Round Chair by Hans J. Wegner Model JH-503 with Honey leather seats

**Price is per chair**
(7 Available)

We have a total of 7 round chairs with upholstered seats in honey leather.

These chairs have been completely refinished and are in excellent condition.

Dimensions: 30"H × 24.75"W × 21"D

About the Designer:

“A chair,” according to Danish designer Hans Wegner, “is to have no backside. It should be beautiful from all angles.” This principle guided Wegner in the design of every one of the 500 chairs he developed during his lifetime—100 of which were ultimately put into production. But of all these, just one, his 1949 Round Chair, went on to earn the internationally recognized nickname of “The Chair,” an honor shared by no other design before or since.

These examples are vintage and where exquisitely constructed by cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen in Denmark. Each of these chairs where hand made by a couple of craftsmen in Johannes Hansen factory. This chair was made famous in the US when the chair was used during the Nixon/ Kennedy debate, the chair epitomizes the best of Danish modern. These vintage examples have been executed in teak and are fully marked. The wood frame is in excellent condition.

Wegner was one of the first to employ ergonomics in his designs. His Round Chair is known as “ The Chair” and is often referred to as the most beautiful chair in the world. Crescent-shaped arms made from a single piece of teak, mortise-and-tension joints, and a continuous semicircle of wood. This is minimalism perfectly expressed.

In September of 1960, when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy sat down for the first nationally televised presidential debate, the two candidates rested on one of the most celebrated designs of the 20th century.

Often called simply “The Chair,” the Round chair is one of hundreds designed by Hans J. Wegner (1914–2007). As he once said, “The good chair is a task one is never completely done with.” Nicknamed the “Master of the Chair,” influential Danish designer Wegner inventively used natural materials in his work and, in particular, experimented with different types of wood instead of the industrial materials favored by 20th-century European modernism. In his highly functional pieces with their timeless silhouettes, Wegner celebrated the textures of oak, walnut, birch and others while concealing joints inside the various pieces for a seamless frame. Sometimes described as “Organic Functionality,” his approach exemplified the aesthetics of Scandinavian modern design in its reduction of an object to its essential elements while using that sparsity to elevate its materials. The son of a cobbler, Wegner later apprenticed to a master cabinetmaker and studied at the Technical University of Denmark and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (then the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts).

He opened his furniture design firm in 1943 and throughout his career centered his practice on craftsmanship and constantly reimagined the shape of the utilitarian chair. He debuted the Round chair in 1949, first showing it at the Annual Exhibition of the Cabinetmakers’ Guild in Copenhagen. Wegner called it simply “the round one.” A semicircle of wood is balanced on its tapered legs, with either a handwoven cane or leather seat stretched between them. Its open back offers comfort for movement, an alternative to traditional straight-back chairs; its finely turned arms provide support without intruding on the sitter’s space. Incorporating 11 pieces of wood and zigzag joints to offer the appearance of a continuous semicircle of wood from the arms to the back, the Round chair’s form is minimal but showcases expert carpentry. In 1950, Interiors magazine declared it “the most beautiful chair in the world.” Wegner took incredible care with his designs, believing that a good piece of furniture should last a lifetime. Originally manufactured by Danish furniture maker Johannes Hansen who had a small group of craftsmen hand build every piece of furniture. It is said that Johannes Hansen factory, with a small group of craftsmen, was only able to produce three round chairs a day.