Mogens Lassen

MOGENS LASSEN (Copenhagen, 1901-1987) for CARL HANSEN & SØN.
Table "Egyptian". Design from 1940.
Oiled oak wood with gilt metal elements.
Presents manufacturer's label on the back, with serial number.
First presented at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers' Guild Exhibition, 1940.
Measurements: 52 x 85 x 85 cm.

Designed by Mogens Lassen, the "Egyptian" table clearly synthesizes the principles of Danish functionalism: structural simplicity, constructive precision and an elegance based on proportion. Inspired by the folding supports found in Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, its characteristic X-shaped structure reinterprets historical models in a modern key, combining visual lightness and stability.

Conceived as an easily dismountable piece, it incorporates a locking system with a discreet sliding mechanism that allows it to be folded and stored with total simplicity. This approach responds to Lassen's revision -following the influence of Kaare Klint- of traditional typologies of flexible furniture, refining them to their essential form.

Produced by Carl Hansen & Søn, the piece stands out for the quality of the oak and its finishes, as well as for the clarity of its constructive logic, where each element fulfills a precise function.

Mogens Lassen was one of the main representatives of Danish rationalism. Trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Denmark, he completed his apprenticeship in the studio of Tyge Hvass and furthered his training in Paris, where contact with the work of Le Corbusier decisively marked his architectural and design language.

Author of projects such as the Christiansholmfortet villas and the Ordrupvej system house, he developed a work characterized by structural clarity and functionality. He was the architect of the Permanent Exhibition in Copenhagen for more than three decades and, in recognition of his career, he received the C. F. Hansen Medal in 1971.