Modern Swedish Pewter – Estrid Ericson and Other Pioneers

A selection of items will be on display from March 15th to March 20th at Nybrogatan 32, weekdays from 10 am to 6 pm, Saturdays from 11 am to 4 pm, closed on Sundays. Welcome to the viewing!

It all began sometime in the 1920s. Down on the continent, fashion leaned towards exclusive, sometimes extravagant settings in art deco. But here, in the north, a classicizing ideal emerged. Artists and craftsmen took inspiration from the forms of antiquity, reinterpreted and renewed them with a delicate elegance that soon put Sweden on the design map. But then came functionalism with its steel pipes and radical ideologies, followed by a more subdued modernism whose organic forms found a place in the emerging welfare state.

In this changing time, small decorative items found their place in Swedish homes. Most popular were innovative candlesticks, bowls, vases, jars, and bookends in pewter. The material had been industrially produced for decades with diminishing artistic quality. But when the new designers of the 1920s embraced pewter with zeal and enthusiasm, the public also awakened. Contemporary writers have even described pewter items as "indispensable ingredients in Swedish homes." Pewter objects with palmettes and antiquarian figures became so beloved that the surplus almost killed the market. At the top of the food chain was Svenskt Tenn, whose store on Strandvägen in Stockholm became a guiding star for Swedish taste. In the midst of this development, the dogmas of functionalism left their mark on Swedish pewter production. Form was elevated to paramount importance, and pewter objects faced a crossroads. They either became bulbous and round or extremely angular and strict.

At Stockholms Auktionsverk, we are now presented with over 100 examples of Modern Swedish Pewter. Naturally, there are objects created by key figures such as Estrid Ericson, Nils Fougstedt, and Sylvia Stave. Alongside this extensive selection are several works by Anna Thulin, a hand mirror by Harald Linder, a pair of table lamps with modern forms from GAB, and Anna Petrus's wine cork in the shape of a panther's head with a cheerful grin. Above all, do not miss the plate with GAN's decoration.