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"Egg" Armchair

Designer Arne Jacobsen Danish
Manufacturer Fritz Hansens Eft. A/S Danish
1958
Not on view
Scandinavian designers often combined the traditional beauty of natural materials with advanced technology, giving their designs a warm and domestic yet modern quality. The ox-hide upholstery of this armchair is stretched over a foam-covered molded-plastic frame, giving it a striking sculptural quality. Originally designed for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, the model was later put into general production.

Jacobsen was one of the first—and most influential—modernists working in Denmark. Unusually prolific, he turned his hand to designing everything from architecture to lighting, furniture, textiles, and metalwork. The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) was one of his most important clients, commissioning an air terminal and hotel, both in Copenhagen, for which he also designed all the furnishings. Such projects provided enormous publicity and exposure, as countless travelers experienced first-hand his now-iconic designs.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Egg" Armchair
  • Designer: Arne Jacobsen (Danish, Copenhagen 1902–1971 Copenhagen)
  • Manufacturer: Fritz Hansens Eft. A/S
  • Date: 1958
  • Medium: Ox-hide, plastic, aluminum
  • Dimensions: 41 5/8 × 34 1/8 × 33 7/8 in. (105.7 × 86.7 × 86 cm)
  • Classification: Furniture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Edward C. Moore Jr. Gift, 1961
  • Object Number: 61.7.46
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Side Chair, Arne Jacobsen Danish, Plywood, steel, rubber mounts, PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
Side Chair
Arne Jacobsen
ca. 1951
Armchair, Ejner Larsen Danish, Teak wood, ox-hide
Armchair
Multiple artists/makers
1949
"Tube" Chair, Joe Colombo Italian, Synthetic knit upholstery, polyurethane foam (PUR), poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), natural rubber, and tubular steel
"Tube" Chair
Joe Colombo
Flexform
1969–70
Armchair, Hans J. Wegner Danish, Teak, oak and cane
Armchair
Hans J. Wegner
1950
Stacking Side Chair, Verner Panton Danish, Luran-S plastic (acrylate-styrene-acrylonitrile)
Stacking Side Chair
Verner Panton
designed 1960, manufactured ca. 1973

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