Danish Modern Sofa With Teak Paws, Oak H - Base, 1960's, 2 Configurations

Details

Description

Every now and then a piece like this lands in our hands with no label, no tag, and no paper … Read more Every now and then a piece like this lands in our hands with no label, no tag, and no paper trail, one of two things is true. Either it's a forgettable piece from a forgettable factory, or it's the kind of thing that spent sixty years quietly being beautiful while the design world caught up to it. This one is very much the second thing.
I mean, look at it. That low, sweeping silhouette with the back that rakes back just enough to say "I'm relaxed but I have standards." Those angled sides that taper down into the seat like the whole sofa is mid-exhale. The beautifully proportioned H-stretcher base in warm honey oak, four dowel legs with just enough spread to feel grounded without feeling heavy. And then ~ those teak paws. Those gorgeous, rounded, perfectly placed teak armrest caps that sit proud of the upholstery like little punctuation marks at the end of the perfect sentence.

You know where else you've seen large teak paws like that? On Hans Wegner's Mega Papa Bear chair for AP Stolen. That's where.

Now we've been doing this long enough to know that teak paws on a sofa of this silhouette, with this base, from this era, puts you squarely in the orbit of some of the most significant names in mid-century Danish design. Could this be Kurt Østervig, the designer whose work was selected for exhibition at MoMA in the 1960s and who had ~ as his contemporaries put it ~ "a flair for the dramatic"? Absolutely possible. Østervig was known for oak and teak combinations that made everything else in the room look like it was trying too hard.

Could it be Ib Kofod-Larsen, whose designs were so quietly extraordinary that Queen Elizabeth II personally purchased several pieces on a visit to Denmark in 1958? Also very much in the conversation. Kofod-Larsen's talent for honoring the natural beauty of his materials while keeping the silhouette supremely restrained is all over this piece. Johannes Andersen, who made oak-framed, teak-armed sofas for Vamo and Trensum that look startlingly similar to what you're looking at right now? On the list. Illum Wikkelsø? Arne Hovmand Olsen? Also not ruled out.

We have reached out to the Carl Hansen & Son archive (now the custodian of the Getama catalog library following the 2024 acquisition) and to the Designmuseum Danmark, because a fellow dealer who once owned a vintage Getama catalog believes this sofa appeared in it attributed to a documented designer. We are awaiting a response. Which means this sofa currently exists in that very particular and very exciting category of: it could be a lot more expensive than we're asking for it.

What we do know: it is Danish, it is 1960s, it is beautifully made, and it has been cared for with an attention to detail that most furniture never receives.

We've had it expertly reupholstered in the most supremely supple beige velvet you have ever put your hand on. Honestly the fabric alone deserves its own listing. We've also preserved the original four-seat configuration ~ vintage photos of the sofa in its original upholstery are totally available upon request, because provenance is everything, and we never throw anything away. And because we believe in giving people options, (and also because why not,) we've had a custom bench seat made to spec by our upholsterers, in the same gorgeous beige velvet. So whoever buys this sofa receives both configurations: the four individual seat cushions for that classic Danish Modern look, or the bench seat for a cleaner, more contemporary silhouette. Two sofas. One price. You're welcome.

This is a piece for someone who trusts their eye. The label will catch up eventually. See less