100 Years of Svenskt Tenn - Special Jubilee Section at Modern Art + Design
Svenskt Tenn Centenary Section
This year marks 100 years since Estrid Ericson founded her life's work Firma Svenskt Tenn in 1924. At this spring's live auction Modern Art & Design, Bukowskis celebrates 100 years of Svenskt Tenn with a large curated selection of objects from the firm’s early production.
Already at the firm’s 70th anniversary in 1994, Bukowskis paid tribute to Svenskt Tenn with a curated selection. Since then, the interest in Svenskt Tenn's furniture and interior design has since been ever-increasing to an ever-widening clientele. In recent years, Bukowskis has achieved several world records for Svenskt Tenn's furniture at auction. With their timeless design and high quality, many of Svenskt Tenn's objects have today become classics that have a given place in many exclusive interiors both in Sweden and internationally. See selected highlights below.
Josef Frank
Bukowskis proudly presents a magnificent chest of drawers designed by Josef Frank with colored engravings of fauna and flora from Friedrich Justin Bertuchs's "Bilderbuch für Kinder", published 1790-1830, framed in oak. The present chest of drawers, made in the 1940s and probably a specially commissioned one, has been called “Djurskåpet” (The Animal Cabinet) for generations within the current owner family. The various wallpapered chest of drawers Frank designed for Firma Svenskt Tenn, of which the present chest of drawers is one of his foremost, have in many ways come to define his design-historical legacy.
To the chest of drawers
Tyra Lundgren
The ceramist, sculptor, and designer Tyra Lundgren was a close friend of Estrid Ericson since their study days at Tekniska skolan. She was engaged in the aesthetic matters of the shop and contributed constructive feedback. On one occasion, she sent a sketch to Estrid: "I found a drawing that you might be able to use for a bowl..." Tyra Lundgren's suggestion became a magnificent bowl with model number 630, which came to be counted among Svenskt Tenn's luxury items. With its elaborate decoration, it became one of the most expensive pieces in the range.
To the bowl
Uno Åhrén
Uno Åhrén designed several versions of mirrors in ebonized wood and pewter that were shown at the Swedish Exhibition of Industrial Arts & Crafts at Dorland House in London in March-April 1931 and later at the Galerie Moderne in Stockholm in September of that same year. These elegant mirrors are some of the foremost representatives of the elegant functionalistic style that made up Svenskt Tenn's initial furniture collections around the year 1930.
To the mirror
Björn Trägårdh
At Galerie Moderne, Björn Trägårdh's now-iconic floor lamp model "1715" was also exhibited, made of brass with a pewter-clad base and shade in aluminium. Alongside Åhrén, Trägårdh set the tone for Svenskt Tenn's functionalistic interiors of the early 1930s.
To the floor lamp
Josef Frank
Josef Frank designed the first chest of drawers wallpapered with floral panels from Palmstruch's flora as early as 1938. He went on to make several different variants where the furniture was wallpapered with different motifs and materials, including the chest of drawers with model number “1050” which was designed around 1940. The present chest of drawers is probably one of the first of its kind, as it was part of a commissioned interior for an apartment on Stigbergsgatan in Stockholm around 1940.
To the chest of drawers
Anna Petrus
Estrid Ericson understood the importance of tying recognized designers to the firm, and in that way the sculptor Anna Petrus became an early collaborator. The present, early and very rare table lamp was executed in 1927. The pioneer Petrus had the sculptor's eye and touch, which is reflected in the intricate relief decoration of female figures and bunches of grapes.
To the table lamp
Modern Art & Design
Viewing: May 16 – 20, Bukowskis, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm
Open: weekdays 11 am – 6 pm, weekends 11 am – 4 pm
Live auction: May 21– 22, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm
Read more about Modern Art & Design and see the full catalogue
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