a special commissioned dining table, "Birka", Nordiska Kompaniet, Sweden 1930s.
Top venered in stained ash, feet in stained maple or birch, maker's metal plaque NK R 38854B C 32133, height 74 cm, width 98 cm, length 176 cm, three extra leaves included à 60 cm, total length 356 cm.
Wear and minor damages.
Picture from The Nordiska Kompaniet catalogue 1935.
The model Birka was presented by Nordiska Kompaniet in 1935. The example is a special commission by a customer with a slightly wider table top and possibly som different materials.
Axel Einar Hjorth is considered one of Sweden's most significant furniture designers during the 1920s and 30s. Hjorth's early employers included Svenska Möbelfabrikerna in Bodafors and the Stockholm Crafts Association. The big breakthrough came as chief architect for Nordiska Kompaniet, a position he took up in 1927 and held until 1938. Hjorth's first major assignment was the Nordiska Kompaniet's lavish stand at the World Exhibition in Barcelona in 1929, to then participate in several major international exhibitions during the following decade. In 1929, Hjorth also breaks new ground and designs the first series of rustic furniture in stained pine, the so-called sports cabin furniture that was named "Lovö", "Utö" and "Sandhamn" after the islands in the Stockholm archipelago.
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