Svenskt Tenn: Another Context by Jackson Design

SVENSKT TENN : ANOTHER CONTEXT

‘Svenskt Tenn: Another Context’, designed by architects Christian and Ruxandra Halleroed, presented at Jackson Design, is building upon the already dreamlike vision of Svenskt Tenn founder Estrid Ericson and her closest colleagues into an environment bordering on the sublime.

Started in 1924, Svenskt Tenn was a vision realized through time and travel. A very cosmopolitan and modern woman, Estrid made many sojourns to France, England, Italy, Mexico and the US, bringing back to Sweden a wealth of treasures discovered while abroad. Influences from further afield including the Far East and South America were also drawn on and inspired the many Swedish architects and designers she so closely collaborated with. Although a retail boutique on paper, Svenskt Tenn is at its heart a theatre.

‘If I were a theatre director, I would retain Estrid Ericson and Josef Frank immediately.’ - Art critic Gotthard Johansson, Spring Exhibition at Svenskt Tenn, 1937

In much the same way, Halleroed creates spaces that are akin to surrealistic stage sets. ‘We wanted to show the works in a very contemporary and conceptual space, the opposite of where you usually find Svenskt Tenn furniture. We contrasted the objects with very strong textures and colors, with the goal being to find a balance between the pieces and the backdrop in order to find a new way of perceiving the brand and what it represents.’

The sets and scenery of Svenskt Tenn evolved over time. Participating in Stockholm Exhibition in 1930, Svenskt Tenn began with sharp rectilinear lacquered furniture created by Uno Åhrén and Björn Trägårdh, whose designs will be on view in one of the three rooms of the exhibition. ‘Our own personal favorite are the glossy black objects by Björn Trägårdh and Uno Åhrén that are so extremely modern and elegant, in our eyes equal as both sculpture and furniture,’ says Halleroed.

Two years later, colour exploded in Svenskt Tenn with the arrival of Josef Frank. The unique relationship between Estrid and Josef was a true symbiosis of their respective visions. Frank brought a freshness and colourful approach to Svenskt Tenn with his prismatic textiles and furniture adorned with prints of flora and fauna. The exhibition will present a second room filled with examples of unique graphically patterned cabinets. Svenskt Tenn began with pewter and it remains at the heart of the brand today. A dedicated third room will feature an extensive selection of pewter from the 1920s onwards by designers including Estrid Ericson, Anna Petrus, Nils Fougstedt, Alef Thorwald and others.

Pair of Candle Sticks

Josef Frank Svenskt Tenn 1950s Pewter.

Impressed with date and makers marks.

Sixteen examples available.

Highback Armchair

Uno Åhrén Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Recently upholstered in Mohair textile by Jacksons Design, stained wooden feet.

Chest of Drawers

Uno Åhrén

Svenskt Tenn

1930s

Black lacquered birch, three drawers, pewter and brass handles.

Model exhibited Svenska Konstindustriutställningen, Dorland House, London 17 March - 22 April, 1931.

Rare Sidetable, model no. 128

Björn Trägårdh

Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Black lacquered birch, pewter.

Other examples available, with slightly different dimensions.

Lidded Vessel

Björn Trägårdh

Svenskt Tenn

1929

Engraved pewter, finley detailed sailboat on a globe. Impressed with date ‘C8’ (1929) and makers marks.

Folding pewter frame, brass. Impressed with date ‘C8’ (1929) and makers marks.

Folding ‘Triptych’ Mirror Svenskt Tenn 1929

Image: Henrik Lundell

Nest of Three Tables

Uno Åhrén Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Lacquered wood, pewter tops.

Vessel with Lid

Björn Trägårdh

Svenskt Tenn 1932

Polished pewter, bronze. Impressed with date ‘F8’ (1932) and makers marks.

Swiveling Bar Cabinet

Uno Åhrén

Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Lacquered birch, metal, sliding glass panels. Metal manufacture’s plaque to the inside.

‘Peruvian’ Urn

Estrid Ericson

Svenskt Tenn 1960

Pewter with decoration inspired by art from Peru. Impressed with date ‘K9’ (1960) and makers marks.

History:

The Peruvian floor vase was inspired on an earthenware vessel from the late Chimú period (1150-1460) which is kept in the collection of the Ethnographic Museum, Stockholm (Inv. no. 1887.08.7221). The Peruvian floor vase was included in Estrid Ericson’s very first collection in 1924.

Literature:

Hedqvist, Hedvig, Jacobson, Rikard, ‘Modern Svenskt Tenn’, Stockholm, 2004, pp.26-27.

Cocktail Shaker

Björn Trägårdh Svenskt Tenn 1948 Pewter. Impressed with date ‘X8’ (1948) and makers marks.

Pewter, lacquered wood, mirrored glass.

Table impressed with date ‘H8’ (1934) and makers marks.

Low Table & Mirror

Uno Åhrén

Svenskt Tenn 1934

Letter Knife

Björn Trägårdh

Svenskt Tenn 1984

Pewter. Impressed with date ‘K10’ (1984) and makers marks.

Lacquered wood, recently upholstered in Mohair textile by Jackson Design.

Easy Chair

Björn Trägårdh Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Pair of Nesting Tables, model no. 423

Painted birch, engraved pewter with subjects from Noah’s Ark.

Björn Trägårdh, Nils Fougstedt Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Angel Candle Stick

Nils Fougsedt Svenskt Tenn 1920s Pewter. Impressed with date marks and makers marks. Eight examples available.

Armchair, model no. 226, likely unique

Björn Trägårdh Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Lacquered wood, recently upholstered in cotton linen textile by Jackson Design.

Provenance: Alva & Gunnar Myrdal. Thence by descent

Literature: Björkman, Stig, ‘Svenska Hem i Ord och Bilder’, 1938, Spectator (Stockholm), p. 231-236, p. 232-233.

Ceiling Lamp

Anna Petrus

Svenskt Tenn

1920s

Pewter, brass details, frosted glass shade.

Vessel with Cover Nils Fougstedt Svenskt Tenn 1934

Pewter, brass, motif of Noah’s Ark in relief. Impressed with date ‘H8’ (1934) and makers marks.

Mirror

Thorwald Alef Svenskt Tenn 1929

Pewter, mirrored glass. Impressed with date ‘C8’ (1929) and makers marks.

Pewter Jar with Lion-Shaped Lid

Anna Petrus Svenskt Tenn 1929

Pewter, brass details. Impressed with date ‘C8’ (1929) and makers marks.

Pewter with internal removable strainer. Impressed with date ‘F8’ (1932) and makers marks.

Cocktail Shaker

Svenskt Tenn

1932

Cocktail Shaker

Svenskt Tenn 1932

Pewter with internal removable strainer. Impressed with date ‘F8’ (1932) and makers marks.

Box with Cover Nils Fougstedt Svenskt Tenn 1931

Pewter, ebonised wood. Impressed with date ‘E8’ (1931) and makers marks.

Vessel with Cover Björn Trägårdh

Svenskt Tenn 1930

Pewter, ebonised wood. Impressed with date ‘D8’ (1930) and makers marks.

Vase

Svenskt Tenn

Pewter, brass, etched inscriptions of a poem by Verner von Heidenstam, poem describing a trophy made out of pewter. Special commissioned piece for Ivar Strömberg, name and date inscribed. Impressed with date X8 (1948) and makers marks.

Tazza

Björn Trägårdh

Svenskt Tenn 1930

Pewter, brass. Impressed with date D8 (1930) and makers marks.

This example exhibited at the Stockholm Exhibition, 1930.

Set of Five Dining Chairs

Josef Frank

Svenskt Tenn

1950s

Mahogany,

rattan, leather, brass nails.

Tea Set Svenskt Tenn 1934

Pewter, ebonised wood, engraved decoration, ‘Hem’. Impressed with date H8 (1934) and makers marks.

Flower Holder

Svenskt Tenn 1929

Pewter, brass, engraved decoration

Impressed with date C8 (1929) and makers marks.

Vessel with Lid

Estrid Ericson Svenskt Tenn 1976

Pewter, glass with air bubble inclusions. Impressed with date ‘B10’ (1976) and makers marks.

Pair of Nesting Tables (p.42-43)

Nils Fougstedt, Björn Trågårdh Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Painted birch, engraved pewter. Engraved with decorations of subjects from Noah’s Ark.

with date C8 (1929) and makers marks.

Vase

Nils Fougstedt

Svenskt Tenn

1929

Pewter, brass. Impressed

Lidvard

Svenskt Tenn 1930 Pewter. Impressed with date ‘D8’ (1930) and makers marks.

Candelabra, model no. 1545

Hallset

Estrid Ericson

Svenskt Tenn 1930

Pewter, jade, brass, decoration in relief. Impressed with date ‘D8’ (1930) and makers marks.

Box

Tureen Nils Fougstedt

Svenskt Tenn

1929

Pewter, brass details, applied details of animals and figurine. Impressed with date ‘C8’ (1929) and makers marks.

Nils

Pewter. Impressed with date ‘D8’ (1930) and makers marks. Three available.

Candelabra

Fougstedt Svenskt Tenn 1930

Jar with Lid

Björn Trägårdh

Svenskt Tenn 1930

Pewter, glass.

Impressed with date ‘D8’ (1930) and makers marks.

Model exhibited Svenska Konstindustriutställningen, Dorland House, London 17 March - 22 April, 1931.

Cigarette Box

Svenskt Tenn

1940s

Mahogany, covered in map of Paris, ‘Plan de Paris à vol d’oiseau’ by Georges Peltier.

Provenance:

Marianna Backlund, close friend of Estrid Ericson, founder of Svenskt Tenn (same as ‘Paris’ cabinet p.94), Thence by descent.

‘Paris’ Cabinet

Josef Frank

Svenskt Tenn 1940s

Oak, wallpapered panels, leather plaque.

Decorated with a map of Paris ‘Plan de Paris à vol d’oiseau’ by Georges Peltier.

Provenance:

Marianna Backlund, close friend of Estrid Ericson, founder of Svenskt Tenn Thence by descent.

Already in Vienna in the early 1930s when working with Oscar Wlach and their company Haus & Garten Josef Frank began to cover cabinets with different kind of materials. At the time he made use of different textiles. After he moved to Sweden, Frank designed the first cabinet covered with prints in 1938, it was the so called ‘Flora cabinet’. After that he designed several versions of covered cabinets, sometimes with different kind of fabrics, sometimes with leather but also the more rare ones covered with maps or plans. In the catalogue from The Swedish National museum of 1952 ”Josef Frank 20 år i Svenskt Tenn” there is a similar cabinet no. 2132 which is covered with a map of London. The present cabinet composed with partitions is an early one and a really rare model.

About the map:

The French cartographer Georges Peltier made this very detailed plan over how Paris was for the year 1920. It took Georges Peltier more than 20 years to make this remarkable map of Paris. It took 30.000 man-hours of research and sketching. Every single Paris street is seen on the map, even the tiniest ones. People that are familiar with Paris will recognize famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Bastille and all train stations. Nine editions of the map were published between 1920 and 1985.

‘Monkey’ Cabinet, model no. 1140, likely unique Josef Frank Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Mahogany veneer, wallpapered panels, oak.

Decorated with illustration’s from the book ‘Histoire Naturelle’ by Comte de Buffon.

Provenance:

Home of the family of the businessman and financier Axel Wenner-Gren. The parents acquired the cabinet from Svenskt Tenn in c. 1941, shortly after their marriage, Thence by descent.

Documents in the Svenskt Tenn Archive show: ‘Cabinet with copper plate - model no. 1140. Oak strips around each copper plate.’ ‘Buffon’s natural history, the ‘Apskåpet (Monkey Cabinet)’. Most likely a special commissioned piece.

Cabinet, model no. 522, likely unique

Josef Frank

Svenskt Tenn 1930s

Mahogany, free-hand painted cotton chintz, brass. Clients name ‘Pfannenstill’ in pencil to the reverse.

Provenance:

Bo and Kerstin Pfannenstill Thence by descent.

Bo Pfannenstill’s aunt was Josef Frank’s wife Anna Frank.The cabinet was acquired during the second half of the 1930s when Bo and Kerstin Pfannenstill moved into a functional apartment in Kolgahuset by the harbor in Malmö, southern Sweden.

The design of this cabinet with its simpler framework compared to that of the regular Svenskt Tenn version is the same as those designed by Josef Frank for Haus & Garten. Examples of the model with cotton chintz, let alone with a free-hand painted polychrome pattern, are extremely rare. The Svenskt Tenn archives do not have this pattern listed in their archives and was very likely a special commission requested by the client. A similar example is held in the permanent collection of the Hofmobiliendepot - Möbel Museum, Vienna, Austria under accession nunmber M-WV122. The aforementioned example also retains its original cotton chintz, but the outline was pre printed and then polychromed. The finger plates are square with rounded corners and was produced by Haus & Garten in 1932.

Literature: Ott-Wodni, Marlene, ‘Josef frank 1885-1967, Raumgestaltung und Möbeldesign’, Vienna, 2015, p.160, 262, cat no.122.

‘Flora’ Cabinet, model no. 852

Josef Frank Svenskt Tenn 1960s

Mahogany veneer, wallpapered panels, birch. Decorated with illustration’s from the book ‘Nordens Flora” by C. A. M. Lindman’.

Provenance:

Secretary of Stockholm City Hall’s finance department Gösta Söderberg (1918-1993) & Elsa Söderberg (1920-2003), acquired in the 1960s for their apartment on Engelbreksgatan in Stockholm. Thence by descent.

Literature:

Nyman, Thure, ‘Nutida Svensk Konst och Brukskonst’, Vete Förlag (Sweden) 1943, p. 133.

‘Flora’ Chest of Drawers, model no. 1050

Josef Frank Svenskt Tenn 1972

Mahogany veneer, wallpapered panels, birch. Decorated with illustration’s from the book ‘Nordens Flora” by C. A. M. Lindman’.

Provenance: Director Hjalmar Olson (1902-1990), CEO Gustavsbergs porslinsfabrik, 1937-1969 and vice chairman Firma Svenskt Tenn, 1975-1977. Acquired from Svenskt Tenn in 1972. Thence by descent

Literature:

Wängberg-Eriksson, Kristina, Christer Eriksson, Jan, ‘Josef Frank Möbelformgivaren’, Carlsson (Sweden) 2014, p.65. Du Rietz, Anita, ‘Skönhet till vardags: Estrid Ericson och Svenskt Tenn’, Lorensvik (Sweden) 2018, p.262.

‘Bird’ Cabinet, variant model no. 1140, likely unique Josef Frank Svenskt Tenn 1940s

Mahogany veneer, wallpapered panels, birch. Decorated with lithographs of birds from Magnus Körner - ‘Skandinaviska foglar innehåller 62 handkolorerade litografier 1839-1846’.

‘Animal’ Cabinet, model no. 1140, likely unique Josef Frank Svenskt Tenn 1940s

Oak, birch interior, wallpapered panels. Decorated with flora and fauna, from Friedrich Justin Bertuch’s ‘Bilderbuch für Kinder’, published in 1790-1830.

Provenance:

Sven Nygren, Thence by descent.

Sven Nygren (1903-1990) was a director, editor and head of film, in Stockholm. Sven Nygren founded Film AB Lux, where he served as CEO from 1941-1945 and later continued his career as CEO for Fox Film AB from 1946-63. As the director of Fox Film, Nygren successfully invited many American movie stars to travel to Stockholm for film premieres, and several of them became his friends;

Cabinet model no. 1140 was designed by Josef Frank in circa 1941. It is very likely that the ‘Animal’ cabinet was a custom order. Like the ‘Monkey’ cabinet, the same model but covered with engravings of monkeys from Comte de Buffon’s classic work ‘Histoire Naturelle’.

About Halleroed:

Christian was trained as a cabinet-maker at the renowned Swedish school Carl Malmsten. Ruxandra studied architecture at the Royal Academt of Architecture in Stockholm. Christian and Ruxandra Halleroed founded their studio in Stockholm in 1998. Carving themselves a name in the retail industry for Acne Studios, Alaïa and Toteme - among many others, their sensibility for materials and the importance of craftmanship are significant in their practice.

About Jacksons Design:

Jackson Design, founded in 1981 and based in Stockholm, specializes in Scandinavian and international historical design. Jackson’s has been collecting an ever-changing selection of works by Svenskt Tenn for over forty years, including the monumental screen and table designed in 1927 by Björn Trägårdh for Mrs Isabelle Clow in Lake Forest Illinois. The screen and table are now in the permanent collection of the National Museum, Stockholm.

Jacksons Design Gallery

Sibyllegatan 53 114 43, Stockholm, Sweden

Showroom

Frihamnsgatan 50, Magasin 6 115 56, Stockholm, Sweden www.jacksons.se