Two found photos dating back to 1946 sparked a nearly three-year journey to bring a sculptural rocking horse back to life by Fritz Hansen.

What was originally a delightful discovery by company members of Fritz Hansen became a project that took nearly three years to revive one of the Danish brand?s most playful designs: the Rocking Horse.

Back in January 2021, the heritage team that?s responsible for maintaining Fritz Hansen?s 151-year-old history and archives found two small photos in an old furniture catalogue dating back to 1946. One of those showed a whimsical rocking horse with its sculptural shadow cast onto the wall. The other looked like an optical illusion, with multiple horses in the image made possible by the use of a mirror. The photos proved to be a mystery, with no lead on who the toy maker was or where the original edition could be. Original photo from the Fritz Hansen archives
While its origins are blurry ? the team posits that it?s likely an artisan from the workshop created the rocking horse for a child or grandchild ? it was clear to Fritz Hansen that the object was a testament to the ingenuity, heritage, and craftsmanship of the brand, especially given the time. Thus the design team decided to embark on a long journey to bring the Fritz Hansen Rocking Horse back to life.

It?s an understatement to say that creating a piece of furniture from two small photos is hard ? perfecting the proportions, scale, and details were essential to staying tr...