Highly prolific and practical in his approach, the Danish designer Børge Mogensen (1914-1972) began his career as an apprentice cabinetmaker. It was during his studies at the Academy of Arts in Copenhagen that Mogensen met and began to collaborate with the architect Kaare Klint (1888-1954), who was to become an important mentor. Informed by Klint’s scientific design philosophy, Mogensen rejected extraneous decoration in his furniture designs, instead championing proportional harmony, ideal dimensions, clarity, and functionality.

In 1950 Mogensen collaborated with the cabinetmaker Ludvig Pontoppidan to create a set of furniture, which was then exhibited at the 'Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild’, held at the Kunstindustrimuseet in Copenhagen. The furniture on display included the present model; a rare dining table comprised of a four-legged base arranged in a cross with a long elliptical tabletop. The piece has a sculptural strength resulting from the exactitude of its workmanship, as well as the coherence of its form. The table was originally accompanied by a set of chairs, which were also executed by Pontoppidan to echo the table in their design, consisting of backrests and seats with curved edges and more angular legs. Both the present table and chairs were executed in teak and ash, which was expertly crafted and minimally treated to reveal a clear respect for the truth of the material. Writing for the Nationaltidende at the time of its exhibition, Poul P. praises the understated innovation of the design; “he has made a conference or dining room according to completely new principles. The beautiful wood has been sanded and oiled, nothing else.”

A period picture of the present model dining table and the set of armchairs (Lot 109).
Image:
- 來源
  丹麥哥本哈根Klassik收藏
  現藏者約1991年購自上述來源
- 文學
  Grete Jalk, ed., Dansk Møbelkunst Gennem 40 Aar, Volume 3: 1947-1956, Copenhagen, 1987, p. 153
- Catalogue Essay
  The present model table was exhibited at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers' Guild Exhibition, Kunstindustrimuseet, 1950, stand 14.