Børge Mogensen for Fredericia Hunting Chair in Oak and Leather

Børge Mogensen for Fredericia, lounge chair model 'Hunting Chair', oak, leather, brass, Denmark, design 1950, production after 1972

At the 1950 Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition in Copenhagen, cabinetmaker Erhard Rasmussen presented a hunting lodge interior furnished with designs by Børge Mogensen. At the center stood Mogensen’s striking Hunting Chair: a low, robust easy chair distinguished by its V-shaped oak frame and stretched cognac full-grain leather. The frame’s extended seat rails descend to form the back legs, paired with protruding arms – a constructional method and sculptural expression also explored at the time by Mogensen’s contemporaries Hans J. Wegner and Finn Juhl. Thick cognac saddle leather is beautifully patinated and attached to the frame with brass buckles on the reverse. The whole design is open and honest: revealing all connections and joints. The Hunting chair became one of the most recognized easy chairs of the oeuvre of Mogensen.

Børge Mogensen (1914-1972) was a Danish designer. His designs are defined by being high-quality, simple and functional. Mogensen can be seen as a democratic and idealistic designer. He aimed to solve basic problems in residential living. This meant that he designed for the middle-class and everyday use instead of for the more exclusive costumer. Contrary to his contemporaries in other countries such as Le Corbusier, Mogensen did not work with new modern materials such as steel and glass. Instead, he chose to work with tested materials such as leather and wood. Being trained by Kaare Klint, he was very focused on the human body and his ideal was to create comfortable furniture, not furniture that would end up in a museum. His designs are therefore honest, functional, simple and production friendly. Mogensen was extremely productive: hundreds of his designs went into production in his lifetime.

Kindly note that this item is in good, used condition.