Provenance: The artist Mogens Lorentzen, hence by descent in the family.

These chairs are the chairs that were presented at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition at Designmuseum Danmark in 1939. Presumably acquired directly at the Exhibition by Mogens Lorentzen, or possibly shortly after from Cabinetmaker Niels Vodder.

As a painter and author, Mogens Lorentzen was in a broad sense part of the progressive art scene in Copenhagen during the interwar period and worked as a writer for the magazines Klingen (The Blade) and Kritisk Revy (Critical Review). He also wrote the lyrics for revue songs for, among others, Poul Henningsen. In the broad Danish public, he is probably best known for his lyrics to one of the most beloved Danish Christmas songs – Juletræet med sin pynt (the Christmas tree with its decorations).

Throughout the chairs’ life with the family, they were referred to as being part of the “Elephant Furniture” – the Elephant Chairs. The chairs have over the years been either completely or partially reupholstered an estimated three times. The legs have been “home-painted” black at some point. The chairs have now gone through a careful restoration process to return them to their original appearance. Remains of original cushions and fabric are preserved and can be included if so desired. An extensive amount of available extra photographs documents this process from the chairs' unrestored condition to their present look. The extra grey wool cushion covers are just an extra “service” if one might wish, for example, to protect the striped cover. It is not part of Finn Juhl's original intentions.

This model can be seen as the unknown precursor to Finn Juhl's “Pelican” chair, which he designed the following year in 1940. The chair is essentially the same type of chair, where you could argue that the armrests or “ears” stretch energetically upwards while they on the “Pelican” have lowered their beak.

Literature: Sigvard Bernadotte & Johannes Lehm-Laursen (ed.). 1947: “Moderne Dansk Boligkunst”. Volume 2, p. 222. Illustrated.

Literature: Grete Jalk [ed.]. 1987: “Dansk møbelkunst gennem 40 Aar”. Volume 2, pp. 104–105.

Literature: Noritsugu Oda et al. (eds.). 1990: “Finn Memorial exhibition”. Exhibition catalogue. Sketch for the chair depicted on p. 126.