair (designed in 1947) is a throne-like adaptation of the Windsor chair; pieces from the China chair series (begun in 1944) as well as the 1949 Wishbone chair, with its distinctive Y-shaped back splat, are derived from 17th-century Ming seating pieces, as is the upholstered Ox chair (1960). Wegner’s comfy Papa Bear chair (1951) is an almost surreally re-scaled English wingback chair.
Wegner’s most representative piece, the Round chair (1949), gained a footnote in political history when it was used on the TV stage of the first Kennedy-Nixon debate of 1960. That chair, along with Wegner’s more bravura designs, for example the 1963 Shell chair, with its curved surfboard-shaped seat, bring a quietly sculptural presence to a room. Wegner was a designer who revered his primary material — wood — and it shows. His wood gathers patina and character with age; every Hans Wegner piece testifies to the life it has led.
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- Hans Wegner for GETAMA High Back Oak Lounge Chair and Ottoman Model GE290By Hans J. Wegner, GETAMALocated in Philadelphia, PAHans Wegner for Getama High Back Oak Lounge Chair and Ottoman. Beautiful Wood in Original Condition. Upholstery is newly done in a Knoll Fabric. All original wire coil springs rewrap...Category
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- Hans Wegner GE-240 GETAMA SofaBy Hans J. Wegner, GETAMALocated in Philadelphia, PAHans Wegner for GETAMA GE-240 3 seat sofa. Oak body with teak arms. Redone about 13 years ago but retaining it's original inner coil springs. Looks like arms were refinished at some...Category
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- Hans J. Wegner Pair of Cabinets for Ry MoblerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Philadelphia, PABeautiful Pair of Hans Wegner Designed Cabinets for Ry Mobler of Denmark. Teak with Oak Runners and interior of Birch. Beautifully crafted with subtle detailing throughout. Can be...Category
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$6,895 / set - Set of 3 Molded Plywood Curule Stools or OttomansBy Thonet, Norman ChernerLocated in Philadelphia, PASet of 3 molded plywood and walnut curule stools or ottomans. Newly refinished frames with their original Brown vinyl Covers. Classic Roman Form reinvented in a Modern Fashion. Very ...Category
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$1,750 Sale Price / set30% Off
- Shell Chair by Hans Wegner in Walnut and BeechBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in North Hollywood, CAShell chair by Hans Wegner in laminated walnut seat and back and solid beech wood frame. It has the original screws on the bottom of seat t...Category
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- Shell Chair by Hans J. WegnerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Sagaponack, NYA laminated orange lacquered "shell" lounge chair with upholstered seat and back.Category
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- Pair of Hans Wegner Walnut China ChairsBy Fritz Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in London, GBHans J. Wegner FH 4283 China chair, 1944 This incredibly rare version of Wegner's iconic design was produced by Fritz Hansen in Denmark in 1977 in exquisite European walnut in ...Category
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$19,069 / set - Hans Wegner Peacock ChairBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLA mid-century modern PP550 ‘Peacock’ chair designed by Hans Wegner in 1947 for Johannes Hansen. Modeled after a traditional American Windsor chair, Hans Wegner’s Peacock chair strips the form to reveal its construction while retaining aesthetic, decorative impact. The chair reveals a modernist approach to designing around the human body and using natural materials, with one exception. The “rush” seat is actually made of paper cord: when the chair was first designed in 1947, shortages caused by World War II prevented Wegner from using jute. Fellow designer Finn Juhl gave the nickname of ‘Peacock,’ seeing the chair’s flattened spindles and magnificent arc resembling the bird’s plumage. Dimensions: 41 3/4 in. H × 27 1/2 in. W × 20 1/2 in. D Seat: 22 1/2 in. x 19 3/4 in. x 12 in. at back Floor to top of seat: 14 in. Top of seat to arm rest: 10 1/8 in. Seat to top head rest: 31 3/4 in. Condition: Excellent, with some minor wear throughout. Gap between arm and chair back measuring approximately 1/4 inch. Some light water staining on both arms. Wood split to one seat joint measuring 3/8 and 5/8 inches on either side. Four deeper scratches on back. Area of staining on bottom chair rung measuring 2 3/4 inches long. Chair back’s fifth spindle from right with wood chip measuring 1 inch long. Chair back’s sixth spindle from left loose. Literature: 40 years of Danish furniture design: 1947-1956, ed. Grete Jalk, vol. 3 (Copenhagen: Lindhardt og Ringhof, 1987), pp. 15-17. Arne Karlsen...Category
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- Hans Wegner Peacock ChairBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLA PP550 ‘Peacock’ chair designed by Hans Wegner in 1947 for Johannes Hansen. Modeled after a traditional American Windsor chair, Hans Wegner’s Peacock chair strips the form to reveal its construction while retaining aesthetic, decorative impact. The chair reveals a modernist approach to designing around the human body and using natural materials, with one exception. The “rush” seat is actually made of paper cord: when the chair was first designed in 1947, shortages caused by World War II prevented Wegner from using jute. Fellow designer Finn Juhl gave the nickname of ‘Peacock,’ seeing the chair’s flattened spindles and magnificent arc resembling the bird’s plumage. Dimensions: 41 3/4 in. H × 27 1/2 in. W × 20 1/2 in. D Seat: 22 1/2 in. x 19 3/4 in. x 12 in. at back Floor to top of seat: 14 in. Top of seat to arm rest: 10 1/8 in. Seat to top head rest: 31 3/4 in. Condition: Excellent, with some minor wear throughout. Wood splits to three of the seat joints measuring 1 inch, 1/2 and 1/4 inch on either side, and 1/4 inch. Area of discoloration to arm, possibly from sticker, measuring approximately 3/4 inch. Some nicks to side of one arm. On the other arm, a scratch measuring 1 1/8 inches on the side. Literature: 40 years of Danish furniture design: 1947-1956, ed. Grete Jalk, vol. 3 (Copenhagen: Lindhardt og Ringhof, 1987), pp. 15-17. Arne Karlsen, Danish Furniture Design: in the 20th Century, vol. 2 (Copenhagen: Christian Ejlers, 2007), p. 90. Christian Holmsted Olesen, Wegner: Just One Good Chair (Germany, Hatje Cantz Verlag GmbH & Company KG, 2014). Johan Møller Nielson, Wegner en Dansk Møbelkunstner (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1965), pp. 42, 98, 103, 106. Noritsugu Oda, Danish Chairs (San Francisco: Chronicle Books), 1996, pp. 106, 107. Svend Erik Møller and Viggo Sten Møller...Category
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MaterialsPapercord, Ash, Teak
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