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.
AP 30 - Piano stool in oak by Hans J. Wegner
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Copenhagen, DK
AP 30 - Piano stool in oak with seat in patinated black leather. Stamped from manufacturer AP Stolen.
Leather, Oak
$5,648
H 20.48 in W 27.56 in D 16.15 in
Hans Wegner, Teak stained Piano Stool, model AP-30, made by A P Stolen, 1950s
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Esbjerg, DK
Hans Wegner, Teak stained Piano Stool, model AP-30, made by A P Stolen, 1950s Wegner designed this stool as a variation of his ottoman for the Papa Bear chair, to be slightly higher...
Leather, Beech
$9,708
H 20.28 in W 27.56 in D 16.54 in
AP-30 Piano Stool in Oak and Original Fabric by Hans J. Wegner, 1957
By A.P. Stolen, Hans J. Wegner
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
AP-30 Piano Stool in Oak and Original Fabric by Hans J. Wegner, 1957 Additional Information: Material: Oak and Fabric Style: Mid Century, Scandinavian Stool Produced by A.P. Stolen...
Fabric, Oak
Hans Wegner AP-30 Teak Piano Stool c1950s
By Hans J. Wegner, A.P. Stolen
Located in London, England
Hans J. Wegner AP-30 Piano Stool Produced by A.P. Stolen in Denmark, this model is based on the AP-29 Papa Bear ottoman. The rarely seen piano stool has an additional cross-bar and...
Leather, Oak
Hans Wegner Teak Piano Stool c1950s
By Hans J. Wegner, A.P. Stolen
Located in London, England
Hans J. Wegner - AP-30 Piano Stool Produced by A.P. Stolen in Denmark, this model is based on the AP-29 Papa Bear ottoman. The rarely seen piano stool has additional stretchers and longer legs. This example has an oiled teak frame and has been reupholstered on Pierre Frey fabric. Hans Wegner's output in the 1950s was quite remarkable, even by his own high standards. Several Danish factory producers benefited from the founding of the Salesco group - the brainchild of Wegner and entrepreneur Ejvind Kold Christensen. Several factories were selected to share Wegner's designs tailored for their specific expertise. Amongst them was A.P. Stolen, founded in 1944 at the tail end of the German occupation by upholsterer Anker Peterson in Copenhagen. Petersen was assigned Wegner best traditionally upholstered armchairs, including the era-defining Papa Bear Chair. Most of their frames were supplied on Wegner's direction by Ejnar Pedersen's workshop PP Mobler. This combination of fine upholstery and joinery workshops produced some of Wegner's most successful designs in his golden decade. The Papa Bear Chair (AP-19) was launched together with the AP-29 foot stool. Later, the AP-30 Piano stool was introduced and made in small numbers. This version added elegant stretchers and taller legs to the Papa Bear stool...
Fabric, Teak
$7,943
H 20.87 in W 27.96 in D 17.72 in
Piano Stool by Hans J. Wegner for L. Chr. Larsen & Søn, Denmark, 1950s
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Östermalm, Stockholms län
Rare piano stool by Hans J. Wegner, made from teak with original black leather upholstery. Beautiful sculpted handles on the sides of the seat.
Leather, Teak
Hans J Wegner Stool in Stained Beech and Aniline Leather
By Hans J. Wegner
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Hans J Wegner "Music Stool", model AP-30, executed in stained beech and manufactured by A.P. Stolen, Denmark. This design is a taller iteration of his Papa Bear ottoman with the addi...
Leather, Wood, Beech
Hans Wegner AP-30 Oak & Leather Piano Stool c1950s
By A.P. Stolen, Hans J. Wegner
Located in London, England
Hans Wegner - AP-30 Piano Stool, 1957 Produced by A.P. Stolen in Denmark, this model was an evolution of the AP-29 Papa Bear ottoman. The rarely seen piano stool has an additional c...
Leather, Oak
Piano Stool Model AP 30 by Hans J Wegner for A.P.Stolen
By Hans J. Wegner, A.P. Stolen
Located in Little Burstead, Essex
A nice original piano stool by Hans J.Wegner, identical to the other one we have listed here, with the only real difference being that this one, although bought originally at the sam...
Fabric, Teak
Teak Stool by Søren Hansen for Fritz Hansen, Denmark, 1950s
By Søren Hansen, Fritz Hansen
Located in Nørre Aaby, DK
Elegant stool designed by Søren Hansen for Fritz Hansen in the 1950s. Crafted from teak, the frame has been professionally restored by our cabinetmaker and the seat newly reupholster...
Leather, Teak
Anthroposophic Stool
Located in Munich, DE
By unknown cabinetmaker.
Oak
Ilmari Tapiovaara Pirkka Stool for Laukaan Puu, 1950s
By Laukaan Puu, Ilmari Tapiovaara
Located in Munich, DE
Ilmari Tapiovaara designed the Pirkka stool in the 1950s. The black legs and seats in oak result in a timeless finnish design. This Pirkka stool is made b...
Oak
Rare King Fredrik VIl teak chair
By Hans Olsen
Located in Munich, DE
This very special chair which functions as a reading chair and writing table, was named after King Frederik VII of Denmark who was known for occasionally sitting backwards on a simil...
Metal, Brass
Herta Maria Witzemann Cane Bar Stools, 1950s
By Herta-maria Witzemann
Located in Munich, DE
Set of six bar stools designed by Herta Maria Witzemann and manufactured by Erwin Behr in 1950. The work of Witzemann typically consists out of light and v...
Iron
Rare Verner Panton coffee - or sidetable 270 hf
By Verner Panton, Thonet
Located in Munich, DE
rare verner panton side- or coffee table. matching to our four pre-production lounge chairs.
Metal
Wonderful Minimalistic Wenge Wood Table or Desk
By Metz & Co.
Located in Munich, DE
Modernist massive wenge dining table from the 1960s, retailed by the dutch exclusive department store metz & co. very intelligent and minimalistic design - easy to disassemble to sto...
Metal
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.
