A Detective Story: The Tycoon's Furniture
Occasionally, our assignments in the auction house requires a great deal of detective work to determine the year, provenance and origin behind both works of art and designer furniture. In recent months some of our best minds have been on the case to piece together the story behind a dining room set that has connections to both an enterprising tycoon, Hotel Postgaarden and the Radio House in Copenhagen.
|
At the autumn’s Live Auction with design in Copenhagen, we shed light on a time when Danish design took a big leap into the future. The focus is on a set of dining room furniture, where 12 chairs in particular stand out as some of the most beautiful pieces we have ever presented at our design auctions. |
|
|
|
|
We know that the furniture set was designed in 1942, and that it was made to order for one of the enterprising tycoons of the time, Jens Udsen, and has been in his home at Hotel Postgaarden in Slagelse. But neither the manufacturer Fritz Hansen nor Udsen's heirs have been able to reveal who the designer behind the furniture was. An extensive round of research in the archives at the Design Museum Denmark and at the Collection of Architectural Drawings at the Danish Art Library have also not produced a definitive answer. Still, the detective work has revealed connections between the furniture and Vilhelm Lauritzen and the Radio House in Copenhagen. |
|
On the preview's opening day, Thursday 15 September at 4 pm, design specialist Peter Kjelgaard will tell the story about the extensive detective put into discovering the origins of the dining room set. Everyone is welcome! |
|
For further information, please contact:
|
|
Peter Kjelgaard JensenPeter Kjelgaard JensenHead of department / Modern Decorative Art & Design / København |