THE GOLDEN EGG CHAIR by Arne Jacobsen Lot n° 11

THE GOLDEN 'EGG' CHAIR, BY ARNE JACOBSEN FOR FRITZ HANSEN DANISH, 2008, leather, suede and bronze, bearing stamp and label, serial number 100800, Edition. 224/99,105cm (h) x 86cm (w) x 70cm (d). Provenance:In 2008 Fritz Hansen produced the ‘Golden Egg’ to mark the 50thAnniversary of this iconic chair, a limited edition version of 999. Using a chocolate leather and suede back, the chair sits on a solid bronze swivel base;Acquired by the previous owner in 2008 from Fritz Hansen (original certs included). Arne Jacobsen designed the Egg Chair in 1958 for the lobby and reception areas of the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen,Denmark'sfirst skyscraper. The commission to design every element of the hotel building, including the furniture, was the designer’s grand opportunity to put his theories of integrated design and architecture into practice. The Egg is one of the triumphs of Jacobsen’s total design – a sculptural contrast to the building’s almost exclusively vertical and horizontal surfaces. The Egg chair was a curving organic form, designed to provide comfort and an element of privacy for the sitter in the otherwise public space of the hotel’s lobby. Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) is one of the best-known designers of the 20th century and one of the pioneers of modern Danish design. Born in Copenhagen in 1902, he studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and, from the 1930s, was a trailblazing architect, creating landmark Functionalist buildings such as Aarhus City Hall and St Catherine’s College, Oxford.He is most famous for his chairs, which championed functionality and new materials. ‘The Egg’ sprang from a new technique, which Arne Jacobsen pioneered: a strong foam inner shell beneath the upholstery. Like a sculptor, Arne Jacobsen strived to find the shell’s perfect shape by experimenting with clay to perfect the design.