FD 516 Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard Nielsen France & Son Danish Teak Coffee Table
View Similar Items
FD 516 Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard Nielsen France & Son Danish Teak Coffee Table
About the Item
- Creator:Hvidt & Mølgaard (Designer),France & Søn (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 15.75 in (40 cm)Width: 58.27 in (148 cm)Depth: 21.26 in (54 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor fading. The object is in very well maintained vintage condition with just few, superficial and minor age-related signs of used on the wood surface, such as minor superficial scratches, light-related color deviations.
- Seller Location:Hamburg, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3088311945973
Hvidt & Mølgaard
Warm, exceptionally versatile and crafted with a range of appealing materials, vintage Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen furniture showcases the Danish duo’s penchant for innovation and durable design. For decades, the pair created sleek coffee tables, seductive lounge chairs and other pieces that are characterized by the practicality and elegance commonly attributed to Scandinavian modernism.
Both Hvidt and Mølgaard-Nielsen attended what is now the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, with Mølgaard-Nielsen having completed his studies under the Danish furniture design pioneer and architect Kaare Klint. Trained as an architect and cabinetmaker, Hvidt established his own firm in 1940 and taught at his alma mater for a few years. After they won a design competition held in Stockholm, Hvidt partnered with Mølgaard-Nielsen in 1944 to establish their firm in Copenhagen.
The collaboration between Hvidt and Mølgaard-Nielsen yielded more than 250 designs and lasted over 30 years. Aside from having created a wardrobe for the Queen of Denmark as well as numerous architectural structures, the pair’s flagship achievements include 1944’s teak Portex chair, which is Denmark’s first-ever stacking chair (and is occasionally attributed to Hvidt alone), and the AX chair.
A masterpiece of technical expertise and innovative woodworking, the sculptural AX armchair shares commonalities with the work of legendary Finnish designer Alvar Aalto — whose output included similarly curvaceous seating such as the Paimio armchair, often designed in partnership with his wife, Aino. It features double-curved laminated wood in the seat and back — which could be mass-produced — and is an early example of knock-down furniture. This meant that it could be easily dismantled and assembled at its destination, which rendered the chair economical for transport on cargo ships and therefore could reach a worldwide audience.
While vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard furniture isn’t as popular as the work of Finn Juhl, a like-minded Danish modernist who helped popularize Scandinavian design in America as well as the use of teak in furniture, the innovative AX chair is similarly as expressive and inviting as Juhl’s seating. The AX was designed in collaboration with manufacturer Fritz Hansen during the late 1940s and went into production in 1950. It gave way to a series that includes tables and other types of seating.
Hvidt and Mølgaard-Nielsen collaborated regularly with Fritz Hansen, France & Søn and Søborg Møbelfabrik. Their work can be found in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen’s Design Museum and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.
Find vintage Hvidt & Mølgaard dining tables, coffee tables, modular sofas, storage cabinets and more on 1stDibs.
France & Søn
Danish manufacturer France & Søn is best known for its prolific output of elegant mid-century modern furnishings in teak and leather, yet its multinational beginnings took shape during the 1930s.
After businessman Charles William Fearnley France (1897–1972) moved from his native England to Denmark in 1936, he began to operate a small mattress factory alongside his friend Eric Daverkosen, a Danish cabinetmaker, under the name France & Daverkosen. Shortly afterward, Daverkosen passed away, and when Denmark was invaded during the Second World War, Charles was captured and sent to a prison camp in Germany. When he was released, the British entrepreneur set out to produce furniture in the early 1950s, setting up a shop in Hillerød to manufacture the kind of sleek beech and teak goods that were gaining widespread acclaim around the world. In 1957, France’s son James joined the business, and the company changed its name to reflect the addition.
Throughout the ’50s and ’60s, France & Søn produced a stunning array — and staggering quantity — of designs, with elegant modernist lounge chairs and armchairs, teak and rosewood dining tables and other furnishings by the likes of Finn Juhl, Grete Valk, Ole Wanscher, Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen all gracing its catalogues.
Even as there was a focus on mass production at France & Søn — and the brand doesn’t quite enjoy the same renown as fellow mid-century Danish furniture makers such as Carl Hansen & Søn — Charles France believed in making quality furniture, and the company’s offerings evoke the warmth of the handcrafted work that is typically associated with Scandinavian modernism.
In the 1960s, the company was bought by Danish designer Poul Cadovius, who folded it into the operations at CADO, a company he founded during the 1950s. Surviving examples of early work from the brand as well as modern icons by the likes of Verner Panton that followed in later years continue to be in demand.
Find a collection of France & Søn furniture on 1stDibs.
- Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen Sofa TableBy Hvidt & Mølgaard, France & SønLocated in Esbjerg, DKPeter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard Nielsen sofa table in sold teak. Made by France & Daverkosen in the 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Sofa Tables
MaterialsTeak
- 1960s coffee table, Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen, FD-516By France & Daverkosen, Hvidt & MølgaardLocated in Neuss, NWClassic coffee table from the 1960s by Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen for France & Daverkosen. Rare model FD- 516. Frame and table top made of solid teak with an additional shel...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Danish Mid Century Peter Hvidt & Orla Molgaard-Nielsen FD-516 Coffee TableBy Peter Hvidt, Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen, France & SønLocated in London, GBDesigned by Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard Nielsen, the FD-516 coffee table was manufactured by France & Søn in Denmark. Constructed from Teak, the coffee table has a large rectangul...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak, Rattan
- Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen Side TableBy Peter Hvidt, France & Søn, Orla Mølgaard-NielsenLocated in Esbjerg, DKPeter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard Nielsen side table in partly solid teak Model Silverline, Made by France & Daverkosen in the 1960s.Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Sofa Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Mid-Century Peter Hvidt, Orla Molgaard Minerva Coffee Table, France & Son, 1960sBy Hvidt & Mølgaard, France & Søn, Peter HvidtLocated in Stamford, CTMid-Century Peter Hvidt, Orla Molgaard Minerva Coffee Table, France & Son, 1960s Danish modern Minerva coffee table model 515 by Peter Hvidt & Orl...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Peter Hvidt& Orla Mølgaard Nielsen Teak Round Coffee Table for France& Son, 1950By Hvidt & Mølgaard, France & SønLocated in The Hague, NLThis round coffee table was designed by Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen and was produced by France & Søn in 1950s, Denmark. This circular table is made out of solid teak wood and...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak