Pair of PK 91 Folding Stools by Poul Kjærholm for E. Kold Christensen

Made by E. Kold Christiansen.

Matte, chrome-plated steel, original black leather seats.

Designed in 1961, Kjærholm took inspiration for his folding stool from many places. He found and utilized important early artistic motifs, including the supple curves of Egyptian stools and folding chairs, and also Greek and Roman types. He was also profoundly involved in his own period and the legacy of Modernism in the twenties and thirties, including the contributions of his fellow Danish compatriots, Kaare Klint and Ole Wanscher, who had designed their own iconic folding stools in the 1930s and 1950s. His stool most closely follows Klint’s Propeller Stool, which features wooden elements carved to the shape of an airplane propeller: this allows the legs to nest together to create a complete cylindrical form when the stool is folded. Kjærholm turned to his signature material to mimic a similar form using flat strips of steel.

Literature:
Noritsugu Oda, Danish Chairs, Japan, 1996, p. 184-5, illustrated.
Christoffer Harlang, Keld Helmer-Petersen, and Krestine Kjærholm, eds, Poul Kjærholm, Vojens, 1999, pp. 25, 106-107, and 178, illustrated.
Michael Sheridan, catalogue of the exhibition, Poul Kjærholm - Møbelarkitekt, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, June 23-September 24, 2006, pp. 138,165-66, 186, 189, 191, 194, 211 illustrated.