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Josef Frank

(Österrike/Sverige, 1885-1967)
Estimate
2 000 000 - 2 500 000 SEK
177 000 - 221 000 EUR
184 000 - 230 000 USD
Hammer price
3 700 000 SEK
Purchasing info
Image rights

The artworks in this database are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the permission of the rights holders. The artworks are reproduced in this database with a license from Bildupphovsrätt.

For condition report contact specialist
Camilla Behrer
Stockholm
Camilla Behrer
Head of Design/ Specialist Modern & Contemporary Decorative Art & Design
+46 (0)708 92 19 77
Josef Frank
(Österrike/Sverige, 1885-1967)

'Apskåpet' (The monkey cabinet), a rare cabinet covered with prints of different monkeys, Svenskt Tenn, Sweden ca 1941.

Model 1140, mahogany, two doors and sides decorated with a total of 40 different hand coloured French prints from Comte de Buffon's classical 'Histoire naturelle' (1749-1804) with motifs of different monkeys, all framed in reserves, interior in oak, three adjustable shelves, height 139.5 cm, width 121.5 cm, depth 44 cm.

There is a cabinet documented in the Svenskt Tenn Archives as "Cabinet with prints - model number 1140. Oak moldings around each print". A note says: "Buffons naturalhistoria, Apskåpet" (The Monkey cabinet). Designed ca 1941. This cabinet is probably executed as a special commission. Key included.

Some minor wear, a little faded, stains.

Provenance

The family of the business manager and financier Axel Wenner-Gren (1881-1961).
The cabinet was acquired by the vendor's parents shortly after they got married (ca 1936). The parents were both very interested in art and culture, the mother worked with silversmithing and the father, who was a lawyer, came to work for UNESCO and the WHO in Congo, Persia and Korea, among other things.

Exhibitions

Firma Svenskt Tenn, 'Josef Frank 100 år', the cabinet was shown at a memorial exhibition after Josef Frank in the showroom at Strandvägen 5 in the autumn 1985.

Designer

Josef Frank was born in Austria and studied architecture in Vienna. As an architect, he worked with private home areas, villas and apartment buildings. In 1925 he started his own interior design firm Haus und Garten together with two architect colleagues. In connection with the advance of the Nazis, he emigrated to Sweden and was employed in 1934 at Svenskt Tenn. After the outbreak of World War II, Josef Frank, who came from a Jewish family, was forced into exile in New York. At Svenskt Tenn, he made an impact on the product range for four decades; especially when it comes to furniture and fabric prints.

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