JH 512 in Oak by Hans J. Wegner
View Similar Items
JH 512 in Oak by Hans J. Wegner
About the Item
- Creator:Hans J. Wegner (Designer),Johannes Hansen (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 29.53 in (75 cm)Width: 24.02 in (61 cm)Depth: 29.53 in (75 cm)Seat Height: 14.97 in (38 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Oak,Patinated
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Copenhagen, DK
- Reference Number:Seller: 10463001stDibs: LU1008417219152
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.
- Pair of JH 801 easychairs by Hans J. WegnerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKJH 801 - Reupholstered easy chair in new textile (Malou Ocre from Pierre Frey) on steel frame. Designed in the 1970s. Hans J. Wegner / Johannes HansenCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
$11,731 / set - Pair of easy chairs model JH 703 by Hans J. WegnerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKPair of JH 703 easy chairs by Hans J. Wegner / Johannes Hansen.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- JH 518 - Rare 'Bull Chair' by Hans J. WegnerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKJH 518 - Rare 'Bull Chair' in solid oak and with seat of new, braided cane. Original label from manufacturer. Designed in 1961. Hans J. Wegner / Johannes HansenCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsOak
$14,062 / item - JH 756 Dining Table by Hans J. Wegner, AdditionalBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKJH 756 - Rare dining table with top, two additional plates and shoes in teak with steel legs. Hans J. Wegner / Johannes Hansen.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Dining Room Tables
MaterialsSteel
- AP 19 - Papa Bear Chair by Hans J. WegnerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKAP 19 - Papa Bear Chair in Hallingdal 65-wool. Hans J. Wegner / AP StolenCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWool, Oak
- AP 19 - Papa Bear Chair by Hans J. WegnerBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Copenhagen, DKAP 19 - Reupholstered Papa Bear Chair in yellow 'COLOR' textile (colour: 10-101). Hans J. Wegner / AP StolenCategory
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsOak, Teak
- Hans Wegner JH-512 Oak Folding Chair, c. 1950sBy Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated in London, GBOne of Danish master Hans J. Wegner's most important and iconic works. The model 512 chair was produced by master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen in Copenhagen during their golden period of collaboration that also produced the China chair, Wishbone chair and round chair in the 1950s. This example is made of oak, Wegner's favoured timber and has a beautiful, even patina. The original rattan cane is in excellent condition with minimal signs of wear. Literature: 'Danimarca', Domus, no. 259, June 1951, p. 29 Svend Erik Møller and Viggo Sten Møller...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsRattan, Oak
- Hans Wegner Pair of JH-512 Oak Folding Chairs, 1949By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated in London, GBHans Wegner JH-512 Folding Chairs, Oak One of Danish master Hans J. Wegner's most important and iconic works. The Model 512 chair was produced by ma...Category
Vintage 1940s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsRattan, Oak
$39,346 / set - Hans Wegner, Folding Lounge Chair model JH-512, circa 1960, by Johannes HansenBy Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated in Wargrave, BerkshireHans J Wegner (1914-2007), Folding Lounge Chair, model JH-512, original design 1949, this example possibly produced circa 1960. Produced by Johannes Hansen, Copenhagen Denmark, an...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBrass
- Oak Reading Chair by Hans J. WegnerBy Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated in Sagaponack, NYA rare oak "Bukkestolen" (reading chair) with exposed frame and upholstered seat and back retaining the original yellow wool upholstery.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsOak
- Hans Wegner Midcentury Original Classic JH-512 Folding Lounge Chair, 1950sBy Hans J. WegnerLocated in Studio City, CAIconic in design and aesthetic. This exquisite folding chair was designed by famed Danish designer Hans Wegner and is in its original finish and cane seat and back. The chair has the...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Chairs
MaterialsCane, Oak
- Easy Chair in Oak by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes HansenBy Hans J. Wegner, Johannes HansenLocated 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
MaterialsCane, Oak
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Design Icon Ilse Crawford on Her Colorful New Hans Wegner Chairs
If anyone is brave, humble and adept enough to recolor these mid-century masterpieces, it’s Ilse Crawford. Here, she gives us the details on her five earthy paint choices and tells us how she feels about design collaborations.