FINN JUHL. "Chieftain" / "Hövdingastolen", armchair, Niels Vodder, Denmark circa 1960, teak and leather.
Stamped NIELS VODDER CABINETMAKER COPENHAGEN DENMARK DESIGN FINN JUHL, height 93 cm, seat height 36 cm, width of back 74 cm, width across armrests approx. 102 cm.
EXHIBITED
The model was shown at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers' Guild exhibition in 1949.
HISTORY
"So alive that it seems to tremble with vitality."
This is how a contemporary reviewer described Finn Juhl's new armchair – later known as the "Chieftain Chair" – when it was shown for the first time at the Cabinetmakers' Guild's annual exhibition in Copenhagen in 1949.
Finn Juhl is considered one of the most influential designers in modern Danish furniture design, and the Chieftain Chair is today regarded as one of his absolute masterpieces. That the armchair was something special could be sensed already in the stir it caused as part of Juhl's exhibition contribution, where the press praised its innovative design language and skillful craftsmanship. In the newspaper Politiken, Juhl's furniture was highlighted as a successful experiment that had "freed itself from narrow traditional bonds," and in Berlingske, they were named "undisputedly the exhibition's strongest and most distinctive." A somewhat more descriptive account followed in the magazine Arkitekten, where the armchair's sweeping lines and sculptural design were described as a symbol of a "romantic view of art characterized by a love for the organic and its inherent mystery" and as a manifestation of Juhl as an artist.
As the executor of Juhl's technically challenging ideas, master cabinetmaker Niels Vodder can also be attributed a decisive role in the armchair's acclaim. After the launch in 1949, Vodder went on to manufacture additional examples, a large number of which were purchased by museums and the Danish government to be used as representative furnishings in its embassies.
Even the chair's name can, according to Juhl's own account, be traced back to the exhibition. After King Frederik IX sat in the armchair on site, a journalist asked if it shouldn't be called the King's Chair, to which Juhl is said to have replied: "Call it the Chieftain Chair instead."
LITERATURE
Jalk, Grete (ed.), Dansk Møbelkunst gennem 40 aar - Volume III: 1947‑1956, 1987, pp. 122-125.
Hiort, Esbjørn, Arkitekten Finn Juhl. Møbelkunst, arkitektur, brugskunst. En biografi, Arkitektens forlag, 1990, pp. 40f.
See also Møller, Viggo Sten, Dansk møbelkunst. Köbenhavns snedkerlaugs møbelutstilling 1927-1951, Rasmus Naver, Copenhagen 1951, p. 82.
The model is illustrated in Noritsugu Oda & Takako Murakami. Danish chairs. 1st ed., Korinsha, 1996, pp. 92-93.Show more
Condition
Wear from use, the seat with later leather, one "horn" with repair.
For questions and condition reports, please contact Design@auktionsverket.com.
Resale right
No
Artist/designer
Finn Juhl (1912–1989)
Sale
The Design Sale
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
Stamped NIELS VODDER CABINETMAKER COPENHAGEN DENMARK DESIGN FINN JUHL, height 93 cm, seat height 36 cm, width of back 74 cm, width across armrests approx. 102 cm.
EXHIBITED
The model was shown at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers' Guild exhibition in 1949.
HISTORY
"So alive that it seems to tremble with vitality."
This is how a contemporary reviewer described Finn Juhl's new armchair – later known as the "Chieftain Chair" – when it was shown for the first time at the Cabinetmakers' Guild's annual exhibition in Copenhagen in 1949.
Finn Juhl is considered one of the most influential designers in modern Danish furniture design, and the Chieftain Chair is today regarded as one of his absolute masterpieces. That the armchair was something special could be sensed already in the stir it caused as part of Juhl's exhibition contribution, where the press praised its innovative design language and skillful craftsmanship. In the newspaper Politiken, Juhl's furniture was highlighted as a successful experiment that had "freed itself from narrow traditional bonds," and in Berlingske, they were named "undisputedly the exhibition's strongest and most distinctive." A somewhat more descriptive account followed in the magazine Arkitekten, where the armchair's sweeping lines and sculptural design were described as a symbol of a "romantic view of art characterized by a love for the organic and its inherent mystery" and as a manifestation of Juhl as an artist.
As the executor of Juhl's technically challenging ideas, master cabinetmaker Niels Vodder can also be attributed a decisive role in the armchair's acclaim. After the launch in 1949, Vodder went on to manufacture additional examples, a large number of which were purchased by museums and the Danish government to be used as representative furnishings in its embassies.
Even the chair's name can, according to Juhl's own account, be traced back to the exhibition. After King Frederik IX sat in the armchair on site, a journalist asked if it shouldn't be called the King's Chair, to which Juhl is said to have replied: "Call it the Chieftain Chair instead."
LITERATURE
Jalk, Grete (ed.), Dansk Møbelkunst gennem 40 aar - Volume III: 1947‑1956, 1987, pp. 122-125.
Hiort, Esbjørn, Arkitekten Finn Juhl. Møbelkunst, arkitektur, brugskunst. En biografi, Arkitektens forlag, 1990, pp. 40f.
See also Møller, Viggo Sten, Dansk møbelkunst. Köbenhavns snedkerlaugs møbelutstilling 1927-1951, Rasmus Naver, Copenhagen 1951, p. 82.
The model is illustrated in Noritsugu Oda & Takako Murakami. Danish chairs. 1st ed., Korinsha, 1996, pp. 92-93.Show more
Condition
Wear from use, the seat with later leather, one "horn" with repair.
For questions and condition reports, please contact Design@auktionsverket.com.
Resale right
No
Artist/designer
Finn Juhl (1912–1989)
Sale
The Design Sale
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
