Trolley Model 98 Designed by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Finland, 1950s

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Trolley Model 98 Designed by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Finland, 1950s

About the Item

Trolley model 98 designed by Alvar Aalto for Artek, Finland. 1950s. Birch frame, black linoleum shelving, and white lacquered wooden wheels. Stamped. Measurements: H: 56 cm / 1' 10" W: 92 cm / 3' 1/3" D: 50 cm / 1' 7 3/4". Alvar Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, lighting, and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, seeing painting and sculpture as "branches of the tree whose trunk is architecture." The pure Functionalist phase in Aalto’s work lasted for several years. It enabled him to make an international breakthrough, largely because of Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933), an important Functionalist milestone. Aalto had adopted the principals of user-friendly, functional design in his architecture, and it was characteristic of Aalto to treat each building as a complete work of art – right down to the furniture and light fittings. The design of his furniture combined practicality and aesthetics with series production, encouraging a more beautiful everyday life in the home. This rare trolley "model 901" has large white wheels and contrasting black surfaces. Its laminated sides bend into a closed curve. The linoleum covering of the two shelves is practical and allows for teacups, glasses, or bottles to be placed on top without leaving marks or stains. The trolley is a significant design collectible by Finland's most acclaimed architect and designer Alvar Aalto who first presented it at the 1936 Milan Triennial. Because of the stamp "Artek aalto-design MADE IN FINLAND," it is identifiable as an earlier version. Alvar Aalto loved clean curves and bends, which he often integrated into his architecture and furniture designs. He is frequently referred to as "the modern master of the curve and sinuosity."

Creator:
Alvar Aalto (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 22.05 in (56 cm)Width: 36.23 in (92 cm)Depth: 19.69 in (50 cm)
Style:
Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Birch,Wood
Place of Origin:
Finland
Period:
Mid-20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1950s
Condition:
Seller Location:
Stockholm, SE
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU1006628953212

Shop All Alvar Aalto

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.