Incollect Magazine - Issue 3

Issue 3 102 www.incollect.com Hans Wegner Hans Wegner was among the most successful of the Scandinavian furniture makers. His original pieces of furniture are bought and sold through many dealers and also at auction. Trained as an architect and carpenter, Wegner designed more than 500 chairs, not to mention numerous sofas, tables, desks, lights and a variety of interior objects. Most, if not all, were executed in natural materials, especially in wood with a signature accent on simplicity of style and easy comfort. His chairs are icons of 20th century design, such as his famous “Shell” chair, from 1963, with its convex shape for comfort. His designs often took inspiration from design history: his “Papa Bear” chair designed in 1951 is a fanciful remodeling of the traditional English wingback chair, while the “Wishbone Chair” (1949) and the “China Chair” (1944) take inspiration from Ming dynasty Chinese furniture. The most prized designs among collectors are early pieces, produced in collaboration with furniture maker Johannes Hansen. Paavo Tynell The impact and influence of Paavo Tynell on interior lighting design in homes all over the world over the past century cannot be overstated, even if, today, it is his famous hand-made custom Snowflake Chandeliers that command the most media attention as well as enormous prices in galleries and at auction. Tynell was an industrial and commercial lighting designer with a background in metalworking who began his long, successful career producing custom lighting for buildings for Scandinavian architects. In 1918, with colleagues, he founded his own design firm Taito Oy, the first industrial producer of lighting fixtures in Finland and for the next half century they designed and produced dozens of practical, simple, elegant, affordable lighting products that were sold internationally. His perforated metal pendant lamps were an especially popular product. So too were his range of floor lamps, including the Model 9602 floor lamp designed in 1938 with a narrow stem of metal wrapped in rattan supporting brass details and a broad, conical raffia or wicker shade; and the 1940s Model 9609 lamp in which three brass feet support an adjustable cone-like lampshade. His lamps are sensual, simple, elegant, functional, the hallmark of everything Tynell produced. The iconic and endearing Papa Bear chair and ottoman by Hans Wegner for A.P. Stolen, Denmark, 1951. From De Angelis on Incollect. Paavo Tynell’s Nordic masterpiece, the Snowflake Chandelier for Taito Oy, Helsinki, Finland. Brass mesh snowflakes swirl over a bowl of polished brass pierced by myriads of light pinpoints. Many custom versions were produced; the original dates from 1946. Photo courtesy Donzella. Paavo Tynell for Idman, Finland, K2-12 opaline glass and brass pendant, circa 1950s. Many of his designs include references to the natural world, and here, the brass center band with charming star-shaped perforations evokes the night sky. From Bloomberry on Incollect.