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10-Dec-12 |
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Arne Jacobsen Egg chair identification
Peace be with all of you,
I am in need of assistance in authenticating this Arne Jacobsen egg chair. Moreover, some of the information that the seller has provided is that the chair has been in her family since the early 60's and it has a tilt mechanism.
However, there is no sticker label. Nonetheless, when did they begin offering the tilt mechanism? Could this possibly be the real thing and how much of a hassle will it be for an upholsterer to adhere the fabric back to the foam?
Lastly, she mentioned that the foam is still pliable and it doesn?t seem to have hardened. With this in mind, do you folks think that this is a good buy or should I walk away from the purchase?
As always may you remain continually blessed
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posted by
Lenox
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10-Dec-12 |
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posted by
Lenox
edited on 10-Dec-12 08:28 AM [edit]
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10-Dec-12 |
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Finally
I was able to upload the photographs. Thank you in advance
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posted by
Lenox
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10-Dec-12 |
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Email
I just emailed Fritz Hansen, however, are there any egg chair owners that can tell me whether or not there are any part numbers under the base that I should look for? Viz, some Knoll model Saarinen chairs have BR 51, therefore, does the egg chair have identifiable part numbers? Thank you in advance
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posted by
Lenox
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11-Dec-12 |
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I'd walk away
That looks like a knock-off to me. Additionally, they are not telling you the truth. The tilt function did not appear on the Egg chair until circa 1980. There were no Egg chairs produced in the 1960s with the tilt.
When Fritz Hansen began to produce the Egg chair with tilt function they also switched from the one-piece cast base with the fluted column to the two-part base with the central column being a cylindrical tube. The two-part base is not nearly as elegant as the one-piece base, but conversely the tilt function adds significantly to the comfort of the Egg chair.
If that Egg chair were real, and worth buying and restoring, you could have a qualified upholster re-glue the loose fabric. However, it would be nearly as expensive as having it reupholstered as they would have to open up the hand-stitched seam on the edge to apply the glue before re-stitching the seam back together by hand.
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posted by
Pegboard Modern (USA)
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11-Dec-12 |
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Oh, yeah.
And regarding your question about the base, the only Egg chairs I have seen with no marking on the base were early examples. Anything from about the mid-1960s onward was always marked in the mould.
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posted by
Pegboard Modern (USA)
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11-Dec-12 |
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Thank you
Naturally, she is going off of memory and when I asked she stated that she definitely remembers that they had at their home at or around 1978. I will take detail photographs tomorrow with the hope that they will help solve this inquiry. Moreover, the seller is giving me time to authenticate the piece before I purchase it.
Blessings
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posted by
Lenox
edited on 11-Dec-12 12:44 PM [edit]
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11-Dec-12 |
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interesting
the base on this 1975 issue looks completely different then the one that we are looking at, in that, the column tube is as you said a shiny cylinder.
Is this example from the radar section a one piece or two piece combination?
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posted by
Lenox
edited on 11-Dec-12 12:42 PM [edit]
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11-Dec-12 |
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posted by
Lenox
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11-Dec-12 |
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posted by
Lenox
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11-Dec-12 |
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posted by
Lenox
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11-Dec-12 |
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wow, 256
people have read this thread. Arne Jacobsen threads seem to garner a heavy following. Pegboard any further thoughts into the matter? Blessings
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posted by
Lenox
edited on 11-Dec-12 06:59 PM [edit]
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11-Dec-12 |
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posted by
Lenox
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11-Dec-12 |
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I do!
Lenox has great taste, and Pegboard has priceless knowledge (in addition to great taste).
And I'm feeling pretty.
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posted by
Mark
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11-Dec-12 |
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posted by
Mark
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12-Dec-12 |
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Here we go...
So in lieu of some questions that were offered to the seller she contacted her father who is in his late 80's and he mentioned that he either fixed or replaced the tilt mechanism.
Moreover, an interesting fact that has been observed within prior auctions is that sellers report that there is a hole in their chair, however, they do not know what it is for. Therefore, was the tilt mechanism prone to failure and often removed completely?
Additionally, here is a recent comment from Fritz Hansen in regards to this chair:
Good morning,
we are not sure if this is an original arne jacobsen 3316 egg chair. the shell looks authentic, but the tilt mechanism and the cushion are not original for sure. I have forwarded your pictures to the expert in our company who knows all about the fritz hansen collection. he only works 1 day a week which is the tuesday, so hopefully I will have an answer from him next week tuesday. Of course I will contact you as soon as I know more.
if you have further questions please let us know.
kind regards,
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posted by
Lenox
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12-Dec-12 |
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the upholstery looks
new, although it's 'an old chair'.
re-upholstering gone wrong?
the foot seems a bit crude, or is that my impression?
great to hear you've got feedback from Fritz Hansen.
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posted by
bj (BE)
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12-Dec-12 |
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one piece base and tilt function
Personnally i own a chair marked Fritz Hanssen 520015 on the one-piece-base with a tilt function!
So you tell me its a fake pegboard modern?
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posted by
xanax
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13-Dec-12 |
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OK, well...
Lenox, I'm sorry I usually don't get to check the forum multiple time a day, so it can be a while between posts.
The additional photos you posted are small, so it's difficult to make out a lot, but what I can see only raises more questions. As noted by your response from FH, there are things that clearly appear wrong. They mention the "tilt mechanism" but I assume they mean the handle to adjust the tilt tension. It should not be as long, nor straight. It should be shorter and have an angled bend. The seat cushion looks like the wrong shape, backwards in the seat, or both. Though they say that the shell looks correct, it's hard to get a good sense from the photos you show and the poor upholstery job which gives it an overstuffed appearance. The net is that I stand by my original assessment and think it's likely not a Fritz Hansen chair. I could well be wrong, but sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially if it is a substantial investment.
Xanax, I am not telling you your chair is a fake. Perhaps I should be more careful with my words and be sure not to make definitive statements. I do not consider myself an "expert," rather a genuine enthusiast with a fair amount of knowledge from experience. I have had quite a few egg chairs, handled and a great number of them from different periods and generations and spent time trying to figure out exactly when these minor changes took place.
If your chair does in fact have the one-piece cast base with the fluted column, I would suggest that your egg chair is very desirable and I would love to see pictures of it. As I said, I think the one-piece base is the most attractive, yet the tilt function adds so greatly to the comfort. To have both features would be ideal in my book. Your post made me very curious to find another example of an egg chair with both features and the only one I could find on line was one being offered for sale by Tom Gibbs. They list it as "swivel/tilt" yet the pictures do not show a handle to adjust the tilt tension. I might also expect to see a hole for the missing handle, but the chair has been reupholstered.
If there are egg chairs with the original base design and also the tilt function, it makes me wonder when they were produced and if there was some short transitional period.
http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=406254
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posted by
Pegboard Modern (USA)
edited on 13-Dec-12 04:40 AM [edit]
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13-Dec-12 |
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While we are on the subject...
...I had a few more thoughts.
Lenox, while much that appears wrong with this chair could be attributed to a poor upholstery job, I think there are issues that point to it not being authentic. Aside from what I've already mentioned, I took one of your small photos and brightened it to better see and it appears that the base is attached to the column with an allen screw. Something I've never seen on a FH egg chair. Also, I've not seen a later production (two-part base) such as this one that did not bear any marking in the mold. I've had early egg chairs that did not, but never later production.
While I was thinking about this I realized that we have not mentioned the swan chair which shares many characteristics with the egg. However, I have had vintage swan chairs with a one-piece base that had the tilt function. Again, the tilt made them much more comfortable than the swivel only version, but unlike the egg chair, there is no handle to adjust the tilt tension, just a small access hole on the side/ bottom where you could insert an allen wrench and tighten or loosen as needed.
So considering that there were swan chairs produced with the original base design and the tilt function, it would seem logical that there might also be egg chairs with these qualities. However, again, I have not seen one myself. Perhaps some others with knowledge or experience with vintage egg chairs would care to contribute?
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posted by
Pegboard Modern (USA)
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13-Dec-12 |
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tilt function
tilt function was for shure made with the one cast star bases in the late sixties early 70's. we also have at least one in stock...
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posted by
lionel
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13-Dec-12 |
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lionel
I would love to see a picure of it! Since mine is reupholstered it's not so obvious!
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posted by
xanax
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18-Mar-13 |
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This post could go under a...
This post could go under a number of Egg Chair threads, but this one seemed recent and relevant enough.
I am not very familiar with Jacobsen pieces, but thought I'd try a little ID verification from a single not-so-good online photo (see below) to see if it was worth going to see in person.
This is what I came up with: Not authentic, and looks to be Restoration Hardware's "Copenhagen" chair with distressed leather. Form, edge seam, and smaller cuts of leather were the tip-off for me. Besides the seams, the leather just looks too perfectly distressed. How'd I do? Any other features that are easy giveaways?
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posted by
cdsilva
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18-Mar-13 |
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Skimpy four-prong base
though the distressed leather is the best one. It looks like they had some device---maybe something like a sanding attachment on a drill---and just applied it every 10 inches or so to the hide. Kinda like those distressed painted pieces where they sand away the finish in places that would not get that kind of wear at all. So silly!
p.s. I despise Restoration Hardware.
http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.8...
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posted by
*spanky*
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15-Apr-13 |
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So! The Swan chair that I just got
turns out to be a tilt model with the one-piece base!
I stripped the bad reupholstery fabric off and now there are two things that are a mystery to me:
1. What covered the void in the bottom of the foam shell where the tilt bar is housed? I can see adhesive residue in a rectangular shape where something was glued over it, but what material?
2. How is the fabric finished around the hexagon screw where you adjust the tilt? It's only a little 3/8" thing or so and it looks pretty much flush with the surface of the shell. The outer fabric on the chair is supposed to be one piece, so there's nothing extra to tuck under there. Do raw edges show? That seems rather barbaric for this chair.
3. Ok, i forgot one thing---how is the fabric finished around the post underneath? See #2, but on a larger scale.
I think that's it. I am going to redo the chair in Maharam/Kvadrat "Tonus". There are a few threads of the original fabric left (mired in the HOT GLUE the previous person used---GRRRRR). It is a lovely brilliant green. Not what I will use but still, it was good to see after getting that mauve cotton dobby fabric off (think Grandma's front parlor).
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posted by
*spanky*
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