pp66 was designed in 1945 and became the quintessential modern outcome of Wegner’s studies of traditional Chinese chairs from the Ming Dynasty.
The pp66 Chinese Chair became a cornerstone for Wegner, and the scarce, but still robust and functional geometry constituted the foundations for many later designs.
A single piece of steamed solid wood is compressed along its length using an advanced technical process and is immediately rounded before it is bent in three dimensions.
Bending a round piece of wood would appear to be simple, but because of the complexity of the bend, it requires advanced tools, specialised knowledge and experience to control the operation.
Wegner presented his first chair inspired by ancient Chinese culture at the Cabinet Makers’ Guild’s Autumn Exhibition in 1943. He had been inspired by an old Chinese chair from the time of the Ming Dynasty that he had studied in a book.
Having completed at least seven individual prototypes of Chinese inspired chairs, Wegner worked intensely on modernising the traditional concept.
The pp66 Chinese Chair has always been co-founder Ejnar Pedersen’s favourite chair, and in 1976 it became the first of the early Wegner chairs to be reissued at PP Møbler.
