Safari Lounge Chairs in Cognac Leather & Ash by Kaare Klint for Rud. Rasmussen, 1960s, Set of 2

Model · Safari Chair
Designer · Kaare Klint
Manufacturer · Rud. Rasmussen
Origin · Denmark
Period · 1960s
Style · Scandinavian Modern / Mid-Century Modern
Materials · Solid ash, full-grain leather
Colour · Light beige, cognac

Object

The Safari Chair looks as though it could be taken apart, packed into a journey and assembled somewhere entirely different. Because that is essentially where its story begins. Wood is joined without unnecessary complexity, leather is stretched rather than upholstered, and every connection remains visible. The chair explains itself simply by looking at it.

Klint designed it in 1933 after encountering British campaign furniture made for life far from home. He took an object shaped by travel and necessity and refined it through Danish craftsmanship and proportion. The result feels simultaneously primitive and sophisticated. In pale ash and cognac leather, these two examples preserve that beautiful contradiction: furniture reduced to almost nothing, yet capable of creating an entire atmosphere around it.

Designer

Kaare Klint (1888–1954) approached furniture almost as an architect approaches a building. Rather than beginning with style, he began with the human body, proportion and the dimensions of the objects people live with. He studied furniture from earlier centuries not to reproduce it, but to understand why certain forms had survived.

As a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Klint passed this way of thinking to the generation that would eventually make Danish design famous around the world. The Safari Chair captures his philosophy particularly well. Its origins are historical, its construction is almost self-evident, yet the final object feels remarkably modern.

Manufacturer

Rud. Rasmussen was founded in Copenhagen in 1869 and became one of the great cabinetmaking workshops of Danish furniture history. Rather than separating design from making, the workshop belonged to a tradition in which material, joinery and the hand of the cabinetmaker remained fundamental to the final object.

Its collaboration with Kaare Klint produced some of the defining furniture of early Danish modernism. The Safari Chair was particularly suited to this world: deceptively simple in appearance, but dependent on careful proportions, beautiful materials and precise craftsmanship to make that simplicity feel effortless.

Condition

The original solid ash frames have been lightly refinished in a pale beige tone, preserving the natural grain and character of the wood. The leather seating, backrests and supporting elements have been refreshed in full-grain cognac leather, restoring their strength and tactile quality while remaining faithful to the original construction. Both chairs are preserved in excellent vintage condition.

Dimensions

Width · 58 cm / 22.8 in
Depth · 58 cm / 22.8 in
Height · 82 cm / 32.3 in
Seat height · 35 cm / 13.8 in

Included

The lounge chairs are accompanied by a Back to the Furniture Certificate of Originality, a Back to the Furniture flyer, a Thank You card and a small gift.

Availability

The lounge chairs can be ready to ship within 10-15 workdays.

Shipping

Worldwide shipping is available. Every piece is carefully prepared and packed for international transport. Shipping costs are calculated according to destination at checkout, with tracking provided after dispatch.

Enquiries

For questions about the piece, its condition, shipping, delivery or any other details, please get in touch. Additional information is always available before purchase.

© Back to the Furniture