Frits Schlegel Beech and Seagrass Armchair, 1930s
View Similar Items
Frits Schlegel Beech and Seagrass Armchair, 1930s
About the Item
- Creator:Frits Schlegel (Designer),Fritz Hansen (Cabinetmaker)
- Dimensions:Height: 30.71 in (78 cm)Width: 22.45 in (57 cm)Depth: 26.78 in (68 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1930s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Copenhagen, DK
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU154128483583
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.
- Frits Schegel Sofa Bench, Denmark 1930sBy Fritz Hansen, Frits SchlegelLocated in Copenhagen, DKFRITS SCHLEGEL & FRITZ HANSEN - SCANDINAVIAN MODERN A beautiful and rare sofa bench by Frits Schlegel and manufactured by Fritz Hansen, 1940, with maker's brass plaque and paper lab...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsFabric, Beech
- Rare Fritz Hansen Lounge Chair, Beech and Woven Seagrass, Denmark, 1940sBy Fritz HansenLocated in Copenhagen, DKFritz Hansen & Attributed. Frits Schlegel Scandinavian Modern A stunning and lounge chair in beech and seagrass made by Danish cabinetmaker Fritz Hansen in the 1940s, design attr...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
MaterialsSeagrass, Beech
- Rare Mid-Century Modern Magnus Stephensen Armchairs for Fritz Hansen 1930sBy Fritz Hansen, Magnus StephensenLocated in Copenhagen, DKMAGNUS STEPHENSEN & FRITZ HANSEN SCANDINAVIAN MODERN A beautiful pair of armchairs by Danish architect and designer Magnus Stephensen for Fritz Hansen, Denmark 1930s. The armchair...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSeagrass, Beech
- Fritz Hansen 1669 Armchair, Brown Sheepskin, Denmark 1930s, Scandinavian ModernBy Fritz HansenLocated in Copenhagen, DKFRITZ HANSEN & MID-CENTURY MODERN A beautiful Fritz Hansen easy chair, model 1669, 1930s. Sculptural and comfortable armchair upholstered in brown sheepskin with cognac coloured bu...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsSheepskin
- Kaare Klint Armchair Dark Stained Oak and Original Patinated Niger Leather 1930sBy Rud Rasmussen, Kaare KlintLocated in Copenhagen, DKKAARE KLINT AND RUD RASMUSSEN SNEDKERIER - SCANDINAVIAN MODERN A rare Kaare Klint armchair with profiled legs in dark stained oak, brass nailheads, original patinated niger leather...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- Rare Frits Schlegel Wall Uplights, Opal Glass and Brass, Scandinavian ModernBy LyfaLocated in Copenhagen, DKFRITS SCHLEGEL & LYFA SCANDINAVIAN MODERN DESIGN A rare pair of Frits Schlegel wall uplights. The lights were designed in the 1950s for the iconic Overformynderiet building in Cope...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsBrass
- Pair of Armchairs by Frits Schlegel for Fritz Hansen Model 1641 Denmark 1940'sBy Fritz Hansen, Frits SchlegelLocated in Bonita Springs, FLAn incredible set of armchairs design by Frits Schlegel for Fritz Hansen. The armchairs are a perfect combination of beech and woven jute. They are a beautiful example of Scandi...Category
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsJute, Beech
- Set of Six Frits Schlegel 'Husum' Chairs in Elm, Fritz Hansen, Denmark, 1930sBy Frits Schlegel, Fritz HansenLocated in The Hague, NLThis rare set of six dining chairs was designed by the Danish designer and architect Frits Schlegel in the 1930s. This model 'Husum' chair was designed by Schlegel for the teacher's ...Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Elm, Bentwood
- Frits Schlegel for Fritz Hansen Set of Six 'Husum' ChairsBy Fritz Hansen, Frits SchlegelLocated in Waalwijk, NLFrits Schlegel for Fritz Hansen, set of six 'Husum' chairs, elm, beech. Denmark, 1930 Danish designer Frits Schlegel created the 'Husum' chair which got manufactured by Fritz Hansen...Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsElm, Beech
- Pair of Scandinavian Armchairs, 1930sBy Fritz HansenLocated in Stockholm, SEPair of Scandinavian midcentury armchairs, probably made in Finland, late 1930s. Stained legs. New upholstery. The general impression is very goo...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsFabric
- Danish Modern Lounge Chair in Beech and Papercord, in Style of Frits SchlegelLocated in Odense, DKDanish modern lounge chair in stained beech and papercord, made in the style of Frits Schlegel. A fashionable vintage beauty with some modern lines.Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Seagrass, Beech
- Pair of Easychairs by Frits SchlegelBy Frits SchlegelLocated in Copenhagen, DKRare pair of armchairs (model S102) made of metal, original French cane and stained beech from the 1930s. Literature: 'Nyt Tidskrift for Kunstind. Maker Fritz Hansen.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
$13,055 / set