Name: Rare 'PH' grand piano
Brand: Phillips

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Rare 'PH' grand piano

Designer Poul Henningsen

Manufacturer/Maker/Editor Andreas Christensen

Origin Denmark

Year 1931

Design Museum Section Danish Design Icons

Categories Music instruments

Designheroes ID 52169

Auction House Phillips

Headquarter New York, United States

Condition pre-owned/vintage

Sale name Nordic Design

Sale Location New York, United States

Rare 'PH' grand piano

Painted wood, wood, acrylic, chromium-plated steel, lacquered steel, Niger leather.
1931
173 x 144.5 x 149 cm (68 1/8 x 56 7/8 x 58 5/8 in.) open
95 x 144.5 x 149 cm (37 3/8 x 56 7/8 x 58 5/8 in.) closed
Produced by Andreas Christensen, Denmark. Fallboard with two decals ANDREAS CHRISTENSEN, PALLE GRØN/KØBENHAVN, metal frame cast with ANDREAS CHRISTENSEN/DANMARK and soundboard impressed with serial number 4596.

Catalog essay Known for his great contribution in lighting, Poul Henningsen designed the ‘PH’ Grand Piano in 1931, now considered one of the most iconic Danish designs of the twentieth century. Presented at the ‘Your Home’ exhibition at the Forum, Copenhagen, the project was commissioned by the Danish company Andreas Christensen. The company was interested in offering a different product to the market, a new version of the piano that could be both functional and modern. Influenced by jazz Henningsen’s intention was to elaborate on the traditional model of the piano to reflect the music of the new age. The reduced dimensions of the case and the modelled legs were designed to occupy a small amount of space upon the bandstand, while the transparent panels exposed the internal mechanism to the audience. The polished metal legs, the cellulose panels and the leather banding were innovative design details that contributed in giving the Grand Piano its futuristic appeal.

Despite the strong design and the excellent quality of sound only a few examples of the Grand Piano have been executed and are in private and important museum collections, including the Alvar Aalto Villa Mairea in Noormarkku, Finland, and the Danish Museum of Art and design, Copenhagen.

Literature Tina Jørstian and Poul Erik Munk Nielsen, eds., Light Years Ahead: The Story of the PH Lamp, Copenhagen, 1994, p. 53
Charlotte and Peter Fiell, Scandinavian Design, Cologne, 2002, pp. 244-45
Arne Karlsen, Danish Furniture Design: in the 20th Century, Volume 1, Copenhagen, 2007, p. 81
Inside the Villa Mairea, exh. cat., Alvar Aalto & Mairea Foundation, Helsinki, 2009, pp. 54-55, 239

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