Hello-
I recently attended a moving sale which contained many fine pieces of danish furniture. The woman who owned the items indicated that they were purchased in Europe while the family was living there in the 1960's. She also said that a number of items were custom made specifically for the family.
Among the items being sold were a china/buffet, 3 dressers, 2 night tables, 2 bookcases, and 2 headboards with sliding doors/cupboards...all of which appeared to be the work of Johannes Aasbjerg. They were solid teak with exposed dovetails, the drawers were solid teak as well including the sides and back with dovetail joints, and the drawer grips are consistent with Aasbjerg pieces as well.
We were fortunate enough to purchase a solid teak bookcase headboard with the dovetails. We'd also purchased a wall unit containing the following: side pieces- back pieces- shelves- a drop down desk- a cabinet with tamboured doors- a cabinet with sliding doors- and a bank of drawers.
The bank of drawers in our wall unit is identical in design and construction to pieces identified as Aasbjerg, and to the solid teak dressers and china/buffet that were also present at the sale. The drawers are SOLID teak including the sides and backs, dovetails everywhere, and no staples, only carefully placed screws, and the drawer grips are consistent with Aasbjerg. However the sides pieces of our wall unit are veneer, as well as the shelves and the back pieces. They are ALL carefully finished on all sides including the back, but they ARE veneer.
This leads me to my questions: 1) are you aware of any instances in which Johannes Aasbjerg used teak veneer in conjunction with solid teak? 2) are you aware of any Aasbjerg designed headboards with sliding doors/cupboards?
Any help would be appreciated!
Photos would be helpful....
but yes, Aasbjerg did use teak veneer upon occasssion, in the first few years of Ex. Furn. Co. there were more veneer items. This 1960 catalog represents the transition from veneer as the "danish norm" to Aasbjerg's solid teak period. In this catalog there are a number of pieces that are veneer only or optionally. Notably to you, the wall unit, (which I've never seen a specimen of) is advertised as veneer only.
I have a couple of Aasbjerg's designs executed in veneer. It was very surprising to me that he used a lumbercore substrate for the cases, because he didn't take the opportunity to use a substrate that does not move, like particleboard or plywood. Consequently, he had to build the leg assembly so it can flex with the wood movement.
Also, in Aasjerg's solid teak furniture, there are parts that are veneer because the part requires the dimensional stability of a substrate.
for example, the sliding doors on my Aasbjerg sideboard are veneer because it wouldn't be possible to executed them in solid teak at such thinness without the extremely high likelihood of warping.
As to the headboard, your description sounds like the last page of this catalog, which shows a headboard. Have you seen this page? (I've never seen a specimen of this model either.)
Again, post some photos and I can be more helpful.
Thank you Leif-
I obsessivly scoured the images of the catalogue you so generously shared, and am perplexed at the fact that I missed that headboard! Our headboard is similar. In the next few days I will supply some photos of the headboard for you to review.
The wall unit is currently disassembled, so photos of this piece will have to wait until we reassemble it. We may have ONE PHOTO that we snapped as it was partially torn down.
The construction of the wall unit was very meticulous. It was largely held together by a series of cams, or cam like wheels, that were paired with recessed screws. This allowed the unit to be assembled with very few visible fasteners. But wow, what a tedious tear down it was! It took us 3.5 hours to turn all of those little wheels and pull it apart piece by piece.
I will take photos during reassembly and send them so you can see what I'm referring to.
Again, thank you for your generosity and assistance.
Looking forward to photos!
There is a lot of variation in Aasbjerg's furniture. It was low volume and his later catalogs invite custom orders. Many of his customers knew him personally. Pilots would fly in to a nearby airfield to come visit and shop. So I wouldn't be surprised that a piece shows some differences. It could bethe design evolves or it could be a semi-custom order.
It is Aasbjerg. Not a design I've ever seen before in a catalog or as a specimen, but a catalog isn't necessary to recognize this as Aasbjerg. It dates to sometime after 1962.
Nice find. His other headboard was quite expensive and I imagine this one was as well, so these headboards are quite rare.
Thank You Leif-
I suspcted it was, but having your opinion confirming the identification is very much appreciated. This means that the wall unit we purchased at the sale is undoubetly Aasbjerg as well.
When we assemble the wall unit I will snap some photos and include them in this thread so you can see it. It is very different from the wall unit in the catalog...more along the lines of bookcases that one would find in a study. In fact, the wall unit WAS in the study at the sale, it was paired with a lovely Svend Madsen desk.
Again, thank you~
Sandy
Hello Again Leif-
I was conducting some research online yesterday and located an Aasbjerg wall unit that is nearly identical to ours. This particular unit is identified as a large Johannes Aasbjerg shelf with 4 sections, in ROSEWOOD.
OUR unit is made of teak and has 3 sections. One section is a stand alone one bay unit, the other section has 2 bays incorporated into a single unit. When you place them all together it creates a 3 bay unit.
A notable difference is that the rosewood unit I located online has wood panels in the back of all shelves. OUR unit has wood panels in the back of the door-drawer-and desk cabinets only, our shelves are open to the wall in the back (all are finished front and back of course, no visible wood substrate)
So although our unit is still disassembled, I thought you might like to see these images of the similar rosewood unit.
Thanks~
Sandy
Hello Leif-
We assembled our Johannes Aasbjerg shelving system, and as promised I am attaching photos so you can see it.
We decided to turn OUR units over to some friends. You see THEY purchased 2 Aasbjerg units at the same estate sale. When we saw how fantastic the units looked in their home, we all agreed that they simply must have OUR units to complete the wall.
As you would expect, the wall unit is finished on the back, the drawers are all assembled with screws (no staples). and the entire system connects together with little cam-like wheels.
I hope this gives another perspective on the work of Johannes Aasbjerg.
Thanks, and have a lovley day~
Sandy
To add to this thread - here is my Johannes Aasbjerg credenza with single tambour door. According to Leif's catalog, it is similar to Model #271. The dimensions are the same as #271, except it has a single tambour door. Solid teak with no secondary wood. Teak drawer slides and all drawers are finger jointed front and back. Top two drawers are felt lined. Finished back with the tiny brass screws. Unmarked. This piece is interesting because the Aasbjerg signature dovetail joints are missing, replaced with finger joints. Leif can you (or anyone else) comment on the finger joints vs. dovetails? Anyone seen this specific credenza or have a model number? Excuse the cell phone pics. I found it at a thrift store in Seattle. The quality of this piece stopped me in my tracks. Without the knowledge shared here I would not have attributed it to Aasbjerg.
Bluebrick: That is Aasbjerg. I have seen one other Aasbjerg sideboard with finger jointed corners instead of dovetails.
The 1962 catalog also shows a model 291 with only one tambou door. It is possible yours moo gut be that model. (The catalog also shows it with different legs).
All of his pieces were made to order, and ordered directly from a sales person in one of his stores (there were more or so). So there is also a certain variability to these pieces. The customers were paying top dollar for them, and the catalogs invited customization. I have seen a receipt with this sort of customization on it as well.
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