Kaare Klint, Cognac Leather Safari Chair for Rud Rasmussen, 1960s
About the Item
- Creator:Kaare Klint (Designer),Rud Rasmussen (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 31.5 in (80 cm)Width: 22.45 in (57 cm)Depth: 22.84 in (58 cm)Seat Height: 12.6 in (32 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:Replacements made: New leather cushion. Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Uppsala, SE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3440327429432
Safari Chair
The Safari chair, created by legendary Danish designer Kaare Klint (1888–1954) in 1933, has roots in one of the earliest known examples of do-it-yourself furniture. Specific accounts vary, but Klint was inspired by an image of a Roorkhee chair (perhaps spotted in a travel guide) being used on an African safari.
Named for the headquarters of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers in Roorkhee, a city in Northern India, the Roorkhee chair was a military campaign chair that was popular with British officers during World War I. The chair’s maker, who was tasked in the late 19th century with developing lightweight, adaptable seating that could be quickly taken apart for the British military, remains unknown. The Roorkhee’s seat was made of stretched canvas while the armrests were leather straps, and it was probably the design’s practical simplicity that appealed to Klint, who is celebrated for having incorporated rigorous research on precedents, proportions and materials into his designs.
At the time of the Safari chair’s inception, Klint — whose start in design owes to the influence of his father, architect P.V. Jensen Klint, as well as a furniture-making apprenticeship at age 15 — was already playing a prominent role in the trajectory of Danish design. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in furniture design (a department he founded in 1924), where his students included Hans Wegner, Ole Wanscher and others. Through his own remarkable designs as well as his teaching, Klint became known as the “father of Danish modernism.”
Although Klint’s interpretation of the clever military campaign chair design is the most faithful to the original, other modern chairs based on the Roorkhee include Le Corbusier’s Basculant chair and the Wassily chair designed by Marcel Breuer.
The Safari chair’s flexible structure sees an integration of loose mortise-and-tenon joints that are strengthened when someone sits in it. As compared to vintage versions of the Roorkhee, it’s clear that Klint made important changes in designing his chair, such as an angling of the seat that better supports ergonomics. The chair was originally produced by Rud Rasmussen Snedkerier and exhibited at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibition in 1933.
Today, the solid wood Safari — made of Danish ash with a canvas or ox-hide seat and saddle-leather armrests — is manufactured by Carl Hansen & Søn. A seat cushion and footstool are available, and like its lightweight 1930s-era prototype, the chair can be assembled and taken apart without the use of tools.
Kaare Klint
Architect, teacher and furniture designer Kaare Klint is among the most important figures in Scandinavian modernism. Widely recognized as the father of modern Danish furniture, Klint sought to pay homage to historical furniture styles and prized functionality as essential to designing for modern living. He established the design school at Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and his students became mid-century legends of cabinetry and furniture-making.
Klint prioritized functionalism and drew on an array of influences in his own work. Furniture experts will observe the influence of 18th-century English seating in his Red chair, while Klint’s iconic Safari chair had roots in campaign furniture. The other exemplary chairs, sofas and tables for which he is known bear the mark of Thomas Chippendale and Biedermeier furniture as well as Greek and Roman forms.
Klint's father was Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, a formidable architect of his day. The younger Klint initially followed in his father’s footsteps, studying under him as well as distinguished architect Carl Petersen. Alongside Danish architect Ivar Bentsen, he headed the renovation of the Designmuseum Denmark in Copenhagen from 1920–26 (Klint also furnished the institution as part of the project). Around the same time, Klint helped found the furniture design school at the Royal Danish Academy. The impact of his role as an instructor there cannot be overstated — he mentored such esteemed cabinetmakers and furniture designers as Børge Mogensen, Hans Wegner and Ole Wanscher.
A prominent advocate of ergonomics, Klint valued comfort and functionality over style. Painstaking research went into each piece of sophisticated yet wholly unadorned furniture he designed, as he endeavored to build structures that took into consideration human proportions and scale. And like the Shakers, Klint believed that quality craftsmanship and good materials were integral to the design of durable furniture that was free of embellishment.
The humble grace of Klint’s style characterizes legendary seating designs that continue to charm today’s legions of mid-century modern enthusiasts. His Safari chair, Faaborg chair, Ravenna armchair and Propeller stool — as well as most of the seating created by Danish modernists generally — have warmed interiors and influenced furniture designers all over the world.
Find vintage Kaare Klint furniture and other Scandinavian modern furniture on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Uppsala, Sweden
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Nanna Ditzel, oak and leather ND83 chair for Søren Willadsen, 1960sBy Nanna Ditzel, Søren WilladsenLocated in Uppsala, SENanna Ditzel lounge chair and true Danish design classic, the ND 83 or "Round chair" as it is also called. This very example was produced in the 1960s or 1970s has an oak frame and l...Category
Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Oak
- Carl Malmsten, Pair of Konsert Lounge Chairs for Stockholm Concert Hall, 1926By Carl MalmstenLocated in Uppsala, SEVery rare and important lounge chairs, model Konsert, designed by the grandfather of Swedish design, Carl Malmsten, for Stockholms Konserthus (Stockholm Concert Hall) in 1923. An early piece in his production. The concert hall was designed by Swedish architect Ivar Tengbom...Category
Vintage 1920s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsVelvet, Birch
- Early B35 Chair by Marcel Breuer for Thonet, 1930sBy Marcel Breuer, ThonetLocated in Uppsala, SEVery early example from the 1930s of the classical B35 model designed by Marcel Breuer for Thonet in the very last years of the 1920s. The leather has great patina and is definitely ...Category
Vintage 1930s German Bauhaus Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- Swedish Modern Birch, Bambu & Rattan Longe Chair, Attr. to Otto Schulz, ca 1940By Otto Schulz, BoetLocated in Uppsala, SEVery rare loung chair from ca 1940 in birch (or maybe elm) with new off-white fabric to both cushions. The pegs / stems at the backrest are made of bambu and the seat cushion is held...Category
Vintage 1940s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsFabric, Bamboo, Rattan, Birch
- Eberhard Krauss, Rare Armchair Model A 821 F for Thonet, 1930By ThonetLocated in Uppsala, SERare armchair / lounge chair designed by Eberhard Krauss for Thonet in 1930 for the exhibition "Thonet Werkbund" in Vienna. This model is sometimes also wrongly attributed to Adolf S...Category
Vintage 1930s Austrian Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsRattan, Birch
- Oak Fireside Chair Attributed to Adolf Loos, 1930sBy Adolf LoosLocated in Uppsala, SEFireside chair with a dark oak frame and red Naugahyde fabric from the 1930s, attributed to Austrian designer Adolf Loos. Adolf Loos used variants of this model in different interior...Category
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Armchairs
MaterialsNaugahyde, Oak
- Kaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen, Safari ChairBy Rud Rasmussen, Kaare KlintLocated in Esbjerg, DKKaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen. Safari chair new upholstered with Vintage aniline leather. Straps maintained in the original patinated lea...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Ash
- Kaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen, Safari ChairBy Rud Rasmussen, Kaare KlintLocated in Esbjerg, DKKaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen. Safari chair new upholstered with black aniline leather. Straps in new butt leather. Frame in solid ash...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Ash
- Kaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen, Safari ChairBy Kaare Klint, Rud RasmussenLocated in Esbjerg, DKKaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen. Safari chair new upholstered with black aniline leather. Straps in new butt leather. Frame in solid ash black laquered ash. Model Safari chair, m...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Ash
- Kaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen, Safari ChairBy Kaare Klint, Rud RasmussenLocated in Esbjerg, DKKaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen. Safari chair new upholstered with black aniline leather. Straps in new butt leather. Frame in solid ash...Category
Vintage 1960s Danish Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather, Ash
- Kaare Klint, a Pair of Safari Chairs in Ash & Leather, Rud. Rasmussen, 1960sBy Kaare KlintLocated in Odense, DKA gorgeous pair of vintage Safari chairs in a lovely patinated cognac leather and solid ash. Designed in 1933 by Kaare Klint and manufactured by Rud. Rasmussen, Copenhagen, Denmark. ...Category
Mid-20th Century Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsLeather, Wood, Ash
- Kaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen Safari Chairs in Brown Canvas and AshBy Kaare Klint, Rud RasmussenLocated in Waalwijk, NLKaare Klint for Rud Rasmussen, pair of safari chairs model 'KK47000', ash, canvas, metal, brass, leather, Denmark, designed in 1933 and produced in 1960s. The chair shows very eleg...Category
Vintage 1930s Danish Scandinavian Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMetal, Brass