Hello Forum,
I have a Danish executive desk that I was told came out of the Danish Embassy in Montreal and then Toronto, Canada. It is a rather large piece. I found the below link attributing the exact desk to Ole Wanscher:
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/tables/desks-writing-tables/ole-wanscher-rosewood-desk/id-f_3135072/
Just not sure it is Ole Wanscher... I thought the handles would lead me somewhere but I've found multiple different pieces designed by different people with the same handles... Not surprised...but thought it might lead me somewhere (the last pic is of another piece with similar handles and legs...). I also think this desk might be from the late 1940s...early 50s. And it is unmarked.
Does anyone have any thoughts or know who designed this desk?
Many thanks in advance!
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While there are some aspects of your desk that resemble documented Wanscher designs for A.J. Iversen, there are also a lot of details that aren't consistent, including:
1) tapering legs with the profiled rounded corners,
2) detailed design of the brass pulls,
3) location of keyhole relative to pulls, and
4) shroud around the kneehole.
You can ask the 1stDibs dealer if he/she has any documented evidence that it is Wanscher (either marked or vintage literature), but I'd be surprised if they did. If this desk was indeed a Wanscher/Iversen piece made for a Danish Embassy, I think it would be easier to find documentation. It is not in the Cabinetmakers Guild Exhibition volumes.
Your desk does appear to be related to the tall cabinet image from the Danish website that you posted. The Danes thought better of attributing that piece to Wanscher.
I second that I do not think it looks like Wanscher. In the 40s or so there were plenty of early / transitional designs that had this "feel." Wanscher carried a slightly more classical feel to his designs throughout the era, yet he is a well known designer, which is why I suspect his name was plucked from the ethers to hang on this desk.
I also don't see the chinese style humpback stretcher detail in the corners where the legs meet the drawers in any other Wanscher work, so that feels wrong to me.
I think you are on the right track to keep looking for other pieces with the same legs and handles, etc. If you can piece together more designs from the same designer and maker, you will can expect to eventually find a breakthrough. I have done it before; it can be done.
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