Classic Dining Chairs by Hans J. Wegner
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Classic Dining Chairs by Hans J. Wegner
About the Item
- Creator:Johannes Hansen (Cabinetmaker),Hans J. Wegner (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 19.69 in (50 cm)Depth: 19.69 in (50 cm)Seat Height: 17.72 in (45 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 6
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Lejre, DK
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1020812563401
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.
Johannes Hansen
Danish master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen is best known for a celebrated partnership with legendary Scandinavian modernist designer Hans Wegner that lasted half a century. The sophisticated and sculptural chairs, tables and cabinets that Wegner designed and Hansen built earned Wegner worldwide acclaim, and brought meaningful business opportunities to Hansen and his modest workshop.
Hansen was born in 1886 and apprenticed as a cabinetmaker in his early years, opening a workshop and showroom in Copenhagen. In 1927, he helped establish the annual Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition. Later, at the age of 55, Hansen began working with Danish furniture designer Hans J. Wegner, then only 26. With Wegner creating and Hansen executing on his partner’s complex designs, they developed furniture to sell in Hansen's showroom. A business relationship of this type was common in 20th-century Danish furniture making, and Hansen and Wegner enjoyed a prolific and renowned collaboration.
Wegner’s career began in cabinetry before he transitioned to furniture design in the 1940s. He is among the most celebrated figures for collectors of mid-century modern and Scandinavian works of the era. One of the first well-known entries for the Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibitions authored by Wegner and built by Hansen was the 1942 Lattice chair, a red Cuban mahogany dining room chair with an upholstered leather seat. The Peacock chair, an iconic design that followed in 1947, was the pair's take on a traditional English Windsor chair. It featured flattened spindles along the back resembling the feathers of a peacock tail — it wasn’t exactly an emblem of the pared-back functionality prioritized by Kaare Klint, Wegner’s former instructor at Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Wegner would go on to design nearly 500 chairs over the course of his life — among them are the Wishbone chair, the Papa Bear chair and the Round chair. The latter, which is often simply called “The Chair,” was manufactured by Hansen and made its debut at the Guild Exhibition in 1949. It was declared “the most beautiful chair in the world” by Interiors magazine a year later, and a pair of the iconic seats appeared on the first nationally televised presidential debate in the United States in 1960.
After Hansen died in 1961, his son, Poul Hansen, took over the business and continued working with Wegner. The company closed in the 1990s, but today, Hansen and Wegner's collaborative legacy endures in collections around the world.
Find vintage Johannes Hansen furniture on 1stDibs.
- Midcentury Peacock Chair by Hans Wegner, 1950sBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Lejre, DKPeacock chair designed by Hans J Wegner for master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen. Made in Denmark in the mid-1950s. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAsh, Teak
- Set of Six Midcentury Wishbone Chairs in Patinated Oak by Hans Wegner, 1960sBy Hans J. Wegner, Carl Hansen & SønLocated in Lejre, DKSet of six wishbone chairs in oak and paper cord designed by Hans J Wegner. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Oak
- Set of Twelve Midcentury Wishbone Chairs in Patinated Oak by Hans Wegner, 1960sBy Hans J. Wegner, Carl Hansen & SønLocated in Lejre, DKSet of twelve wishbone chairs in oak and paper cord designed by Hans J Wegner. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Oak
- Set of Four Midcentury Wishbone Chairs in Patinated Oak by Hans Wegner, 1960sBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Lejre, DKSet of four wishbone chairs in oak and paper cord designed by Hans J Wegner. Great original condition.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsPapercord, Oak
- Rare 'Buck' Chair in Pine by Hans J. Wegner, 1959.By Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Lejre, DKRare lounge chair in patinated pine and canvas. Designed by Hans J. Wegner M.A.A for Johannes Hansen in 1959. Great condition.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Teak
- Rocking Chair in Oak by Hans Wegner, 1950sBy A. Mikael Laursen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Lejre, DKRocking chair in oak and fabric, designed by Hans Wegner and made by Mikael Laursen. Great condition.Category
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- 'Bullhorn' Chair by Hans WegnerBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn oak 'Bullhorn' chair with oak splines and upholstered seat retaining the original black leather.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsOak
- Dining Chairs by Hans WegnerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Sagaponack, NYA side chair in oak with sculpted backrests and woven papercord seats.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsOak, Papercord
$1,800 / item - Teak Conference Chair by Hans J. WegnerBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Sagaponack, NYA handcrafted and elegant armchair devoid of extraneous detailing, having an exposed solid teak frame and a gently curved seat and back in leather upholstery.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTeak, Leather
- 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 - 1960s Danish Teak Dining Chair by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes HansenBy Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn elegant handcrafted dining chair, having an exposed teak frame and leather upholstery.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Teak
- Hans J. Wegner Round ChairBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Brooklyn, NYAn original model JH-503 round armchair in teak and leather, designed by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes Hanse. Sculptural teak frame has been gently polished and retains lovely patina. ...Category
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MaterialsTeak
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