Pair of Alvar Aalto Drinks Tea Carts
View Similar Items
Pair of Alvar Aalto Drinks Tea Carts
About the Item
- Creator:Alvar Aalto (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 28 in (71.12 cm)Depth: 33 in (83.82 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950s
- Condition:Very Good Original Patina and Finish.
- Seller Location:Ferndale, MI
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU84821195060
Alvar Aalto
An architect and designer, Alvar Aalto deserves an immense share of the credit for bringing Scandinavian modernism to a prominent place in the global arena. In both his buildings and in his vintage furniture — which ranges from chairs, 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.
Relatively few Aalto buildings exist outside Finland. (Just four exist in the United States, and only one — the sinuous 1945 Baker House dormitory at M.I.T. — is easily visited.) International attention came to Aalto, whose surname translates to English as “wave,” primarily through his furnishings.
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 in 1930 as part of his overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium. Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the chair’s frame is composed of two laminated birch loops; the seat and back are formed from a single sheet of plywood that scrolls under at the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had enormous influence on Charles and Ray Eames, Arne Jacobsen, Marcel Breuer and others who later came to the material.
Concerned with keeping up standards of quality in the production of his designs, Aalto formed the still-extant company Artek in 1935, along with his wife, Aino Aalto, whose glass designs were made by the firm. In the latter medium, in 1936 the Aaltos together created the iconic, undulating Savoy vase, so-called for the luxe Helsinki restaurant for which the piece was designed.
Artek also produced Aalto pendants and other lighting designs, many of which — such as the Angel’s Wing floor lamp and the Beehive pendant — incorporate a signature Aalto detail: shades made of concentric enameled-metal rings graduated down in diameter. The effect of the technique is essential Alvar Aalto: at once precise, simple, and somehow poetic.
Find a collection of vintage Alvar Aalto stools, vases, dining tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
- Machine age art deco two tier chrome drinks cart in the style of Gilbert RohdeBy Gilbert RohdeLocated in Ferndale, MIModerne chrome drinks cart of the period and in the style of Gilbert Rohde for Troy Sunshade. Two oval tiers holding glass shelves on chrome plated frame . Trolley wheels on back en...Category
Vintage 1930s American Art Deco Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsChrome
- Alvar Aalto Model 31 Cantilevered Lounge ChairBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Ferndale, MII believe this to be an early production chair in original somewhat worn finish. One of several designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto during time he was building a tuberculos...Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto Attributed Bent Wood Magazine Stand RackBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Ferndale, MIDiminutive chair side blonde laminate wood with dowel magazine stand. Clean lines and blonde wood lead me to the Aalto attribution.Category
Mid-20th Century Finnish Mid-Century Modern Magazine Racks and Stands
MaterialsMaple
$1,200 Sale Price33% Off - Art Deco Styled Chrome with Glass Drinks CartBy Pace CollectionLocated in Ferndale, MIVery nice 1970s drinks cart. Upper and lower glass shelf in tubular chrome frame. Excellent condition all around.Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dry Bars
MaterialsChrome
$1,500 Sale Price21% Off - Set of Eight Wilhelm Wagenfeld / Bauhaus Style Clear Jena Glass Hot Drinks CupsLocated in Ferndale, MISet of eight tea, coffee or toddy drinks cups with handles. Fine delicate but strong Jena glass taper inward from the bottom upwards. Jena glass (German: J...Category
Mid-20th Century German Barware
MaterialsGlass
- Pair of Mildred Warder Occasional TablesBy MIldred WarderLocated in Ferndale, MIMildred Warder Was an American Officer Stationed in Japan During WW II . Returning to the U.S. After the War Became an Interior Decorator, Producing Lim...Category
Mid-20th Century Japanese Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsWood
$4,800 Sale Price / set26% Off
- Alvar Aalto Tea Trolley 900 Modern Bar CartBy Alvar AaltoLocated in North York, ONAlvar Aalto tea trolley 900 Modern bar cart. Iconic Scandinavian modern design by Alvar Aalto. The trolley features ceramic tiles, and a ra...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsCeramic, Rattan, Birch
$6,800 Sale Price20% Off - Scandinavian Modern Vintage White Alvar Aalto Tea Cart 900 Artek, 1937, FinlandBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Vienna, ATScandinavian modern Oorganic vintage tea cart 900 by Alvar Aalto for Artek designed 1937 Finland and manufactured 1980s. A wonderful timeless tea car...Category
Late 20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto Tea Trolley 901 in whiteBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Brooklyn, NYThe Tea Trolley 901 was originally designed by Alvar Aalto for Artek in 1936. It was the simplest of his tea trolley designs, combining British tea culture with Japanese architecture...Category
Vintage 1970s Italian Mid-Century Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsWood, Bentwood
$2,396 Sale Price20% Off - Alvar Aalto Tea Trolley / Bar Cart Model 900 for Artek. Birch and Rattan.By Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Kansas City, MOAlvar Aalto iconic Tea Cart 900 produced by Artek. This example is in very good condition with few signs of use. Birch wood frame and rattan basket. Great mid century design. Fun...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsRattan, Birch
- 1950s Alvar and Aino Aalto for Artek Tea Cart 900 in Birch and RattanBy Artek, Aino Aalto, Alvar AaltoLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis is an original ‘Tea Trolley 900’ Modern Cart, designed in 1937 by Aino and Alvar Aalto for the World Exhibition in Paris. The Aalto’s use of Finnish birch and rattan could be co...Category
Vintage 1950s Finnish Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsRattan, Birch
- Mid-Century Tea Cart Model 901 Trolley by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Finland, 1950sBy Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Vorst, BETea Cart or Trolley model 901 designed by Aino and Alvar Aalto for Artek. Made in Finland. Manufactured probably in the 1950s. Birch frame, contrasting shelving with black linoleum, ...Category
Late 20th Century Finnish Scandinavian Modern Carts and Bar Carts
MaterialsBirch, Plywood
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The Very Modern Love Story of Mid-Century Design Duo Alvar and Aino Aalto
A power couple before the term existed, the influential pair made work that still resonates today.
What Makes Scandinavian Modernism and Nordic Design So Irresistible?
Andrew Duncanson, founder of the Stockholm- and London-based gallery Modernity, weighs in on the masters of mid-century furniture and decorative arts.