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A pioneering Danish furniture designer nicknamed the "Master of the Chair", Hans J. Wegner created around 500 chairs throughout his career, including many masterpieces such as the CH24 Wishbone Chair, the CH07 Shell Chair and the CH25 Lounge Chair. Wegner generally designed chairs in pairs with different variants, for example a dining chair with armrests and one without. In the mid-60s, however, he created a complete series of furniture for Carl Hansen & Son: consisting of 13 unique models, it included the CH45 rocking chair, produced only for a short time.
Hans J. Wegner has always been fascinated by the rocking chair, and as with his other creations, he approached its design methodically, with function as his primary objective. As a result, the rocking chair turns out to be perfectly proportioned: suitable for relaxation and gentle rocking, it also allows you to stand up effortlessly. While the reclining backrest lends it a dynamic style, the kinship with other furniture in the series is emphasized by the shaped bars, the envelope-patterned paper rope seat, and the uniquely curved armrests, raised at the back.These conceptual elements are Wegner classics, and the elevation allows for solid assembly. The notches at the top of the backrest are also a typical Wegner detail. In addition to their aesthetic appeal, they can also be used to suspend a headrest cushion.
The CH45 rocking chair is manufactured by Carl Hansen & Son in Gelsted, Denmark. All surfaces are carefully hand-polished by skilled craftsmen, who also weave the seat from 213 meters of paper cord in a lengthy process lasting around 90 minutes. As with all new launches from Hans J. Wegner, the CH45 rocking chair was created in close collaboration with Hans J. Wegner's Design Studio, which today guarantees its design heritage.
Craftsmanship is the hallmark of Carl Hansen & Son, and third-generation owner and CEO Knud Erik Hansen says: "The exchange between Hans J. Wegner's Design Studio and Carl Hansen & Son is part of the company's identity. We have been developing our expertise and know-how of how to make Wegner furniture for over 70 years. We know Wegner's design qualities and craftsmanship down to the smallest detail, from advanced joints and organic shapes to the various weaving techniques Wegner has developed with the talented craftsmen at Carl Hansen & Son. We are extremely proud of this collaboration and delighted to be able to expand the collection with the elegant CH45 rocking chair."
Materials FSC-certified oak and paper cord
Dimensions W61 x D82 x H106 cm – Seat Height 39 cm
CH45 Rocking chair – Oiled oak
CH45 Rocking chair – Oiled oak with Pierre Frey Yeti Cotton cushions
CH45 Rocking chair – Lacquered oak
CH45 Rocking chair – Lacquered oak with Pierre Frey Yeti Cotton cushions
CH45 Rocking chair – Black lacquered oak
CH45 Rocking chair – Black lacquered oak with Hallingdal 180 cushions
CH45 Rocking chair (cushions not included)
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Cushions for CH45 Rocking chair
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Hans J. Wegner
Hans J. Wegner was born in 1914 in Tønder, Denmark, the son of a shoemaker. At the age of 17, he finished his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker with H. F. Stahlberg, in whose workshops Wegner’s first design experiments took form. He moved to Copenhagen as a 20 year-old, and attended the School of Arts and Crafts from 1936 – 1938 before he began working as an architect.
As a young architect, Wegner joined Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller in Århus, working on furniture design for the new Århus city hall in 1940. It was during the same year that Wegner began collaborating with master cabinetmaker, Johannes Hansen, who was a driving force in bringing new furniture design to the Danish public.
The Copenhagen Museum of Art and Industry acquired its first Wegner chair in 1942.
Wegner started his own design office in 1943. It was in 1944 that he designed the first “Chinese chair” in a series of new chairs that were inspired by portraits of Danish merchants sitting in Ming chairs. One of these chairs, the “Wishbone Chair”, designed in 1949 and produced by Carl Hansen & Son in Odense since 1950, became the most successful of all Wegner chairs.
Among Danish furniture designers, Hans J. Wegner is considered one of the most creative and productive. He has received practically every major recognition given to designers, including the Lunning prize, the grand prix of the Milan Triennale, Sweden’s Prince Eugen medal and the Danish Eckersberg medal. Wegner is an honorary Royal designer for industry of the Royal Society of Arts in London. Almost all of the world’s major design museums – from The Museum of Modern Art in New York to Die Neue Sammlung in Munich – include his furniture in their collections.
Hans J. Wegner died in Denmark in January, 2007.
Hans J. Wegner’s  contribution to Danish Modern:
- First a cabinetmaker, then a designer: integrates exacting joinery techniques and exquisite form.
- A deep respect for wood and its characteristics – and an abiding curiosity about other natural materials
- Brings an organic, natural softness to formalistic minimalism
- Generally regarded as ”the master of the chair”, with more than 400 chair designs to his name
