Early Plywood Dining Suite
by Alvar Aalto
£48,000
Designed by Alvar Aalto in 1929 for Finmar.
Four Model 21 cantilever chairs and a Model 91 circular table all in laminated Satin Birch.
Made in Finland, 1930
Provenance: From the personal collection of F. E McWilliam, and thence by descent to the current owner. By family repute this dining suite was purchased by F. E McWilliam in the 1930s from Heals, and has remained in the family since.
Product Description
Designed by Alvar Aalto in 1929 for Finmar
Made in Finland, 1930
Four Model 21 cantilever chairs and a Model 91 circular table all in laminated Satin Birch
Chairs: H 83.5cm x W 48cm x D 55cm Table: H 72cm x Dia. 127cm
Provenance:
From the personal collection of F. E McWilliam, and thence by descent to the current owner. By family repute this dining suite was purchased by F. E McWilliam in the 1930s from Heals, and has remained in the family since.
Literature:
Artek Catalogue, 1939, republished by the Alvar Aalto Museum, 2003
'A Dining Room' by Bowman Bros., London, Decorative Art', The Studio Year Book, 1938
Alvar Aalto's avant-garde approach to plywood in the 1930s revolutionised furniture design by transforming the industrial material into a warm, ergonomic and fluid medium. Eschewing the cold, rigid metal tubing favoured by many contemporaries, Aalto explored and perfected wood-bending techniques that lent an organic, human-centred feel to modernism.
One of Aalto's key innovations was a technique known as the "bent knee" or "L-leg," which he patented in 1933. As seen in the cantilevered chairs, this method allowed him to produce strong, stable, and flexible curves that could be directly attached to tabletops and chair seats, eliminating the need for complex joints or internal, costly frameworks. The legs consist of layers of birch wood strips cut down the grain and then glued and bent together into shape
Made in Finland, 1930
Four Model 21 cantilever chairs and a Model 91 circular table all in laminated Satin Birch
Chairs: H 83.5cm x W 48cm x D 55cm Table: H 72cm x Dia. 127cm
Provenance:
From the personal collection of F. E McWilliam, and thence by descent to the current owner. By family repute this dining suite was purchased by F. E McWilliam in the 1930s from Heals, and has remained in the family since.
Literature:
Artek Catalogue, 1939, republished by the Alvar Aalto Museum, 2003
'A Dining Room' by Bowman Bros., London, Decorative Art', The Studio Year Book, 1938
Alvar Aalto's avant-garde approach to plywood in the 1930s revolutionised furniture design by transforming the industrial material into a warm, ergonomic and fluid medium. Eschewing the cold, rigid metal tubing favoured by many contemporaries, Aalto explored and perfected wood-bending techniques that lent an organic, human-centred feel to modernism.
One of Aalto's key innovations was a technique known as the "bent knee" or "L-leg," which he patented in 1933. As seen in the cantilevered chairs, this method allowed him to produce strong, stable, and flexible curves that could be directly attached to tabletops and chair seats, eliminating the need for complex joints or internal, costly frameworks. The legs consist of layers of birch wood strips cut down the grain and then glued and bent together into shape
Code:
10342
