Arne Jacobsen Swan Sofa, Fritz Hansen, Denmark
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Arne Jacobsen Swan Sofa, Fritz Hansen, Denmark
About the Item
- Creator:Arne Jacobsen (Designer),Hans J. Wegner (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 31.11 in (79 cm)Width: 56.89 in (144.5 cm)Depth: 26.78 in (68 cm)Seat Height: 14.97 in (38 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:ca. 1990`s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Frankfurt / Dreieich, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU9808873921
Arne Jacobsen
The eye-catching work of the Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen often introduces new collectors to mid-20th century furniture. With their fluid lines and sculptural presence, Jacobsen’s signature pieces — the elegant Swan chair and the cozy-yet-cutting edge Egg chair, both first presented in 1958 — are iconic representations of both the striking aesthetic of the designers of the era and their concomitant attention to practicality and comfort. Jacobsen designed furniture that had both gravitas and groove.
Though Jacobsen is a paragon of Danish modernism, his approach to design was the least “Danish” of those who are counted as his peers. The designs of Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, Børge Mogensen and others grew out of their studies as cabinetmakers. They prized skilled craftsmanship and their primary material was carved, turned and joined wood. Jacobsen was first and foremost an architect, and while he shared his colleagues’ devotion to quality of construction, he was far more open to other materials such as metal and fiberglass.
Many of Jacobsen’s best-known pieces had their origin in architectural commissions. His molded-plywood, three-legged Ant chair (1952) was first designed for the cafeteria of a pharmaceutical company headquarters. The tall-backed Oxford chair was made for the use of dons at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, whose Jacobsen-designed campus opened in 1962 (while still under construction). The Swan, Egg and Drop chairs and the AJ desk lamp were all created as part of Jacobsen’s plan for the SAS Royal Copenhagen Hotel, which opened in 1960. (The hotel has since been redecorated, but one guest room has been preserved with all-Jacobsen accoutrements.)
To Jacobsen’s mind, the chief merit of any design was practicality. He designed the first stainless-steel cutlery set made by the Danish silver company Georg Jensen; Jacobsen’s best-selling chair — the plywood Series 7 — was created to provide lightweight, stackable seating for modern eat-in kitchens. But as you will see from the objects on 1stDibs, style never took a backseat to function in Arne Jacobsen’s work. His work merits a place in any modern design collection.
Find authentic Arne Jacobsen chairs, tables, sofas and other furniture on 1stDibs.
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.
- Leather Swan Sofas by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz HansenBy Arne Jacobsen, Fritz HansenLocated in Dallas, TXEasily one of Arne Jacobsen's most recognizable designs is the rare 'Swan' settee model no. 3321, for The Republic of Fritz Hansen. Devised as an extension and produced in far fewer numbers than the famous Swan chair. The settee is a sculptural masterpiece that forgoes boring straight lines in favor of a unique shape composed of smooth curves and soft round edges with outstanding comfort, mounted on the polished aluminium base, an innovative design. Retains the original manufacturers label. Recently professionally reupholstered in leather with a very nice patina. It was an immediate star when it was unveiled at the opening of the Royal SAS Hotel in Copenhagen in 1958. Jacobsen was the principal architect and designer for the cutting-edge hotel. The furniture he created for the project make up some of his most iconic designs. Two available, price is per item. Literature: Arne Jacobsen, Thau and Vindum, pg. 470 An icon of Danish furniture design, Arne Jacobsen was first and foremost an architect, he used that skill to create a catalog of groundbreaking product designs. He embodied the spirit of simple, functional elegance that defined the movement now known as Danish mid-century modernism. Some of his designs include the iconic Series 7 Chair, Ant Chair, Egg Chair, Swan Chair and Settee, Mayor Sofa...Category
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