“Wärmdö” table in pine by A.E. Hjorth with tiles by A.L. Thomson
Wärmdö side or coffee table by Axel Einar Hjorth (1888-1959) for Nordiska Kompaniet, featuring a tile top hand-painted by Ana-Lisa Thomson, depicting a cheerful Amazon fishing with a spear, the table itself having a square top with chamfered sides and rounded corners on four legs, with a shelf positioned one third of height below top, in solid pine, Sweden, 1937
22 in. (56 cm) H x 19.5 in. (50 cm) Sq.
Hjorth’s iconic pine furniture designs from the 1930s, with their distinctive combination of vernacular Swedish furniture types with the designer’s lyrical take on Modern/ Functionalist designed are today the most coveted examples of his work. Conceived as furniture for upscale vacation homes, the pine collections were named after islands near Stockholm where Swedes might have summer homes, such as Utö and Lovö. Wärmdö is an island just east of Stockholm in the archipelago.
Ceramics designer Ana-Lisa Thomson (1905-1952), is best known for her work with Upsala-Ekeby AB in the 1930s, where, with Sven Erik Skawonius and Vicke Lindstrand, she revolutionized production by adopting a clever and modern style. The hand-painted tiles on this table are inscribed “St. Erik,” another pottery, also in Upsala, where she initially trainer and launched her career.
BACK