Carl Malmsten
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An oak side table, for Stockholm City Hall, ca 1920-22
Rectangular with three fixed shelves, feet in the form of stylised lion paws. Length 80 cm, width 46.5 cm, height 71 cm.
Minor wear, the top with burn marks.
Provenance
Stockholm City Hall, completed in 1923.
According to reports, the City Hall had some of the older office furniture stored in the Nurnberg property on Högbergsgatan in Stockholm at some point during the 1950s. They remained there until the property was to be renovated in the 1970s. After that, most of it was destroyed, but this table was preserved and came into the possession of the present owner's family. It is said that the table was originally placed in the office of a city councillor.
Literature
The model is illustrated in an undated sketch titled "Litt SD. Telefonbord." in the file "J 16 Carl Malmsten, möbelritningar" in the collections of the City Hall Committee concerning Stockholm City Hall preserved at the Stockholm City Archive (Reference SE/SSA/0343/J 16/NS 195:6661).
Designer
Carl Malmsten is one of Sweden's most famous furniture designers. Many of his furniture are considered modern design classics, for example, the cane chair "Lilla Åland", the armchair "Farmor", the sofa "Samsas", the cabinet "Herrgården", and the furniture series "Vardag".
Both "Lilla Åland" and "Vardag" adopted the ideals of "beautiful everyday goods" of the 1940s. Their neat shape and frugal design quickly became timeless interior details that we still see in many homes today.
At the beginning of his career, Malmsten interned at various carpentry workshops and studied furniture at Nordiska museet and Skansen. He had his breakthrough in 1916 when he was commissioned to design part of the interior of Stockholm's City Hall.
During his career, Malmsten collaborated with several architects, such as Ragnar Östberg, Ivar Tengbom, and Ferdinand Boberg. He designed furniture for Stockholm's concert hall and Ulriksdal castle. He participated in the now iconic hosing exhibition at Liljevalchs gallery in 1917, where the term "Beautiful everyday goods" was coined.