1950s Set 4 FH4103 Heart Dining Chairs by Hans Wegner for Fritz Hansen Denmark
About the Item
- Creator:Fritz Hansen (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.55 in (72.5 cm)Width: 21.66 in (55 cm)Depth: 19.69 in (50 cm)Seat Height: 16.93 in (43 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- 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:Sherborne, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4257234665952
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Sherborne, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Mid-Century Fritz Hansen Teak Tray Table by Engholm & Willumsen Denmark 1960sBy Willumsen & Engholm, Fritz HansenLocated in Sherborne, DorsetA very stylish teak tray table, model 4508, designed by H. Engholm and Sven Aage Willumsen for Fritz Hansen in 1957. The circular table top tray is beautifully sculpted in teak and s...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBeech, Teak
- Antique Set 4 Spanish Polychrome Dining Chairs Giltwood Green Painted Folk ArtLocated in Sherborne, DorsetA stunning set of four Andalusian ladderback dining chairs in original Polychrome dark green and old gold with rush seats – a stunning combination of colours with the most appealing ...Category
Early 20th Century Spanish Folk Art Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsRush, Paint, Giltwood, Wood
- 1930s 40s Modernist set of Six French Art Deco Oak Dining Chairs Charles DudouytLocated in Sherborne, DorsetA magnificent set of six Modernist Art Deco dining chairs attributed to Charles Dudouyt in original period burgundy Rexine with cream piping. Carved oak detailing to the back and ele...Category
Mid-20th Century French Art Deco Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFaux Leather, Oak
- 1960s Danish Modern Teak Occasional Side Wine Table by Hans C Andersen for ArtexBy ArtexLocated in Sherborne, DorsetThis perfectly proportioned Danish tripod base side table was designed by Hans C. Andersen for Artex. This is a lovely example of Danish Modern design. Its shaft and base are of soli...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsFormica, Teak
- Set of 3 Midcentury Brass Coat Hooks Rack Hangers Modernist Brutalist 1950s BarLocated in Sherborne, DorsetA highly unusual set of three brass coat hangers dating from the 1950s, reclaimed from a Gentleman’s Clubhouse. The lower hook is a broad arm so is perfect for more delicate shaped j...Category
Mid-20th Century British Mid-Century Modern Coat Racks and Stands
MaterialsBrass
- 1950s French Brass Crystal Gilt Chandelier Wall Light Sconces Set of 4 RegencyLocated in Sherborne, DorsetA substantial set of four stunning French wall mounted chandeliers with generous strings of cut crystal prisms and multi faceted octagon crystal beads. Each chandelier sconce has thr...Category
Mid-20th Century French Hollywood Regency Wall Lights and Sconces
MaterialsCrystal, Metal, Brass
- Set of 4 'FH4103' chairs by Hans J. Wegner for Fritz Hansen, 1950sBy Hans J. Wegner, Fritz HansenLocated in Brussels, BESet of 4 'FH4103' tripod chairs, by the renowned Hans J. Wegner for Fritz Hansen in 1950s. These iconic chairs are affectionately known as the 'heart chair' due to their distinctive ...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
MaterialsWood, Teak
- Set Danish “heart” diningchairs, FH4103, Hans J. Wegner for Fritz Hansen, 1950sBy Hans J. Wegner, Fritz HansenLocated in Denventer, NLBeautiful set of 4 dining table chairs, designed by Hans J. Wegner and produced by Fritz Hansen, Denmark 1950s. The triangular construction of the special chairs is a combination of beech and teak wood. The frame is made of birch and the plywood seat is made of teak. The three legs and the shape of the seat are shaped like a heart (heart chair). The iconic chairs...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Teak
- Hans Wegner for Fritz Hansen FH4103 Beech & Teak Heart Chairs, Set of 6By Hans J. Wegner, Fritz HansenLocated in London, GBOriginally designed by Hans Wegner in the 1950s, the FH4103 was manufactured by Fritz Hansen and sold in London by Story’s of Kensington. Constructed from beech and teak wood, the...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Teak
- Danish Modern Model FH4103 Chair by Hans J. Wegner. 1950s.By Fritz Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Asaa, DKDanish Modern Model FH4103 Chair by Hans J. Wegner. 1950s. Iconic Danish Mid-Century Modern design by world famous Danish architect Hans Jørgensen Wegner. Manufactured by Fritz Hans...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
MaterialsOak, Teak
- Hans Wegner for Fritz Hansen FH4103 Beech & Teak Heart Dining ChairBy Hans J. Wegner, Fritz HansenLocated in London, GBOriginally designed by Hans Wegner in the 1950s, the FH4103 was manufactured by Fritz Hansen and sold in London by Story’s of Kensington. Constructed from beech and teak wood, the F...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Teak
- Hans Wegner Heart Stacking Dining Chairs Model Fh4103 By Fritz HansenBy Fritz Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in London, GBOriginally designed by Hans Wegner in the 1950s, the FH4103 was manufactured by Fritz Hansen and sold in London by Story’s of Kensington. Constructed from beech and teak wood, the...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBeech, Oak