Best known for his chairs and other 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 Hans Wegner’s best chair designs 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.
Find vintage Hans Wegner lounge chairs, armchairs, daybeds and other furniture for sale on 1stDibs.
Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian Chair Model Cow Horn PP 505 by Hans Wegner
By PP Møbler, Hans J. Wegner
Located in Courbevoie, FR
"Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian chair model cow horn PP 505 by Hans Wegner. New production. Great luxury sometimes comes in small packages. This is one of Wegn...
Cherry
Scandinavian Armchair "The Chair", Designed by Hans J. Wegner
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Courbevoie, FR
Scandinavian desk chair in solid mahogany Hans Wegner. Edition Johannes Hansen, circa 1970. Assisi renovated full grain leather walnut Sørensen. The full grain leather is an uncorrec...
Mahogany
Mid-Century modern Scandinavian teak armchair, by Erik Kirkegaard
By Erik Kirkegaard
Located in Courbevoie, FR
Mid-Century modern Scandinavian teak armchair, by Erik Kirkegaard. New leather seat. Height : 73 cm. Seat height : 44 cm. Width : 57 cm. Depth : 56 cm. Arm height : 68 cm
Leather, Teak
Mid-Century modern scandinavian armchair in teak by Kai Lyngfeldt-Larsen
By Kai Lyngfeldt Larsen
Located in Courbevoie, FR
Mid-Century modern scandinavian armchair in teak by Kai Lyngfeldt-Larsen. Original seat in black leather. W 57 cm. D 43 cm. H back 74 cm. H seat 44cm. H amrs 62 cm.
Leather, Teak
Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian Chair Model PP 68 by Hans Wegner
By Hans J. Wegner, PP Møbler
Located in Courbevoie, FR
"Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian chair model PP 68 by Hans Wegner. New production. What is left to do after a long glorious carrier with a long line of design...
Teak
Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian Chair in Rosewood by Kai Lyngfeldt-Larsen
By Søren Willadsen, Kai Lyngfeldt Larsen
Located in Courbevoie, FR
Mid-Century Modern scandinavian chair in rosewood by Kai Lyngfeldt-Larsen for Søren Willadsen. Original seat in black simili leather.
Leather, Rosewood
Teak Cow Horn Chair by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes Hansen, 1952
By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes Hansen
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A rare teak Danish modern dining chair with a splined backrest and a natural cane seat. Model JH-505 was designed in 1952 by Hans J. Wegner and produced i...
Cane, Teak
Hans Wegner Teak Cow Horn Chair
By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes Hansen
Located in Cambridge, US
Denmark, ca. 1960s. An increasingly rare Model JH 505 Cow Horn chair designed in 1952 by Hans Wegner for Danish cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen. Features a solid teak frame with tapered...
Leather, Rosewood, Teak
Hans J. Wegner 'Cow horn chair' in oak and cane for Johannes Hansen
By Johannes Hansen, Hans J. Wegner
Located in Copenhagen, DK
A Hans J. Wegner 'Cow-horn' chair in patinated oak with seat in original cane. Designed 1952 and executed at cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, Denmark, model JH505 with manufacture's m...
Cane, Oak
Hans Wegner Cow Horn Chair, Model JH-505 for Johannes Hansen
By Johannes Hansen, Hans J. Wegner
Located in San Francisco, CA
Hans J. Wegner design cow horn chair, model JH-505 for Johannes Hansen. Rare dining or desk chair by the master Hans J. Wegner in solid teak with rosewood inlay. New cane seat, in ve...
Cane, Teak
1960s Hans Wegner for Johannes Hansen JH505 Cow Horn Chair
By Hans J. Wegner, Johannes Hansen
Located in Philadelphia, PA
This is a JH505 Cow Horn Chair, originally designed by Hans Wegner for Johannes Hansen in 1952. This particular example was produced in Denmark in the 1960s. The chair features a sol...
Steel
Oxhide Teak Lounge Chair by Hans J. Wegner for Johannes Hansen
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A very rare teak arm chair retaining the original oxhide black leather seat and back upholstery.
Leather
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
If anyone is brave, humble and adept enough to recolor these mid-century masterpieces, it’s Ilse Crawford. Here, she gives us the details on her five earthy paint choices and tells us how she feels about design collaborations.
