We recently bought a bunch of furniture from an estate including two early Wegner wishbone chairs and Borge Mogensen J39 chairs. There are also two of these chairs. At first I assumed they were the Yugoslavian knock-offs, but they are not. For one thing, they are real walnut (not stained beech or whatever the Yugoslavian ones are) and the joinery and caning are very well done. I'll attach a photo from a Norwegian site of the identical chair. Anyone have any clues?
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!
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.
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.
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