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Alvar Aalto Coffee Cart Model 901, Artek 1960s

About the Item

Alvar Aalto first introduced this model cart in the 1930s. It is one of the simplest of his cart series. Inspirations of the British tea culture as well as Japanese wood works are evident in this piece. This simple yet elegant cart is easy to move and is of course suitable for coffee or tea events. It can also add elegance and a simple design touch to any interior and is often used as a coffee table with the additional shelf to keep magazines and books at hands length. It is made from Finnish birch and the top is black laminate, both of which have a beautiful patina consistent with the age of this piece.

Creator:

Artek (Retailer),Huonekalu-Ja Rakennustyötedas Oy (Manufacturer),Alvar Aalto (Designer)

Dimensions:

Height: 22.05 in (56 cm)Width: 19.69 in (50 cm)Depth: 35.44 in (90 cm)

Style:

Scandinavian Modern (Of the Period)

Materials and Techniques:

Birch,Laminate

Place of Origin:

Finland

Period:

1960-1969

Date of Manufacture:

1960s

Condition:

Wear consistent with age and use. The overall impression is good. This piece is in absolutely it´s original condition.

Seller Location:

Helsinki, FI

Reference Number:

1stDibs: LU6346237167072

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Shop All Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto

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 vintage 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.

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 with his wife, Aino Aalto, in 1930 as part of the overall design of a Finnish tuberculosis sanatorium.

Comfortable, yet light enough to be easily moved by patients, the Paimio 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 the headrest and beneath the knees, creating a sort of pillow effect. Aalto’s use of plywood had an 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 Aino, 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.