Carl Malmsten, bookcase/sideboard, Swedish Grace, circa 1934.
Veneered with walnut, stylised inlaid decoration of flowers. Shelves, three drawers and three cabinets. Length 150, depth 40.5, height 120 cm.
Marks. Minor damages. Cracks due to dryness of the material. Scratches. Keys missing.
Sparbanken (Swedbank) in Örebro, the bookcase comissioned for the interior circa 1934.
The bank office on Drottninggatan 18 in Örebro was designed by Ivar Tengbom and built in 1934. Carl Malmsten was hired as a designer for the most important high quality furniture pieces, produced by Åtvidaberg while Bodafors was commissioned by the main part of office interior.
The remains of the interior will be auctioned at Modern & Nordic Design, the spring 2017.
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.