Arne Jacobsen Egg chair identification  

Here we go...
So in lieu of some questions that were offered to the seller she contacted her father who is in his late 80's and he mentioned that he either fixed or replaced the tilt mechanism.
Moreover, an interesting fact that has been observed within prior auctions is that sellers report that there is a hole in their chair, however, they do not know what it is for. Therefore, was the tilt mechanism prone to failure and often removed completely?
Additionally, here is a recent comment from Fritz Hansen in regards to this chair:
Good morning,
we are not sure if this is an original arne jacobsen 3316 egg chair. the shell looks authentic, but the tilt mechanism and the cushion are not original for sure. I have forwarded your pictures to the expert in our company who knows all about the fritz hansen collection. he only works 1 day a week which is the tuesday, so hopefully I will have an answer from him next week tuesday. Of course I will contact you as soon as I know more.
if you have further questions please let us know.
kind regards,

the upholstery looks
new, although it's 'an old chair'.
re-upholstering gone wrong?
the foot seems a bit crude, or is that my impression?
great to hear you've got feedback from Fritz Hansen.

one piece base and tilt function
Personnally i own a chair marked Fritz Hanssen 520015 on the one-piece-base with a tilt function!
So you tell me its a fake pegboard modern?

OK, well...
Lenox, I'm sorry I usually don't get to check the forum multiple time a day, so it can be a while between posts.
The additional photos you posted are small, so it's difficult to make out a lot, but what I can see only raises more questions. As noted by your response from FH, there are things that clearly appear wrong. They mention the "tilt mechanism" but I assume they mean the handle to adjust the tilt tension. It should not be as long, nor straight. It should be shorter and have an angled bend. The seat cushion looks like the wrong shape, backwards in the seat, or both. Though they say that the shell looks correct, it's hard to get a good sense from the photos you show and the poor upholstery job which gives it an overstuffed appearance. The net is that I stand by my original assessment and think it's likely not a Fritz Hansen chair. I could well be wrong, but sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially if it is a substantial investment.
Xanax, I am not telling you your chair is a fake. Perhaps I should be more careful with my words and be sure not to make definitive statements. I do not consider myself an "expert," rather a genuine enthusiast with a fair amount of knowledge from experience. I have had quite a few egg chairs, handled and a great number of them from different periods and generations and spent time trying to figure out exactly when these minor changes took place.
If your chair does in fact have the one-piece cast base with the fluted column, I would suggest that your egg chair is very desirable and I would love to see pictures of it. As I said, I think the one-piece base is the most attractive, yet the tilt function adds so greatly to the comfort. To have both features would be ideal in my book. Your post made me very curious to find another example of an egg chair with both features and the only one I could find on line was one being offered for sale by Tom Gibbs. They list it as "swivel/tilt" yet the pictures do not show a handle to adjust the tilt tension. I might also expect to see a hole for the missing handle, but the chair has been reupholstered.
If there are egg chairs with the original base design and also the tilt function, it makes me wonder when they were produced and if there was some short transitional period.
http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=406254

While we are on the subject... ...I had a few more thoughts. Lenox, while much that appears wrong with this chair could be attributed to a poor upholstery job, I think there are issues that point to it not being authentic. Aside from what I've already mentioned, I took one of your small photos and brightened it to better see and it appears that the base is attached to the column with an allen screw. Something I've never seen on a FH egg chair. Also, I've not seen a later production (two-part base) such as this one that did not bear any marking in the mold. I've had early egg chairs that did not, but never later production. While I was thinking about this I realized that we have not mentioned the swan chair which shares many characteristics with the egg. However, I have had vintage swan chairs with a one-piece base that had the tilt function. Again, the tilt made them much more comfortable than the swivel only version, but unlike the egg chair, there is no handle to adjust the tilt tension, just a small access hole on the side/ bottom where you could insert an allen wrench and tighten or loosen as needed. So considering that there were swan chairs produced with the original base design and the tilt function, it would seem logical that there might also be egg chairs with these qualities. However, again, I have not seen one myself. Perhaps some others with knowledge or experience with vintage egg chairs would care to contribute?

tilt function was for shure made with the one cast star bases in the late sixties early 70's. we also have at least one in stock...

lionel
I would love to see a picure of it! Since mine is reupholstered it's not so obvious!

This post could go under a number of Egg Chair threads, but this one seemed recent and relevant enough. I am not very familiar with Jacobsen pieces, but thought I'd try a little ID verification from a single not-so-good online photo (see below) to see if it was worth going to see in person. This is what I came up with: Not authentic, and looks to be Restoration Hardware's "Copenhagen" chair with distressed leather. Form, edge seam, and smaller cuts of leather were the tip-off for me. Besides the seams, the leather just looks too perfectly distressed. How'd I do? Any other features that are easy giveaways?

Skimpy four-prong base
though the distressed leather is the best one. It looks like they had some device---maybe something like a sanding attachment on a drill---and just applied it every 10 inches or so to the hide. Kinda like those distressed painted pieces where they sand away the finish in places that would not get that kind of wear at all. So silly!
p.s. I despise Restoration Hardware.
http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId...

So! The Swan chair that I just got
turns out to be a tilt model with the one-piece base!
I stripped the bad reupholstery fabric off and now there are two things that are a mystery to me:
1. What covered the void in the bottom of the foam shell where the tilt bar is housed? I can see adhesive residue in a rectangular shape where something was glued over it, but what material?
2. How is the fabric finished around the hexagon screw where you adjust the tilt? It's only a little 3/8" thing or so and it looks pretty much flush with the surface of the shell. The outer fabric on the chair is supposed to be one piece, so there's nothing extra to tuck under there. Do raw edges show? That seems rather barbaric for this chair.
3. Ok, i forgot one thing---how is the fabric finished around the post underneath? See #2, but on a larger scale.
I think that's it. I am going to redo the chair in Maharam/Kvadrat "Tonus". There are a few threads of the original fabric left (mired in the HOT GLUE the previous person used---GRRRRR). It is a lovely brilliant green. Not what I will use but still, it was good to see after getting that mauve cotton dobby fabric off (think Grandma's front parlor).

Is my Arne Jacobsen Egg chair from the 1960's
Hi... just picked up an old Arne Jacobsen Egg chair. It was buried at an upholsterers studio... I was lucky enough to spot it and he sold it to me. Looks like it could be from the 1960's.... has no tilt lever, base is one piece.

Photos for last post
Trying to get the photos uploaded. 🙂

my goodness
that is handsome. That must be the original upholstery, yes?

Original Egg Chair?
Not sure if the upholstery is original.... could be though! Just watched a video by Fritz Hansen that says original Egg chair did not have a seat cushion. Mine doesn't have a cushion. What do you think?

fix it
inject with diluted adhesive in lifted areas in multiple locations, duct tape a semi-flat, inflatable stretching ball to it, inflate ball, wait, enjoy.