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help for hans wegner "the chair" (maybe!)  

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Andrea a.
(@andrea-a)
New Member
Joined: 10 years ago
Posts: 3
31/10/2014 10:33 pm  

Hello, a few days ago I bought this chair from a man who was emptying his garage. It looks very similar to the famous chair by Hans Wegner, "the chair". the person told me the chair was imported from America by his grandfather in Italy. the person is about 60 years old, speaks about his grandfather, I think it is a chair of the 50's.
He told me that his grandfather was a carpenter and I think he did some work on the chair. There is a Metal label of an american bank under the seat.. But under the label you can see an "h" branded. Do you think is it authentic?
Thank you!
<img class="wpforo-default-image-attachment wpforoimg" src=" | http://d1t1u890k7d3ys.cloudfront.net/cdn/farfuture/gUIfyROeycUxsLo4Cf1msgCOkqdnJAtZKW1PuMzm0QE/mtime:1487902565/sites/default


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Richard Tanimura
(@redo-richardgmail-com)
Prominent Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 175
31/10/2014 11:17 pm  

Looks like the round chair a.k.a. "The Chair" to me. Others would know for sure.
Can't beat the price.


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cdsilva
(@cdsilva)
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Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 2051
31/10/2014 11:45 pm  

.


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SDR
 SDR
(@sdr)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 6462
01/11/2014 5:57 pm  

This is an object you could take to bed with you -- candles, rose petals, the whole thing . . .


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parafo
(@paulraraforma-com)
Estimable Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 98
01/11/2014 6:17 pm  

JP Morgan Chase had a massive collection of Wegner pieces in their NYC offices


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Richard Tanimura
(@redo-richardgmail-com)
Prominent Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 175
01/11/2014 8:09 pm  

Not only did you score it cheap, it has provenance too. You can tell people "J. P. Morgan himself used to sit in this very chair. There is his personal label, right there." Just don't tell that to anybody with brains.


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
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Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 5660
02/11/2014 12:14 am  

The diagonal corner blocks on the underside look very American to me, and not very Scandinavian, much less Wegner for Johannes Hansen.  So I dug up some photos of the underside of Johannes Hansen production.  And the underside is different, and much what I would expect to see.  It uses a compact little metal clips and screws to hold the seat on, and has no reinforcing corner blocks (because it was designed not to have them, because Wegner wanted it to look good even from the bottom).
Second: it is not possible to see in the photos if the backrest has the correct joints.  If it doesn't that would be a very easy negative. 
Based solely on the blocks on the underside, I would say it is not authentic.  Of course, as Aunt Mark would say, I could be wrong.




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Richard Tanimura
(@redo-richardgmail-com)
Prominent Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 175
02/11/2014 9:53 am  

Leif,
Sounds convincing to me. JH is the classic manufacturer. But weren't there two company that made the round chair? Not Peder Pedersen?


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 5660
02/11/2014 12:28 pm  

PP Møbler has made it since 1990. It would be news to me if anyone else has ever made it. PP Møbler's chronology of Wegner career certainly doesn't mention it. 


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HowardMoon
(@howardmoon)
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Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 652
02/11/2014 2:21 pm  

Wegner did use corner blocks in his chair construction.
I have a set of W2 Wegner chairs (a design which has many similarities to this design) by C M Madsen which have corner blocks.
I'll add an image later.


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Thomas North
(@tpnorthhotmail-com)
New Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 3
02/11/2014 3:14 pm  

I would vote for the chair's authenticity.
It seems pretty clear the chair was originally purchased by JP Morgan--likely quite some time ago.  The underside of the chair reveals that it has undergone two different JP Morgan inventory systems.  The first inventory mark is in magic marker and the second has the metal label (clearly later in time as it covers over part of the earlier marking).  
JP Morgan would have hired a first rate interior architect or decorator who was likely familiar with the chair's "design provenance", i.e., it was a popular top end design chair in its early years, famous for use in the Kennedy/Nixon debates, etc.  It would have been a suitable prestige chair for a major investment bank.
Now, ask yourself this:  What are the chances that JP Morgan (advised by someone "in the know" at the time) would have purchased a knock-off production?  Next to zero, in my view.  Say what you want about bankers, but it would not have been their style to save a few bucks on non-authentic chairs.  
As for the blocking, I think there are two possible explanations.  First, JP Morgan would have ordered a large number of chairs.  It is not inconceiveable that they could have "ordered" some minor modifications to the bottom to make it more sturdy.  As Howard Moon indicated, this can be found in other Wegner chairs.
Another possibility is that the chair was modified by the subsequent owner.  (The current owner of the chair surmises that the prior owner was a woodworker).  It seems also obvious that this chair has been re-stained (stain marks cover tpart of he metal inventory label) and the seat has been re-covered (it does not appear to be a "professional" job).  It is also quite possible that the blocks were added when the seat was recovered.
One of the first things I would do would be to unscrew the metal inventory label to see what is under it.  It appears to be precisely where the manufacturer's stamp would normally be.  The other thing I would do would be to examine very carefully the joinery where the armrests meet the rounded backrest of the chair.  The picture posted here doesn't show that clearly enough;  but, if you examine some of the detailed pictures of "known" Wegner Round Chairs on the web, you'll notice a distinctive joinery pattern.


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HowardMoon
(@howardmoon)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 6 years ago
Posts: 652
02/11/2014 5:08 pm  

I agree, if I had to make a snap decision I would go with authentic based on the chairs age and provenance.
It would be good to see a clear image of the joinery detail on the backrest which would be very telling.


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tktoo
(@tktoo)
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Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 2289
02/11/2014 6:23 pm  

Also agree with everything Vivian said. In addition, I am curious to know if these were ever produced in cherry. The pictured example looks a lot like cherry to me.


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SDR
 SDR
(@sdr)
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Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 6462
02/11/2014 6:32 pm  

I think the color is due to a stain job ?
Yes, let's look at that joinery . . .  It would surprise me if someone had gone to the trouble of matching that; it's done with proprietary shaper cutters, isn't it ?


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leif ericson - Zephyr Renner
(@leif-ericson)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 15 years ago
Posts: 5660
02/11/2014 6:46 pm  

If the correct metal seat connector clips are hiding behind the blocks, I would be convinced that they are a post hoc modification (which I would really want to remove).   
More photos please!


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