Birch + Black Linoleum ‘81B’ Dining Table by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Finland 1950s
A beautifully crafted ‘81B’ rectangular dining table designed by Alvar Aalto for Artek in the 1950s. This Scandinavian Modern table is constructed of solid Finnish birch wood in a warm, blonde hue. The lacquered frame features four bentwood legs and supports a black linoleum table top. Maker’s mark stamp present on underside. Finland, 1950s.
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism and Nordic design to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and his furniture — which ranges from chairs, stools, tables, and lighting to table and glassware — Aalto’s sensitivity to the natural world and to organic forms and materials tempered the hardness of rationalist design.
Instead of the tubular metal framing favored by the Bauhaus designers and Le Corbusier, Aalto insisted on wood. His aesthetic is best represented by the Paimio armchair, developed with his wife, Aino Aalto, in 1930 as part of the overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium. Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935.
DIMENSIONS: 47.75"W x 29.5"D x 28"H
ORIGIN: Finland
PERIOD: 1950s
MATERIALS: Wood
CONDITION:
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