Hans J. Wegner - 20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale Hong Kong Saturday, May 26, 2018 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Private Collection, Denmark

  • Literature

    Johan Møller Nielson, Sitting Pretty: Wegner en Dansk Møbelkunstner, Copenhagen, 1965, pp. 56-58, 98
    Grete Jalk, ed., Dansk Møbelkunst gennem 40 aar, Volume 3: 1947-1956, Copenhagen, 1987, pp. 246-47
    Noritsugu Oda, Danish Chairs, San Francisco, 1996, pp. 116-17
    Christian Holmsted Olesen, Wegner: just one good chair, exh. cat., Design Museum Denmark, Copenhagen, 2014, pp. 6, 65-66, 128

  • Catalogue Essay

    Designed by architect Hans J. Wegner in 1953, the organic form of the present lot playfully synthesises multiple functions. Reflecting the inspiration behind its name, the innovative chair is simply transformed into a stand to rest items of clothing, whilst revealing a box to store small personal belongings. As Wegner explained, ‘the chair is the piece of furniture that is closest to human beings. You can give it the personal touch’. One account of the chair’s origins describe a conversation between Wegner, architecture professor Steen Eiler Rasmussen, and silversmith and designer Kay Bojesen discussing the trouble of storing one’s suit whilst they slept.

    Handcrafted by master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, the ‘Valet’ chair’s sculptural form is equally constructive as it is aesthetic. Whilst illustrating the expressive possibilities of the material, the chair’s organic form, which fully integrates the curved back support, demonstrates a pragmatism and ‘insistence of usefulness’ inherent to twentieth-century Danish design. The curved form and integrated construction of the chair’s back support reflects Wegner’s study of Chinese chairs dating to the eighteenth and nineteenth-centuries, an example of which the Designmuseum Denmark had acquired in 1937.

    In 1951, Wegner presented his first version of the ‘Valet’ chair with four legs at the Spring Exhibition of the School of Arts and Crafts. Upon seeing this early version, King Frederick IX of Denmark immediately placed an order for the chair. However, dissatisfied with the design, Wegner reworked his initial version to create the present three-legged model, of which King Frederick acquired ten for his collection.

37

‘Valet’ chair, model no. JH540

designed 1953
teak, oak, brass, leather
94.5 x 50 x 50 cm. (37 1/4 x 19 5/8 x 19 5/8 in.)
Executed by master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Underside branded with manufacturer’s mark and JOHANNES HANSEN/COPENHAGEN/DENMARK. Designed in 1953.

Estimate
HK$60,000 - 80,000 
€6,500-8,600
$7,700-10,300

Sold for HK$106,250

Contact Specialist
Jonathan Crockett
Deputy Chairman, Asia and Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Asia
+852 2318 2023

Isaure de Viel Castel
Head of Department
+852 2318 2011

Sandy Ma
Head of Sale
+852 2318 2025

20th Century & Contemporary Art & Design Evening Sale

Hong Kong Auction 27 May 2018