Danish Luxury

Design Design objects Kay Bojesen

Monkey

Kay Bojesen's jointed wooden monkey of 1951, in teak and limba, made today by Rosendahl.

Designed by
Kay Bojesen
First made
1951

Visit rosendahl.com

Three Monkeys hanging from a stack of planks
Three Monkeys hanging from a stack of planks
A Monkey mini in teak and limba, seated
A Monkey mini in teak and limba, seated

Pictures © Kay Bojesen, from rosendahl.com.

Why it is renowned

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds a Monkey in teak and limba, made by Rosendahl in 1995 and acquired in 1996; its record calls the design of 1951 a classic piece of Danish design.1 Rosendahl makes it today in three sizes, mini, small and large.2

The story

Kay Bojesen designed the Monkey in 1951 as a coat rack for a children's furniture exhibition: the long arms bring the hook down to a child's height, and the short legs leave room for a hat and scarf.3 Its lines were meant to smile, as Bojesen held all good design should.3 It is made of plantation teak and limba wood imported from Africa; the teak mellows to a warm golden brown with light and air.31 Each Monkey is still made by hand at a Danish wood-turning mill, as it was in 1951, and stamped KAY BOJESEN DENMARK under a foot.31

  • BIRD, Kristian Vedel's wooden birds of 1959, by Architectmade
  • Duck & Duckling, Hans Bølling's wooden ducks, by Architectmade
  • Elephant, Kay Bojesen's wooden elephant of 1953
Sources
  1. Monkey, Victoria and Albert Museum. api.vam.ac.uk, read 29 September 2026.
  2. Kay Bojesen Monkeys, Rosendahl. rosendahl.com, read 29 September 2026.
  3. How the Kay Bojesen Monkey is produced, Rosendahl. rosendahl.com, read 29 September 2026.

Last checked 5 October 2026, against the maker's own pages.