Egg Chair

Overview

The Egg™ Lounge Chair, model 3316, carries the date 1958 and the name of Arne Jacobsen in the Fritz Hansen range. The manufacturer says Jacobsen shaped it by experimenting with wire and plaster in his garage.

Construction

• Shell: moulded CombiPUR, a hard PUR core with soft PUR foam, fully upholstered in fabric or leather
• Base: four-star swivel base in aluminium, satin polished or powder coated, with a tilt fitting adjusted to the user's weight
• Footstool: the Egg™ footstool 3127 is a separate model

Specifications

• H 104 × W 86 × D 79 cm, seat height 37 cm, armrest height 58 cm
• Weight 19.8 kg (textile) or 21.2 kg (leather)
• Country of origin Poland (fact sheet)

Wire and plaster in a garage

Fritz Hansen describes the Egg as an everlasting Danish design masterpiece and says Jacobsen strived to shape the shell's perfect form like a sculptor, by experimenting with wire and plaster in his garage.

Image source: Fritz Hansen — Egg Chair · © Fritz Hansen and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research. · View official product page ↗ · Image use & copyright policy

Hotel commission

Fritz Hansen's product page tells the chair's story under the heading "A chair like no other": in Jacobsen's meticulously designed SAS Royal Hotel the Egg stood apart as a welcoming contrast to the geometric precision of the architecture, his way of creating "a space within the space" and a calm refuge inside a busy, structured building. The page adds that the idea goes beyond its original setting, and that the chair suits public and private spaces alike.

Wikipedia states that the Egg was designed for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, giving 1959 as the year; Fritz Hansen's product page, product data and fact sheet give 1958. The same article notes that an Egg sofa version exists only in a handful of pieces, made for a hotel and as a special edition.