20th Oct, 2021 10:00

Design - Two Day Sale - Live Online

 
  Lot 607
 

607

An 'AP-19 Papa Bear' chair

An 'AP-19 Papa Bear' chair,
designed by Hans Wegner for A P Stolen, Denmark, reupholstered in a blue-grey fabric with a buttoned back, teak arm panels, raised on oak supports, numbered '5' and with further handwritten numbers to the frame,
80cm wide
95cm deep
100cm high, seat 42cm high

'The ideal chair does not exist', Hans J Wegner, one of the most iconic names in Design history once said. Perhaps he was right? Wegner spent his entire life in pursuit of the unattainable ideal, which would see him reinventing the chair again and again for almost half a century in over 500 different ways.

Throughout life we are told to sit up straight and not to slouch on sofas and armchairs – Wegner turned this notion on its head and was often seen with his legs swung over the armrests of some of his most iconic designs. At the centre of Wegner's design philosophy was always universal comfort - the ability to always sit in whichever way is most comfortable and shift effortlessly between various positions.

Born in 1914 in Tønder, Denmark, Wegner began his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker at age fourteen. In 1940, after finishing his studies at the Royal Danish Academy, he was invited by Erik Møller and Arne Jacobsen to design the furniture for Århus city hall. The project was the first glimpse of Wegner's capabilities, and opened in 1942 to critical acclaim, with one of the chairs sold to the Danish Design Museum. With his newfound domestic success, Wegner opened up his own furniture studio and continued to produce pieces that still define Danish design to this day, such as the Wishbone Chair.

With the Papa Bear Chair, or Bamsestol, designed in 1951, Wegner sought to redefine the traditional straight-backed wing back chair, making it more inviting and versatile. The name came from one of his early reviewers, describing the teak-topped tapering armrests surrounding the sitter as being cradled by a massive bear. The name stuck, perfectly encapsulating the comfort of a design still produced to this day and inspiring numerous interpretations and copies. The same year, Wegner was awarded the prestigious Lunning Prize, an honour he shared with Finnish design savant Tapio Wirkkala.

Wegner kept producing groundbreaking designs throughout his life, ranging from more conservative models, such as the CH23, to the modernist masterpieces, such as the Flag Chair and Wegner's personal favourite – the Ox Chair. Keeping innovation playfulness at heart, form and function were always kept closely coupled, resulting in an immense breadth in both styles and materials used. The careful selection of materials and the attention to craftsmanship has also ensured their endurance, with many original production models surviving in good condition to this day. As such, whether it is fine dining in the Wishbone Chair or the intimate embrace of the Papa Bear, Wegner's designs continue to define interiors, guaranteeing style and comfort lasting for generations. With a track record like that, there is no wonder that many of Wegner's chairs are today considered just what he thought unattainable: ideal.

Take advantage of our Sworders Delivery Service. Please see 'Shipping estimate' below.

Sold for £7,000


Condition Report

Reupholstered and restored - good overall.

 

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Auction: Design - Two Day Sale - Live Online, 20th Oct, 2021

Viewing

VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT

We will be offering viewing by appointment.  Thirty-minute time slots will be available from:

Fri 15 Oct, 9am - 5pm 

Sat 16 Oct, 10am - 2pm

Sun 17 Oct, 10am - 2pm 

Mon 18 Oct, 9am - 5pm 

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All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description. 

 

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Furniture and Carpets

Furniture and Carpets will be available to collect as follows:

  • FROM THURS 21 TO FRI 29 OCTOBER

         Available at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE

 

  • FROM TUES 2 NOVEMBER

         Available at Unit 1 Harps Farm, Bedlars Green, Great Hallingbury CM22 7TL

 

Please select 'Collection/Furniture' as your appointment type when booking your collection time.  Lots not collected by 5pm Monday 1 November will incur storage charges.

  

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View all lots in this sale

Please note that this item is not suitable for a pre-sale automated shipping estimate due to the items weight/size. 

The below table shows indicative shipping costs for larger items being delivered within the UK mainland. Please note that all the below costs are purely for indicative purposes and are to be used as a guideline only. If you purchase multiple large items, we will combine deliveries to reduce the shipping costs. 

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Buying a pre-loved, antique, or vintage item not only provides you with unique style and value for money but it also helps to reduce landfill, and the annual emissions of an antique or vintage piece can be as little as one sixteenth of those of its new equivalent!

Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here

 

Antiques are Green

 

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