Tansu 箪笥

TANSU 箪笥 - Bench

This unique piece is created for the entrance hall and has an additional mirror in the same style hanging over the cabinet. The bench combines a sitting surface with a storage facility. The cabinet is inspired from the old Tansu chests from Japan and from the Danish furniture tradition carried by Professor Mr. Kaare Klint.

The materials for the project was upcycled woods from old un-restorable furniture. Wood that is very precious and cannot be found commercially because of deforestation.

The bench was presented at the Cabinetmakers Autumn Exhibition in 2013 at Design Museum Denmark.

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The Tansu tradition

The Japanese Tansu carpenter tradition is over 300 years old. The Ko-dansu was used to store valuables in traditional Japanese society. Tansu drawer furniture is often decorated with large ornamented metal fittings, but the type of Tansu drawer drawers from Kyoto has no other metal fittings than the drawer handles, which have a characteristic curved shape. These drawers have some very delicate carpentry work that in many ways has similarities with the Danish carpentry tradition.

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Up-cycled wood

The wood Fenhann used in this project was all reused from old worn out furniture. This is very precious wood and cannot be found commercially because of deforestation. From two old table tops Fenhann got enough Cuban Mahogany to build the cabinet and drawers. The legs were made of Brazilian Rosewood from an old sofa table.

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Nigerian Goatskin

The upholstery is made with "Niger" skin which was commonly used by Professor Kaare Klint. The Sokoto Red Goat has been described as 'The most famous African goat that no-one has heard of'. This is because the Sokoto Red Goat is the source of the famous fine 'Morocco Leather' that has been known in Europe from the 1300s onwards. However, it was sold to Europeans by Moroccan merchants who transported the fine leather across the Sahara from Mali in their slave caravans. It was only in the 19th century that Europeans discovered the true source of Moroccan leather, the Sokoto Red Goat.

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