A Stained Birch Armchair Attributed to Axel Einar Hjorth

Sweden, circa 1920

A fine Swedish stained birch X frame armchair, with central medallion surrounded by scrolling carving to the back, surmounted by carved acanthus leaf finials, with scroll arms and a lions mask to the front cross bar, all supported on four hairy paw feet. The chair upholstered in olive green mohair. Attributed to Axel Einar Hjorth.

Axel Einar Hjorth was born near Norrköping, Sweden in 1888. He moved to Stokholm at the age of 20 and started working as a furniture designer in 1920. He worked with various companies such as H. Joop & co, Jonssons, Myrstedt & Stern, and also briefly for Nordiska Kompaniet in 1920 under the architect Carl Bergsten and also started a collaboration with Stolckholm’s stads hantverksförening that would last until 1929.

Axel Einar Hjorth went on to represent Sweden at international fairs around the world, promoting contemporary Swedish Decorative Arts. His designs were always sleek and often inspired by the Art Deco movement although he was amongst the pioneers of Swedish modernism. During its birth in the 1920s, Swedish modernism started to attract international recognition and Einar Hjorth’s work inspired many younger Swedish designers.

Height 83.00cm

Width 63.00cm

Depth 48.00cm

Seat height 46.00cm

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance