Finn Juhl Danish Coffee Table
View Similar Items
Finn Juhl Danish Coffee Table
About the Item
- Creator:France & Søn (Manufacturer),Finn Juhl (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 57 in (144.78 cm)Depth: 21 in (53.34 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa 1960s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. This piece has the important signature of the maker affixed to the underside.
- Seller Location:Chicago, IL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU159724076163
Finn Juhl
Along with Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen and Børge Mogensen, Finn Juhl was one of the great masters of mid-20th-century Danish design. Juhl was the first among that group to have his work promoted overseas, bringing the character of the nation’s furnishings — and the inherent principles of grace, craftsmanship and utility on which they were based — to an international audience. A stylistic maverick, Juhl embraced expressive, free-flowing shapes in chair and sofa designs much earlier than his colleagues, yet even his quietest pieces incorporate supple, curving forms that are at once elegant and ergonomic.
As a young man, Juhl hoped to become an art historian, but his father steered him into a more practical course of study in architecture. He began designing furniture in the late 1930s, a discipline in which, despite his education, Juhl was self-taught, and quite proud of the fact. His earliest works, designed in the late 1930s, are perhaps his most idiosyncratic. The influence of contemporary art is clear in Juhl's 1939 Pelican chair: an almost Surrealist take on the classic wing chair. Critics reviled the piece, however; one said it looked like a "tired walrus." Juhl had tempered his creativity by 1945, when the Danish furniture-making firm Niels Vodder began to issue his designs. Yet his now-classic NV 45 armchair still demonstrates panache, with a seat that floats above the chair’s teak frame.
Juhl first exhibited his work in the United States in 1950, championed by Edgar Kaufmann Jr., an influential design critic and scion of America’s most prominent family of modern architecture and design patrons. (Kaufmann’s father commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright’s design of the house “Fallingwater.”) Juhl quickly won a following for such signature designs as the supremely comfortable Chieftan lounge chair, the biomorphic Baker sofa, and the Judas table, a piece ornamented with stylish inlaid silver plaquettes.
As you will see from the offerings on 1stDibs, Finn Juhl’s furniture — as well as his lighting, ceramics, tableware and accessories — has an air of relaxed sophistication and elegance that is unique in the realm of mid-20th-century design.
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.
- Finn Juhl Square Teak Coffee Table, Denmark, 1950sBy Finn Juhl, France & SønLocated in St-Brais, JUA rare Danish teak coffee table, designed by Finn Juhl for France & Davoricksen. Made in Denmark. Features a solid wooden construktion with refined details. Completely refurbished.Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Finn Juhl Teak Coffee TableBy Finn JuhlLocated in San Francisco, CAFinn Juhl design teak coffee table for France & Davoricksen, Denmark. Perfectly refinished.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Coffee Table in Solid Teak by Finn Juhl, DenmarkBy Finn Juhl, France & DaverkosenLocated in Goteborg, SEThis coffee table was designed by the Danish designer Finn Juhl during the 1950s and made by France & Son. The table is in solid teak and of very high quality.Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsTeak
- Finn Juhl Coffee Table by BakerBy Finn Juhl, Baker Furniture CompanyLocated in Highland, INA sublime shape, a wonderful large scale, and delightful details all mark this coffee table by Danish master Finn Juhl. One of the designs that Juhl created in 1951 for American manu...Category
Vintage 1950s American Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSycamore, Walnut
- Finn Juhl Drop-Leaf Coffee TableBy Finn Juhl, Baker Furniture CompanyLocated in Highland, INThis terrific example of Finn Juhl's unique aesthetic is also a highly functional and versatile table. The walnut top has an asymmetrical shape and a drop leaf on one side. Exquisite...Category
Vintage 1950s American Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWalnut
- Rare Finn Juhl Coffee TableBy Finn JuhlLocated in San Francisco, CAFinn Juhl design FJ 57 coffee table for Niels Vodder, Denmark. Top made from highly figured teak wood supported by a flat blue steel X-base frame on turned teak wood feet. Stamped ...Category
Vintage 1950s Danish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables