Pantonova 125T Chair by Vernor Panton for Fritz Hansen, circa 1970
About the Item
- Creator:Fritz Hansen (Manufacturer),Verner Panton (Designer)
- Design:Pantonova ChairPantonova Series
- Dimensions:Height: 29.93 in (76 cm)Width: 22.05 in (56 cm)Depth: 64.18 in (163 cm)
- Style:Space Age (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1970
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor superficial pitting and surface oxidation to the chrome frame. Some loss to the plastic hooks beneath the cushion that attach it to the base.
- Seller Location:Surbiton, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU6449232998272
Verner Panton
Verner Panton introduced the word “groovy” — or at least its Danish equivalent — into the Scandinavian modern design lexicon. He developed fantastical, futuristic forms and embraced bright colors and new materials such as plastic, fabric-covered polyurethane foam and steel-wire framing. And Panton’s ebullient Pop art sensibility made him an international design star of the 1960s and ’70s. This radical departure from classic Danish modernism, however, actually stemmed from his training under the greats of that design style.
Born on the largely rural Danish island of Funen, Panton studied architecture and engineering at Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where the lighting designer Poul Henningsen was one of his teachers. After graduating, in 1951, Panton worked in the architectural office of Arne Jacobsen, and he became a close friend of Hans Wegner's.
Henningsen taught a scientific approach to design; Jacobsen was forever researching new materials; and Wegner, the leader in modern furniture design using traditional woodworking and joinery, encouraged experimental form. Panton opened his own design office in 1955, issuing tubular steel chairs with woven seating. His iconoclastic aesthetic was announced with his 1958 Cone chair, modified a year later as the Heart Cone chair. Made of upholstered sheet metal and with a conical base in place of legs, the design shocked visitors to a Copenhagen furniture fair.
Panton went on to successive bravura technical feats. His curving, stackable 1960 Panton chair, his most popular design, was the first chair to be made from a single piece of molded plastic. Three years later, he introduced the S model, the first legless chair crafted from a single piece of plywood, cantilevered on a round metal base. Panton would spend the latter 1960s and early ’70s developing all-encompassing room environments composed of sinuous and fluid-formed modular seating made of foam and metal wire. He also created a series of remarkable lighting designs, most notably his Fun chandeliers — introduced in 1964 and composed of scores of shimmering capiz-shell disks — and the Space Age VP Globe pendant light of 1969.
As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, Verner Panton’s designs are made to stand out and put an eye-catching exclamation point on even the most modern decor.
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: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- Limited Edition Tubular Steel Side Chairs by Tom Dixon, circa 2000By Tom DixonLocated in Surbiton, GBThick chrome plated tubular steel and leather side chairs designed by Tom Dixon for his first interior design project within the Hopkins Architects designed Inn the Park, St James Pa...Category
Early 2000s British Bauhaus Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Chrome
- Postmodern Space Age Lounge Chairs, Italy, c.1980Located in Surbiton, GBLate 20th Century Italian lounge chairs composed from sculpted foam on a wooden base, upholstered in an off white boucle fabric. The ...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Space Age Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBouclé
- Floor Lamp 4059 by Annig Sarian for Kartell, c.1970By Kartell, Annig SarianLocated in Surbiton, GBA 1970’s floor lamp designed by Annig Sarian and produced by Kartell, the Italian manufacturer synonymous with pioneering designs in plastic. The 4059 lamp is composed of a tall pl...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Space Age Floor Lamps
MaterialsGlass, Plastic, Fiberglass
- Perforated Steel Side Chair, circa 1970Located in Surbiton, GBUnusual, perforated steel side chair, circa 1970. Painted in a dark grey with a subtle brown tone. Unattributed. 2 available. Priced per chair. ...Category
Late 20th Century Unknown Post-Modern Side Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Space Age Chairs by Nanna Ditzel for Domus Danica, Circxa 1960By Domus Danica, Nanna DitzelLocated in Surbiton, GBA set of four rare fibreglass chairs designed by Nanna Ditzel and produced by OD Møbler / Domus Danica in 1969. Dimensions (cm, approx): Height: 78 Width: 55 Depth: 52 Hei...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Space Age Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsFiberglass
- Leather and Wood Dining Chair by Arnold Merckx for Arco, circa 1980By Arco, Arnold MerckxLocated in Surbiton, GBBlack leather and stained wooden dining chairs designed by Dutch designer Arnold Merckx and produced by Arco in the 1980s. Arnold Merckx graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts...Category
Vintage 1980s Dutch Post-Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood
- Deluxe 1-2-3 armchair by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen, Denmark 1970s.By Fritz Hansen, Verner PantonLocated in Haderslev, DKVerner Panton 1-2-3 deluxe chair in red Kvadrat wool fabric in original good condition. The chair is from the early 1970s. This particular 1-2-3 deluxe has the rare upholstered arm...Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Space Age Lounge Chairs
MaterialsWool
- Set of Two 1-2-3 Deluxe Armrest Chairs by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen, 1970sBy Fritz Hansen, Verner PantonLocated in Haderslev, DKVerner Panton 1-2-3 Deluxe set of two chairs for Fritz Hansen, Denmark, early 1970s. Low back 1-2-3 Deluxe with armrest both fully original with bottle green colored fabric. P...Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Space Age Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChrome
- 1-2-3 High Back Chair for Fritz Hansen by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen, 1970sBy Verner PantonLocated in HEVERLEE, BERare pair of 'System 123' chairs by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen in blue fabric and red leatherette. Beautiful curvy and cantilevered design. Originally designed in 1973. Good c...Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Fabric
- Scandinavian Modern Easy Chair G by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen, 1973By Fritz Hansen, Verner PantonLocated in Lisboa, LisboaVerner Panton "Easy Chair G" designed in 1973 and produced by Fritz Hansen. An iconic model by Danish designer Verner Panton, always with vibrant colors a...Category
Vintage 1970s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen System 1-2-3 Lounge Chair Deluxe HighbackBy Fritz Hansen, Verner PantonLocated in Berlin, DESystem 1-2-3 Lounge Chair Deluxe Highback,, Round base with a fully upholstered lounge chair seat.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric
- Early 'Bachelor' Chair with Ottomon by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen, 1953By Fritz Hansen, Verner PantonLocated in Antwerpen, VANEarly ‘Bachelor’ chair with a rare matching ottoman designed by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen in 1953. Both items have the signature minimalist tubular steel frame original canvas u...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsMetal
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
113 Chairs That Prove Danish Design Isn’t Limited to Denmark
In an innovative display, the Designmuseum Danmark is permanently exhibiting the 20th century's most iconic seats.
Verner Panton’s Bold Designs From the 1960s and ’70s Are Showing Up Everywhere
From high-fashion runways to a brand-new book, the groovy, futurist work of this groundbreaking Danish creative is receiving newfound — and much deserved — attention.