6 Drawer Teak Highboy Chest by Aasbjerg & Ortoft

A gorgeous teak 6 drawer highboy chest by Aasbjerg & Ortoft, offered by Snowdrift Antiques.
 
Johannes Aasbjerg Andersen (1921-2006) was born in Struer, Denmark. In 1941, he received his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker. By the end of the decade, he and his brother Harry Ørtoft Andersen opened a carpentry workshop called Aasbjerg & Ørtoft. In 1961, with Johannes working as the designer, they founded a new furniture company called “Excellent Furniture Company” and opened their first store in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their creativity was obviously focused on furniture and not company naming.  Their pieces were handmade and featured teak creations for all rooms of the house. Soon a second store was opened in Wiesbaden, West Germany. They had great success for years selling their beautifully done pieces with typically clean Danish lines. Their pieces were especially appreciated by American pilots stationed at the US Army base in Wiesbaden.  Eventually, like many small Danish cabinetmaking workshops of that period, operations naturally wound down or dissolved quietly as the mid-century modern era shifted in the 1970s, leaving no specific public record of a final closing day.
 
Today these pieces are extremely difficult to find in the United States as most of the company’s sales were in Europe. This piece, and the other Aasbjerg & Ørtoft pieces we have in this shop, were made in Denmark and originally purchased in Wiesbaden by an American pilot in 1963, then eventually shipped back to the States.
 
According to page 18 of the Excellent Furniture Company catalog, this 6 drawer chest is model EX/244. It states that the piece measures 29 ½” by 19 ¾ by 47 H, which is exactly what it measures in person. The chest sits on a beautifully done one piece frame with tapered legs. The back is a secondary back panel, providing a nice looking, stained wood back panel that will probably, rarely be seen. Interestingly enough, the company did not mark their furniture, only some of their dining and serving pieces; so, these pieces bear no maker’s marks.
 
This piece is in excellent vintage condition. The top surface has been very lightly sanded and the entire piece oiled to relieve it from decades of Colorado dryness. The reinvigorated teak glows with new life.
 
This chest, as well as our other Excellent Furniture Company pieces, are hard to find Danish creations with classic mid-century lines. They have been re-vitalized and are looking for their new home.
 
We have two of these six drawer chests in the shop right now and a matching four drawer.
 
It can be admired and purchased at ..
 
The Antique Exchange
1500 South Broadway
Denver, CO
 
Questions about or to purchase, contact me at... snowdriftantiques@gmail.com
 
Shipping is available. Local delivery and local pick up are available in Denver, CO.