Swedish Modern Coffee Table with Brass Inlays, Sweden, 1940s

Swedish 1940s modernist coffee table constructed from a hexagonal tabletop with upturned edges resting on four hourglass-shaped legs with brass ring decorations. The tabletop is adorned with brass inlays, reinforcing the dramatic appearance of the wooden grain. Skillfully made by an unidentified Swedish cabinetmaker, presumably in the 1940s. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail, it boasts a blend of modernist inspiration and traditional skills, making it a statement piece for any contemporary or classic interior.

Functionalism had its great breakthrough in Scandinavia with the grand Stockholm Exhibition in 1930. International modernism was the inspiration, with industrial serial production and standardization as pronounced goals. As a reaction to this, some architects pushed for quality and traditional craftsmanship as a sharp reaction to the ahistorical approach to design promoted at the exhibition. In the early 1930s, a bitter conflict divided Swedish designers into functionalists and traditionalists. Over the following years, the two emerged into the aesthetic commonly known as Swedish Modern. The strict functional aesthetic got a softer touch, and the long history of craftsmanship lived on. Furniture produced in the Swedish Modern era is characterized by clean and beautiful lines, as well as high quality inspired by traditional crafts and skills.