Ole Wanscher ‘Model 1755’ Armchairs for Fritz Hansen, Set of Two
View Similar Items
Ole Wanscher ‘Model 1755’ Armchairs for Fritz Hansen, Set of Two
About the Item
- Creator:Fritz Hansen (Manufacturer),Ole Wanscher (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 33.86 in (86 cm)Width: 24.81 in (63 cm)Depth: 26.38 in (67 cm)Seat Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1946
- Condition:Refinished. Reupholstered. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Rotterdam, NL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1117222575822
Ole Wanscher
A scholar and architect with the heart of an artist, Ole Wanscher helped define the functional, clean-cut style that formed the core of modern Danish furniture design. Influenced heavily by his world travels, Wanscher gained inspiration from English, Asian, Egyptian and traditional Shaker furniture, and he incorporated elements from these styles into his revered mid-century designs.
Wanscher’s deep respect for the use of traditional materials such as quality wood is reflected in his work, which is valued for being both beautiful and built to last. He was also a leader in the postwar “design for everyone” movement, creating many pieces intended for everyday life within the small confines of the average Danish household. Later, Wanscher became a prolific writer on the subject of furniture design. He is considered one of the most significant influences on the world of Scandinavian modernism.
The son of an art historian and a painter, Wanscher studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. From 1925 to 1927, Wanscher worked under the great Danish designer and professor Kaare Klint, who became one of the greatest stylistic influences on his output. Wanscher would go on to work as a professor at the academy from 1955 to 1973.
Wanscher founded his own furniture manufacturing company in 1929. Here he employed the top cabinetmakers of the day, most notably A.J. Iversen, with whom Wanscher collaborated for many years. While the workshop produced seductive handmade furniture with organic materials such as teak and mahogany, Wanscher intended to design durable seating, tables and more for the mass market — he was committed to making quality furniture available to a wider audience.
Of all of Wanscher’s designs, he is perhaps best known for his Colonial chair. This piece — which is part of a collection for Danish manufacturer P. Jeppesens that includes a sofa and a coffee table — exemplifies his penchant for combining minimalist design with traditional craftsmanship. Wanscher’s dining room tables, such as the Rungstedlund table, also epitomize the elegance of his work’s simple silhouettes and careful construction. These sleek tables serve as an ideal centerpiece for both modern and traditionally styled dining rooms, highlighting the versatility of Wanscher’s work.
Wanscher received a gold medal for his exemplary work at the 1960 Milan Triennale. He also received the Copenhagen Carpenters’ Guild Annual Award. Though Wanscher passed away in 1985, his iconic designs and scholarly writings remain relevant to this day.
Find vintage Ole Wanscher tables, seating and case pieces on 1stDibs.
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.
- Philippe Starck 'Miss Dorn' chairs for Disform, 1982 - set of fourBy Disform, Philippe StarckLocated in Rotterdam, NLMiss Dorn chairs by Philippe Starck for Disform, 1982. Black coated tubular steel frames and round cylindrical black leather seats. The combination of their primary shapes and hard l...Category
Vintage 1980s French Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSteel
- Pair of Junzo Sakakura ‘Model 5016’ Lounge Chairs, Japan 1950sBy Tendo Mokko, Junzo Sakakura, Daisaku ChoLocated in Rotterdam, NLPair of ‘Model 5016’ lounge chairs by Junzo Sakakura and Daisaku Cho for Tendo Mokko, Japan 1957 (1960s production). Sturdy Oak plywood frames and elegant curved seat and backs. The ...Category
Vintage 1950s Japanese Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWool, Velvet, Oak, Plywood
- Luigi Caccia Dominioni armchair for Azucena, Italy ca. 1960By Luigi Caccia Dominioni, AzucenaLocated in Rotterdam, NLRare easy chair by Luigi Caccia Dominioni for Azucena, Italy ca. 1960. Strong yet elegant design created out of cylindrical and arch shapes which communicates in an interesting way. ...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal
- Pair of ‘Kaïdo’ Lounge Chairs by Kwok Hoï Chan for Steiner, 1968By Kwok Hoi Chan, SteinerLocated in Rotterdam, NLRare pair of ‘Kaïdo’ lounge chairs by by Kwok Hoï Chan for Steiner, 1968. Fantastic sensual and soft design. Kwok Hoï Chan Kwok Hoï Chan was born in Hong...Category
20th Century French Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWool
- Alvar Aalto Early ‘Mod. 31′ Armchair, Finland 1930sBy Wohnbedarf, Alvar AaltoLocated in Rotterdam, NLAlvar Aalto ‘Mod. 31' Armchair, Finland 1930s. Early edition manufactured by O.y. Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas A.b. Turku and Supplied by the famous Wohnbedarf, Zürich; marked with...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsPlywood
- Gastone Rinaldi ‘Diega’ lounge chair for Rima, Italy 1970sBy Gastone Rinaldi, RIMALocated in Rotterdam, NLGastone Rinaldi 'Diega' lounge chair for Rima, Italy 1970s. Innovative bulky shaped design consisting of two fat leather bulky cushions in supported by an elegant chromed metal frame...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
- Early Ole Wanscher Armchair for Fritz HansenBy Ole WanscherLocated in Pawtucket, RIEarly Ole Wanscher armchair in stained beech and manufactured by Fritz Hansen, circa late 1940s.Category
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsBeech
- Midcentury Armchair Ole Wanscher for Fritz Hansen, Stained Beech and LeatherBy Ole Wanscher, Fritz HansenLocated in Hillringsberg, SEThis partial heavy patinated armchair was designed and created 1942 by Ole Wanscher and manufactured at Fritz Hansen in Denmark. The chair itself is made in stained beech. The seat i...Category
Vintage 1940s Swedish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Beech
- Ole Wanscher “Model 1673” High Back Chair for Fritz Hansen, Denmark, 1940sBy Fritz Hansen, Ole WanscherLocated in Utrecht, NLThe simple and refined aesthetic of this chair stems from Ole Wanscher’s reinvention of classic forms, for which he became a key-player of the Danish mid-century movement. In this m...Category
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Ole Wanscher “Model 1673” High Back Chairs for Fritz Hansen, Denmark 1940sBy Fritz Hansen, Ole WanscherLocated in Utrecht, NLThe simple and refined aesthetic of this pair of chairs stems from Ole Wanscher’s reinvention of classic forms, for which he became a key-player of the Danish mid-century movement. ...Category
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Wood
- Ole Wanscher Teak Easy Chair Model Senator for France & Son Set of 2By France & Søn, Ole WanscherLocated in Munich, BavariaOle Wanscher Modell Senator Easy chair in teak wood. Produced by France & Son / France Daverkosen The fabric is made of wool and it has a unique flower pattern which made it so spe...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWool, Teak, Fabric
- Ole Wanscher 1958 ArmchairBy A. J. Iversen, Ole WanscherLocated in London, GBOle Wanscher J2883 armchair, 1958 Produced by master cabinetmaker A.J. Iversen in sumptuous Brazilian rosewood with aniline black leather seat. First presented at the Copenhage...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Rosewood
$17,576