Hans Wegner Rare 'Dolphin Chair' in Oak and Cane for Johannes Hansen, 1950
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Hans Wegner Rare 'Dolphin Chair' in Oak and Cane for Johannes Hansen, 1950
About the Item
- Creator:Hans J. Wegner (Designer),Johannes Hansen (Cabinetmaker)
- Dimensions:Height: 37.01 in (94 cm)Width: 27.96 in (71 cm)Depth: 36.23 in (92 cm)Seat Height: 14.97 in (38 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Copenhagen, DK
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1081214355622
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.
- Easy Chair in Oak by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes HansenBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKHans J. Wegner Model JH-516 in oak and cane. Executed by Johannes Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
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- Hans J. Wegner Folding Chair for Johannes HansenBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKHans J. Wegner folding chair of oak model JH-512, 1949. Executed by Johannes Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark.Category
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- Hans Wegner for Johannes Hansen "the Chair" Oak and Leather Round Chairs, PairBy Johannes Hansen, Knoll, Hans J. WegnerLocated in South Bend, INOffering a rare and exceptional pair of JH 501 armchairs. Most commonly known as "The Chair", this is expertly designed for style and comfort and exquisitely constructed from solid o...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Club Chairs
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- Hans J. Wegner Pair of Folding Chairs for Johannes HansenBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKHans J. Wegner pair folding chairs with hanging bracket of oak model JH-512, 1949. Executed by Johannes Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
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- Collectible Design: Hans Wegner JH 516 Lounge Chairs for Johannes Hansen, 1950sBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Renens, CHAn original pair of very rare JH516 lounge chairs by Hans Wegner, produced by Johannes Hansen during the 1950s. A rare opportunity to purchase an investment piece that rarely becomes available on the market. Materials: Oak, cane Origination: Denmark, 1950s. Labelled on underside of one chair. Condition: Very good as per images. Signs of use on the wood, we found a superficial hairline crack on one of the armrests, and one armrest with chipped wood...Category
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- Pair of Mahogany Lounge Chairs by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes HansenBy Johannes Hansen, Hans J. WegnerLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn uncommon pair of mahogany lounge chairs newly upholstered in dark grey wool savak.Category
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