Walnut and cane folding chairs... not the ubiquitous ones: any thoughts on origin?  

Are you sure they are not Afrormosia? And that style is usually called a scissor chair, which might help you find one of them.

Thanks! I did not even know there was such a wood as afromorsia 🙂
We did, however, do a pretty thorough search on scissor chair, 2-part chair, 2-piece chair, folding chair. Nada except that one Norwegian dealer, who stated they did not know who the designer/maker was 🙁

The thing that's different than most of the chairs of this type is the horizontal piece at the base of the backrest. It's an attractive detail.

Take some sharp close ups of th wood and I can tell you if it is Afrormosia. It darkens with age and is often confused for Walnut, which is a very rare wood in vintage Scandinavian pieces.

Another thing that's very different about it is the way the front rail of the seat from is thinner in the center than on the ends--I love that! So elegant. What a beautiful chair!
If you're planning on keep them, you should look into how to care for the cane. Old cane can get very dry and then it's prone to breaking. I read in some old caning book many years ago that you should mist the back of the cane with water every once in awhile but maybe there are better ways nowadays.

Thanks Spanky! My chairs are VERY moldy: they were in a damp basement. So the cane probably isn't too dried out. I certainly would have preferred that, as I am super allergic to mold and mildew.
I'm putting off dealing with them until spring when we can hose them down really well before deciding what to do next. I know at least some of the cane strands are broken, so I may be totally re-caning them.
I'll still try to take some more photos next time I'm out where the chairs are stored. Thanks!

If anyone is interested, we finally ID'd these beautiful chairs!
According to the Swedish dealer Studio Schalling they were designed by Arne Hovmand-Olsen and manufactured in a small production by Mogens Kold in Denmark, in the 1950s.
🙂

Always good to get an answer, well done! A nice piece of info to file away as well!

Any chance that SS sent some documentation to back up their attribution? Their listing for these chairs used the term "attributed to", which in sales listings usually means wishful thinking on the seller's part to increase sales prices.
Without further info, one could envision that they noticed the chair resembled AHO's scissors chair designs for A.R. Klingenberg & Son and Jutex, and just made a leap of faith attribution.

Are the chairs actually Afrormosia? (I believe it has been stipulated that they are not teak).
Because I've never seen any Mogens Kold pieces in Afrormosia, only teak and rosewood. It is this sort of fact that makes me doubt the claim and want a bit more documentation for the designer/maker credit.

cdsilva, On their website (sold) and on their current Pamono listing, they do not use "attributed to". They use the language quoted above and "designed by". I do see on a sold 1st dibs listing where they say "attributed to" but their current Pamono listing is pretty specific about it. Does anyone know them? Would they be open to sharing their information if I contact them?
www - dot- pamono -dot- com/easy-chairs-by-arne-hovmand-olsen-for-mogens-kold-1950s-set-of-2
leif ericson, We're actually not sure about the wood now. It was SO covered in mold when we got them and they've been in storage all this time. We just cleaned the mold off and there's a layer of lacquer or some other finish which is seriously degraded. It may be stained oak, or possibly very weathered teak. We'll get some photos for you to take a look at.

Update: just looked at the wood now that it's dried... It IS teak, with a badly degraded lacquer finish. They need a total rehab.

It would be nice if they actually had some documentation backing up the attribution. It would be in their best interests to make it available to strengthen their credibility.
Based on my experience, I never accept any attribution claims without legit backup. "Believe me" rhetoric should be limited to Trump.

Studio Schalling's pair are teak.
I can't figure out how they did the cane on these chairs.