Hans Wegner Chairs
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Hans Wegner Chairs
About the Item
- Creator:Hans J. Wegner (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 29.93 in (76 cm)Width: 24.81 in (63 cm)Depth: 20.48 in (52 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1950
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Wargrave, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU84003467882
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.
- 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
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Ash, Teak
- 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
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Ash, Teak
- Hans Wegner Peacock ChairsBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in West Palm Beach, FLA beautiful set of chairs. Purchased together from Knoll in the 1960s. Branded signature.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Chairs
MaterialsAsh
- Hans Wegner Sawbuck ChairBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in New York, NYA Danish oak and leather armchair. Designed by Hans Wegner Name - Sawbuck chair Model Number - CH-28 armchair was designed by Hans Wegner in 195...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
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- Hans J Wegner Round ChairBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Brooklyn, NYThree available, inquire within. Known simply as "The Chair," this iconic armchair was designed by Hans J. Wegner in 1949. Patinaed Danish oak frame has been gently restored, and the...Category
20th Century Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsOak
$6,000 / item - Hans J. Wegner Valet ChairBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Brooklyn, NYExquisite model JH-540 valet chair, designed by Hans J. Wegner for cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen. Originally designed for a king, no detail is overlooked in its craftsmanship. Sculptu...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Chairs
MaterialsOak
$17,500
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