an "Utö" stained pine sofa, Nordiska Kompaniet 1930s.
Original cushion, underneath marked with pencil: "10120 Underlim 120 x 39, Soffbänk 36268". Length 132 cm (138 cm including backrest), depth 43 cm, height 79 cm, seat height 38 cm.
Slight wear.
According to information, originally commissioned along with other pine furniture from Nordiska Kompaniet for a summer house in Åkersberga, a few years later, around 1938-39, given as a gift to a childhood friend, thence by descent within the family.
The drawing for the sofa with number 36268 is dated January 7, 1932.
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.
Read more