Nordic Art Deco Furniture

At the summer's international auction at Bruun Rasmussen in Copenhagen, some very unique and exclusive Danish Art Deco furniture by Orla Høyer will come under the hammer. The furniture is so rare that even Bruun Rasmussen's experts have never seen anything like it before.

"It is not very often that we can offer such exquisite Nordic Art Deco furniture at our auctions. Not least because the style in Denmark was primarily used in decorative art, silver and ceramics, but also because the furniture is so extremely exclusive in its design, and they were all made to order," says Peter Kjelgaard, head of the department at Bruun Rasmussen for modern decorative art and design from the 20th century.

Orla Høyer’s Art Deco Furniture

Occasionally new ideas appear from unexpected sources. This is certainly the case with the furniture designed to order by the relatively unknown Danish architect Orla Høyer in 1941. The furniture consists of a daybed, a pair of sideboards, a chest of drawers and a display cabinet. All of the pieces are some of the most unique, exclusive Danish furniture from the 20th century that Bruun Rasmussen's experts have ever seen, and there is therefore already great excitement in regards to the summer's international auction.

At this auction Bruun Rasmussen will focus on Nordic Art Deco within the furniture industry with a selection consisting of a few but very exciting examples. The furniture will stand as a significant and unexpected contrast to the otherwise classic range of Nordic design represented by architects such as Finn Juhl, Hans J. Wegner and Poul Kjærholm.

The French Art Deco

Art Deco is a decorative style that most people probably associate with the period around the 1920s – especially within architecture and design. The decorative style, a variation on modernism, was best described by Paul Follot in 1928: "We know that the "necessary" alone is not sufficient for man and that the superfluous is indispensable for him ... or else let us also suppress music, Flowers, perfumes ... and the smiles of ladies".The style originally came from a French decorator tradition around 1914 and spread to the rest of Europe and the United States in the following decades. It has many sources of inspiration, including avant-garde art, modernism and exotic materials that are combined in crafts and architecture with a decorative, exclusive, exotic and modern expression.

In France, Art Deco reaches its climax at the World Exhibition Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925 and is today connected with a host of world-renowned designers such as Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Andre Groult, Eileen Gray, Jean Dunand and many more.

The Nordic Art Deco

Art Deco is a rather non-Danish style with its focus on decoration and luxury. In Sweden, the Swedish variant of Art Deco – better known as "Swedish Grace" – had its heyday across the world right up until the Stockholm Exhibition in 1930, where it basically received its death sentence, since this is where Nordic functionalism was established as the new norm.

In Denmark it is especially within ceramics and silver that the influence of Art Deco is seen most clearly. International companies such as Royal Copenhagen, Bing & Grøndahl and Georg Jensen are naturally influenced by the ongoing trends. Within the furniture design, Art Deco is only seen briefly here and there – often linked to the interiors of nightclubs, theatres, cinemas etc. or to a very limited number of well-off people, who have their furniture made to order. Nevertheless, many architects, who are otherwise not associated with Art Deco, sometimes felt an urge to work with the exclusive, exotic and decorative style. This includes names such as Ernst Kühn, Bent Helweg-Møller, Kai Gottlob, Kay Fisher, Frits Henningsen and Vilhelm Lauritzen.

The Auction's Nordic Art Deco Furniture

• Orla Høyer: Unique daybed of birch with thick leather straps, brass fittings and mattress upholstered with light fabric, natural leather edgings. Made to order in 1941 by Herluf Sørensen. Estimate: DKK 75,000-100,000 / € 10,000-13,500.

• Orla Høyer: A pair of unique sideboards in polished oak and with a top and profile in light birch. Legs and bold fittings made of brass. Front with two doors, behind which shelves. Made to order in 1941 by Herluf Sørensen. Estimate: DKK 60,000-80,000 / € 8,050-11,000.

• Orla Høyer: Unique chest of drawers of polished oak, top and profile of light birch. Legs, handles and bold fittings made of brass. Front with four drawers. Made to order in 1941 by Herluf Sørensen. Estimate: DKK 30,000-40,000 / € 4,050-5,400.

• Orla Høyer: Display cabinet of polished oak, top and profile of light birch. Legs, handles and bold fittings made of brass. Front with two glass sliding doors, behind which three shelves. Made to order in 1941 by Herluf Sørensen. Estimate: DKK 30,000-40,000 / € 4,050-5,400.

International Auction in Copenhagen

The summer's international auction will be held at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, Bredgade 33, in Copenhagen from 24 May to 9 June. The preview will be open from 24 to 29 May. 

The design auction will be held on Thursday, 8 June starting from 4 pm.