Carl-Gustav Hiort Af Ornäs Wingback Armchair in Teal Velvet, Finland, 1952

This rare armchair was designed by Carl-Gustav Hiort Af Ornäs and produced by his own company Hiort Tuote Puunveisto in 1952. This model was called Siesta and is the Finnish designer's most celebrated design. With its outward pointing curved legs, this sumptuous wingback chair offers a striking silhouette from all angles. During his career, Carl Gustaf Hiort af Ornäs developed innovative techniques to bend veneer in three dimensions, which gives the design its beautifully rounded backrest. The example on offer here is one of the earliest productions and was stamped accordingly by the manufacturer. It has been reupholstered in a teal velvet fabric. The neck/head cushion is attached to the upper back rest but can be removed permanently if desired.

Biography: Carl Gustav Hiort af Ornäs (1911-1996) was a Finnish-Swedish interior designer with his own furniture manufacturing shop on Lauttasaari in Helsinki from 1945. His designs were sold by Nupponen in Finland and Gösta Westerberg Möbel AB in Sweden. Due to the quality and thus rather steep production costs of his pieces, the outturn was modest.