Copenhagen Auction Houses
When visiting Copenhagen, whether on a regular basis or for the first time, you will soon discover that Denmark’s capital is overflowing with wonderful, timeless designs. Modern Danish design can be found just about anywhere in central Copenhagen. But for antiques and furniture, one of the best ways to locate authentic gems is through one of Denmark’s world-renowned auction houses.
Furniture, especially chairs, designed between 1949 and 1965 (a period often referred to as "Modern Scandinavian”), have become much sought after in the new Millennium. Most of the hype focuses around classical pieces like ‘The Egg,’ ‘The Swan’ and ‘The Y-Chair,’ designed by legendary Danish architects and designers such as Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner, Kaare Klint, Verner Panton and Poul Kjærholm.
In the field of modern furniture makers, the list of influential Danes is impressive. After the Second World War Danish designers delivered a unique modern expression with a futuristic and ever lasting edge. But what really set them apart from the rest of the world at the time were the materials they worked with. They used teak and beech wood whereas other countries were more focused on working with new materials such as steel, plastic and glass. In fact, Denmark was actually the biggest importer of teak wood in the world at that time! The result was the production of warm and simplistic pieces of furniture.
If you are thinking about buying a piece of classic modern furniture and want to know how to make a good long term investment, established auction houses with international appeal are the best places to begin. Forget about unearthing a hidden gem at a local flea market or garage sale. Danes generally know the value of furniture made during the Modern Scandinavian movement and these pieces are primarily sold through specialized licensed dealers.
Bruun Rasmussen Kunstauktioner A/S is one of the oldest and renowned auction houses in Denmark. It was established in 1948 in Copenhagen and is among the 10 largest in the world. Since then, Bruuns has expanded throughout Denmark and has branches in Sweden, France, Spain and the U.S. The Director of sales and Consignment at Bruuns, Peter Christmas Møller, explains the appeal, “Danish classic furniture is in a league of its own. The demand is worldwide from Australia to the U.S. and the market is still booming. Being online means a trend takes no time to circulate across the globe.”
Mr. Møller believes that Poul Kjærholm’s designer chairs will get even more attention in the future and concludes, “Poul Kjærholms designs can seem even more modern today because he worked a great deal with steel in a combination with leather. Always look for timeless design when purchasing a piece of furniture. You can never go wrong choosing a prototype chair with sculptural appeal.”
Lauritz Christensen Auktioner is another Danish auction house with a long history dating back to 1885. The head office is in Herlev, a suburb of Copenhagen. In 1999, the company went online and changed its name to Lauritz.com, which was considered a clever move at the time. Today the company’s annual profit has gone up to an estimated 67 million EUR. Every day the auction house gets about 1,400 new pieces delivered and its website gets an average of 400,000 hits a week!
The company also has 17 auction houses in four countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany. You can drop in on a daily basis with articles for sale and get an instant valuation, or you can just browse through items on offer. Usually an online auction lasts for seven days and buying is both comfortable and safe, you can always return your items.
One of their branch managers located in Esbjerg, Denmark, Rikke Skouboe, puts it this way, “It is essential when buying classical pieces of furniture with investment in mind to obviously look for design no longer in production. Personally, I always recommend purchasing items that speak to you. Simply buy with your heart! In the future I think the market will see a greater demand for lesser known Danish furniture creators such as Tove and Edvard Kindt-Larsen, Grethe Jalk and Arne Vodder.”
Whatever your personal tastes are, Scandinavian Modern is unlikely to ever go out of style. Design is an expression of history, the country’s spirit or society’s identity if you like. Danes have inherited respect for the natural and organic, combined with functionality when designing furniture. The products speak for themselves, looking as contemporary, innovative and modern as they did back in the middle of the 20th century. Get online and get ready to explore the wonders of Scandinavian Modern!
November 2007