Arne Jacobsen, for Fritz Hansen

ARNE JACOBSEN (Copenhagen, 1902–1971) for Fritz Hansen.
Table for the SAS Royal Hotel, designed in 1958.
Blue laminate and metal frame.
Provenance: SAS Royal Hotel, Copenhagen.
It shows signs of use, with scratches and surface wear on the tabletop, as well as a patina and isolated areas where the finish on the metal frame has worn away, consistent with its age.
Measurements: 60 x 87 x 55 cm.

Designed in 1958 to furnish the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, this table is part of one of the most significant projects in Arne Jacobsen’s career and serves as an interesting testament to the furniture conceived for its original interiors. The hotel, commissioned by Scandinavian Airlines System and opened in 1960, was conceived by Jacobsen as a comprehensive project in which architecture, furniture, lighting, textiles, and objects all reflected the same aesthetic vision. Documentation from the Arne Jacobsen Design Archive confirms that, alongside now-iconic designs such as the Egg, Swan, and Drop, the architect created numerous pieces of furniture specifically for the different areas of the building.

This piece embodies that pursuit of precision and lightness through an extraordinarily restrained construction: a thin rectangular tabletop rests on two T-shaped metal supports joined by a horizontal crossbar. The visual separation between the tabletop and the structure accentuates the sensation of suspension, while the blue laminate introduces color as an architectural element. This shade is particularly significant within the project: the hotel’s documentation notes the use of a range of grayish blues in the rooms and the use of blue Formica on various pieces of furniture, combined with dark woods such as wenge.

Arne Jacobsen was one of the leading figures in 20th-century Danish architecture and design. His collaboration with Fritz Hansen resulted in designs such as the Ant and Series 7 chairs and, as part of the SAS Royal Hotel project, the famous Egg and Swan chairs. His practice was characterized by the integration of architecture and design down to the finest detail—a principle he also developed in projects such as St. Catherine’s College in Oxford. His work is widely represented in the Architecture and Design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.