Early Aalto Alvar designed Model #81 Table by Finsven Sweden
View Similar Items
Early Aalto Alvar designed Model #81 Table by Finsven Sweden
About the Item
- Creator:Alvar Aalto (Designer),Finsven (Manufacturer)
- Dimensions:Height: 17.13 in (43.52 cm)Width: 39.38 in (100.03 cm)Depth: 23.5 in (59.69 cm)
- Style:Scandinavian Modern (In the Style Of)
- Materials and Techniques:Birch,Laminated
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1940
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Fully Functional, Sturdy. Heavily Worn, Loss to Finish to all.
- Seller Location:Hyattsville, MD
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU98574863083
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.
- 1960s Large Faux Stacked Shakespeare Book Kids Table John Dickinson for DrexelBy DrexelLocated in Hyattsville, MDA rare John Dickinson designed Faux-Book Coffee Table for Drexel, part of the short lived Et Cetera series. Three large stacked Shakespeare books make up the tabletop, with the middl...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Tables
MaterialsOak
$1,200 Sale Price60% Off - 1960s XL Tapio Wirkkala Vase Rosenthal Cogwheel Flower Centerpiece Alvar AaltoBy Tapio WirkkalaLocated in Hyattsville, MDVery rave in this massive size, but is chipped on top rim.Category
Vintage 1960s German Scandinavian Modern Vases
MaterialsArt Glass
- 1970s Mid-Century American Design Black Cast Stone + Chrome Coffee TableBy Poul KjærholmLocated in Hyattsville, MDProcured from a 70s time capsule estate, designer for this table is unknown. Polished and chrome plated base, with cool blue plastic plugs to bottoms of each leg. Its a very well mad...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsCast Stone, Steel
- 1950s Illum Wikkelsø Nº 272 Rosewood Cocktail Table Danish Mid-Century WikkelsoBy Illum Wikkelsø, CFC SilkeborgLocated in Hyattsville, MDVery rare Brazilian rosewood Danish designed square side table.Category
Vintage 1950s American Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsRosewood
- 1950s Travertine Wire + Bronze Cigarette Stand Side Tables Atomic Vintage McMBy HeifetzLocated in Hyattsville, MDWonderful little side tables with a touch of bronze. Total height including handle is 25.75 inches, table height is 23.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Side Tables
MaterialsTravertine, Bronze
$2,000 Sale Price / set76% Off - Vintage Iron Braided Woven Leather Sling Stool Table Cube Ottoman Swift MonellBy Swift and Monell, Laverne InternationalLocated in Hyattsville, MDBeautifully patinated mid-century stool with a semi-polished welded iron rod frame, and woven leather seat. This piece is similar to that of Swift and Monell designs, and William Katavalos...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Stools
MaterialsIron
$956 Sale Price20% Off
- Early Alvar Aalto Finsven Inc. Occasional TableBy Alvar Aalto, FinsvenLocated in Bainbridge, NYEarly Alvar Aalto for Finsven Inc. Side Table, End Table, Coffee Table, Circa 1940. Featuring a rectangular form, newly relacquered Black surface, multi layered Birch bentwood legs, ...Category
Vintage 1930s Swedish Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsEnamel
- Alvar Aalto Table Model 81B, Red Linoleum surface.By Artek, Huonekalu-Ja Rakennustyötedas Oy, Alvar AaltoLocated in Helsinki, FIAlvar Aalto rectangular L-leg table in red linoleum top, manufactured by Oy Huonekalu-ja Rakennustyötehdas Ab and retailed by Artek since the 1930s. Alvar Aalto designs are famous ...Category
Vintage 1960s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Tables
MaterialsBirch
- Vintage Aalto H-legged Table (Table 81B) by Alvar Aalto for ArtekBy Alvar AaltoLocated in Centreville, VAH-legged Table (Table 81B) with blue linoleum top (Blue linoleum top is no longer in production) The last of Alvar Aalto’s inventions to be adopted by the furniture industry was th...Category
Vintage 1950s Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto 30's Early Club TableBy Alvar AaltoLocated in 東御市, JPEarly alvar aalto club table. Its legs are made by aalto L-leg. Not similar to 907 table,becase of early production. table top is mahogany. very r...Category
Vintage 1930s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBirch
$2,000 Sale Price55% Off - Alvar Aalto L-Leg Bench/ Table Model 106By Artek, Alvar AaltoLocated in Highland, INThis exceptional example of Allto's slat bench/ table by Artek dates to circa 1948 and was sold at Chicago's landmark modern design store Baldwin Kingrey...Category
Vintage 1940s Finnish Scandinavian Modern Benches
MaterialsBirch
- Alvar Aalto Table by ArtekBy Alvar Aalto, ArtekLocated in Highland, INThis terrific vintage Aalto table is entirely original and has a wonderful patina from age and use. Acquired directly from its original owner, it has great provenance. 18"h X 28.25"dCategory
Vintage 1950s Finnish Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsWood
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.