Axel Einar Hjorth, a "Bellman" desk, Nordiska Kompaniet, 1920's.
Elm and birch, partly dark stained. Rectangular form, on columnar connected legs. Carved capitals. Three drawers in the apron. Width 115, depth 62, height 75 cm.
Wear, marks and retouches. Some veneer damages. Nail holes from a previous metal label underneath.
The model is illustrated in an interior in the magazine Boet 1932 and illustrated on a sketch in NK's archive at the Nordic Museum, Stockholm.
The model with drawing number 33128 was designed in 1928.
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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