Egg armchair
Armchair
1958 (designed)
1958 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Between 1956 and 1961 Arne Jacobsen designed and built the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, a modernist block clearly inspired by Lever House in New York, and considered to be his major architectural work. Jacobsen also designed much of the furniture, cutlery, lighting and other fixtures and fittings, including these chairs. All these designs show the designer's mastery of double curvature that lend many of them a bulbous or organic form in contrast to the linearity of the hotel's architecture. The Egg chair was designed for the lobby and reception area, and the high back was conceived to give the sitter a degree of privacy in these public spaces. Grouped together, the chairs created their own space in a big room. The Egg chair became synonymous with mid-century Danish design and is still in production today.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Moulded polystrene, leather upholstery, cast aluminium |
| Brief description | Egg armchair, designed by Arne Jacobsen, 1958, manufactured by Fritz Hansen, Denmark, moulded polystyrene core, black leather upholstery, cast aluminium swivel base |
| Physical description | Armchair moulded from polystyrene in the shape of a hollowed-out egg, covered with black leather upholstery, on a four-pronged cast aluminium base |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Gallery label | 'THE EGG' EASY CHAIR, model 3317
Designed by Arne Jacobsen (Danish, 1902-1971)
Manufactured by Fritz Hansen, Denmark
Aluminium, steel with leather upholstery
1959
'Egg' chairs were first used by Jacobsen in the Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, in 1957.
Circ.907-1968(1989-2006) |
| Historical context | Designed for the lobby and reception area of the Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, built between 1956 and 1961. |
| Production | Various dates are cited for the design of this chair. The V&A registered description says 1959, various auction records cite 1957, while Fritz Hansen and 'Arne Jacobsen Architect & Designer' (FW9 B37, p.78) prefer 1958. Attribution note: Early versions of the chair were made of 'styropore', presumably a form of polystyrene. |
| Summary | Between 1956 and 1961 Arne Jacobsen designed and built the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, a modernist block clearly inspired by Lever House in New York, and considered to be his major architectural work. Jacobsen also designed much of the furniture, cutlery, lighting and other fixtures and fittings, including these chairs. All these designs show the designer's mastery of double curvature that lend many of them a bulbous or organic form in contrast to the linearity of the hotel's architecture. The Egg chair was designed for the lobby and reception area, and the high back was conceived to give the sitter a degree of privacy in these public spaces. Grouped together, the chairs created their own space in a big room. The Egg chair became synonymous with mid-century Danish design and is still in production today. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.907:1, 2-1968 |
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| Record created | July 18, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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