Kjell Richardsen set of four Tønnestav dining chairs, Norway 1960

Rare set of four Tønnestav dining chairs designed by Kjell Richardsen for Tynes Møbelfabrikk, Norway 1960. This beautiful set of stackable dining chairs with continuous formed wood slats and chrome supports is made of teak veneered plywood slats. The chairs were produced for only a very short period of time in 1960. The chairs are in very good condition and are each marked Made in Norway underneath the seat.

We have a great Tønnestav dining set, -table and 4 dining chairs- available as well. This set is executed in rosewood veneer and are newly restored and finished with a UV protective lacquer. Despite the difference in color and finish we think this set of dining chairs would be also perfectly suitable in order to add four more chairs to this rosewood dining set.

The resemblance of the Tønnestav chair with Hans Brattrud’s Scandia chair is obvious. It caused a bit of a stir in the Norwegian design community in 1960 when it became the cause of a court case between Richardsens manufacturers Tynes Møbelfabrikk and Hove Møbelfabrik, the manufacturer of Brattruds 1957 Scandia chair. Richardsen was accused of plagiarism. It should be added that Richardsen and Brattrud went to design school together in the 1950’s. Laminated bentwood was the new thing at the time and it seems quite likely that the original idea for both Tønnestav and Scandia could come from a common project. Nevertheless, Brattrud won the case and the Tønnestav chair, put in production in 1960, was taken out of production later the same year. Very few of these pieces were produced, which makes it a rare set -with a remarkable design history- that would work really well in any design collection.
The Norvegian museum Nasjonalmuseet for kunst, arkitektur og design, has a “Lenestol’ from the Tønnestav series in their design collection (Identifier NMK.2008.0618).

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DesignerKjell Richardsen ManufacturerMøbelfabrikModelTönnestav dining chairsYear1960Materialplywood, steel, teakMeasurementsD 49 x W 58 x H 83 CM Quantity4ConditionexcellentPriceOn request

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