Early Edition Flag Chair by Hans J. Wegner
About the Item
- Creator:Hans J. Wegner (Maker)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)Width: 40.95 in (104.02 cm)Depth: 45.28 in (115.02 cm)Seat Height: 15.5 in (39.37 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU986415161662
Flag Halyard Chair
In its broad form and wealth of hard angles, Hans J. Wegner’s Flag Halyard chair is one of the more visually flamboyant pieces to emerge from Danish mid-century modernism. Legend has it that Wegner (1914–2007) conceptualized the piece in 1950 while on vacation at the beach, molding its seat out of sand and attaching a bit of halyard — rope typically used on sailboats — that he found nearby.
Danish brand Getama picked up the chair for production, an undoubtedly difficult task given the piece’s suspension construction and unusual combination of materials.
The original Flag Halyard consists of chrome-plated steel, woven rope, linen and a sheepskin throw; subsequent models incorporate leather cushions. But Wegner, who established his studio in 1943 after graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and working for Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller on furniture for Aarhus City Hall in 1938, was never one to shy away from unconventional material or construction — and an early apprenticeship with master cabinetmaker H.F. Stahlberg instilled in him a devotion to fine details.
Around the same time that Wegner created the Flag Halyard chair, he developed the widely beloved Wishbone chair and an armchair in 1949 commonly known as “The Chair,” which earned him international recognition when it was used in the 1960 U.S. presidential debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. Compared to these two seats, the Flag Halyard is a delightfully experimental marriage of material. Today, it’s manufactured by PP Møbler.
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Los Angeles, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
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- Valet Chair by Hans J. WegnerBy Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated in Sagaponack, NYThe iconic Valet chair designed by Hans Wegner. Crafted in teak and oakwood with seat that swings upward to hang trousers and hidden storage for pocket contents. Conceived in 1953...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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- Hans Wegner Peacock ChairBy Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated 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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