Bruno Mathsson
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an elm veneered wall hung bar cabinet, Karl Mathsson, Sweden 1938.
Square, the door with shelves for bottles, the interior with asymmetrically placed shelves, marked with maker's label and with ink BM 1938, KM 38 (designed by Bruno Mathsson 1938 and executed by Karl Mathsson 1938), 70 x 70 cm, depth 23 cm.
Minor wear.
Provenance
A summer house on the Swedish West coast built in the 1930's and where the family were good friends of the Mathsson family
Designer
Bruno Mathsson (1907-1988) is one of Sweden's most prominent furniture designers. Having a father who worked as a master carpenter, Mathsson learned about furniture carpentry at an early age, which he later benefited from in his profession as a designer. The "Grasshopper" chair was the first that Bruno Mathsson designed in 1931 - on behalf of Värnamo hospital. It was made of bent-glued beech with saddle girth upholstery and had an ergonomic shape. However, neither patients nor staff at the infirmary appreciated the chair. Nowadays, the "Grasshopper" is considered a design classic.
A few years later, Mathsson exhibited his furniture at a separate exhibition at the Röhsska Konstslöjdmuseet in Gothenburg, and in 1937 he participated in the Paris World Fair.
Mathsson's furniture is now considered timeless design classics that combine style with comfort. Some of his most famous pieces of furniture are the armchairs "Jetson", which are produced for Dux, "Pernilla 3", and "Karin" and the table "Superellips", designed together with Piet Hein.