Additional texteDescription: Carl Hörvik’s furniture was shown in the reception room of the Swedish pavilion at the Paris Exhibition of 1925. It was made of oak, veneered with rosewood, Hungarian ash and birch. The chairs have cane backs and horsehair-upholstered seats. The cabinet, with a gilded interior, was used to display Swedish glass. The furniture, which was arranged around the walls of the room, also included a sofa, a table and tabourets. It was classical in design, and the rich variety of materials, combined with the gilding of the cabinet, called to mind prehistoric Egypt. Perhaps the inspiration had come from the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922. In 2011 the Nationalmuseum acquired the chandelier by Carl Bergsten that had hung in the reception room in 1925.
Press text: New Acquisitions, July 2015:
Cabinet and armchairs
by Carl Hörvik
Nationalmuseum is delighted to have received a magnificent gift: a cabinet and two armchairs designed by the architect Carl Hörvik and manufactured by Nordiska Kompaniet for the Swedish pavilion at the 1925 World’s Fair in Paris. The pieces formed part of a larger suite of furniture awarded the exhibition’s highest accolade, the Grand Prix. With their exclusive design, the pieces were definitely produced for the luxury market. The cabinet and the chairs are made of oak, with inlays of various other woods, the chair backs are wicker weave, and the seats are upholstered in horsehair. The cabinet, intended to be displayed with the doors open, contains three gilded niches meant for exhibiting objets d’art.
The 1925 Paris World’s Fair, L’Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, proved a great success for Sweden, which won more awards than any country except the host nation. In style terms, the event marked a period of transition. Art Deco, the style named after the exhibition, was at its peak, but the modern functionalist style was also represented, for instance in Le Corbusier’s L’esprit nouveau pavilion.
The Swedish pavilion, designed by Carl Bergsten, and the exhibits in it exemplified a restrained, pared-down classicism, which found favour with contemporary critics. Nationalmuseum already has in its collections the commendation awarded to Carl Hörvik at the World’s Fair and the chandelier by Carl Bergsten that was displayed with the suite of furniture.
The cabinet and chairs have been generously donated by Ernst and Carl Hirsch through the Friends of Nationalmuseum and the Friends of Naionalmuseum. The donation is an important contribution to Nationalmuseum’s efforts to expand its collection of early 20th-century applied art. Nationalmuseum has no budget of its own for new acquisitions, but relies on gifting and financial support from private funds and foundations to enhance its collections of fine art and craft.
Inventory number:
Cabinet NMK 91/2015
Chairs NMK 92-93/2015
