Denmark's Most Expensive Sofa Sold for DKK 610,000

This year's first design auction in Copenhagen has just concluded with an impressive record for a sofa by Flemming Lassen from 1935, which was sold for DKK 610,000 (€ 106,000 including buyer’s premium). It is the most expensive sofa Bruun Rasmussen has ever sold.

"Flemming Lassen's furniture is extremely sought after on the international design market. The auction's two highest hammer prices were achieved with furniture designed by this architect, as his iconic armchair "The Tired Man" was sold for DKK 590,000 (€ 103,000 including buyer’s premium). We still hold the world record on this model, where a price of DKK 1.42 million (€ 247,000 including buyer’s premium) was achieved in 2014. Flemming Lassen is therefore the Danish architect whose furniture has achieved the highest prices at our auctions," says Peter Kjelgaard, Head of the Department of 20th Century Design and Decorative Art.

The auction’s two Flemming Lassen furniture pieces were both designed in 1935 and are based on the architect’s characteristic focus on craftsmanship and an almost naïve idiom. They were manufactured by the cabinetmakers A.J. Iversen and Jakob Kjær and still have their original upholstery.

In Denmark, the radical ideas of the international movement of Modernism were rarely expressed in their purest form. For the Danish architects it was imperative that the focus on form, function and new materials did not happen at the expense of the human aspect and the fine craftsmanship. Therefore, the first attempts at a Danish interpretation of the international Modernism in the 1930s resulted in a more soft and humane idiom compared to the international counterparts, as is the case with Flemming Lassen's furniture.

Hammer Prices

Flemming Lassen: A very rare three-seater sofa with round nut wood legs. Sides, seat and back upholstered with beige wool, sides and back fitted with bright buttons. This example was made approx. 1935 by cabinetmaker Jacob Kjær. H. 76 cm. L. 195 cm. D. 82 cm. Estimate: DKK 150,000-200,000. Hammer price: DKK 610,000 (€ 106,000 including buyer’s premium).

Flemming Lassen: "The Tired Man". Easy chair upholstered with original cover of yellow wool, back fitted with buttons. Mounted on round legs of lacquered mahogany. Designed in 1935. This example was made approx. 1936-1940 by cabinetmaker A.J. Iversen. Estimate: DKK 400,000-600,000. Hammer price: DKK 590,000 (€ 103,000 including buyer’s premium).