This month, Swedish auction house Uppsala Auktionskammare is hosting three auctions – Asian, Modern & Contemporary, and Classic. Within these sales are exquisite and stunning items that come as complete breaths of fresh air. The chic catalogues may make you want to pack up and move to Scandinavia, but why not bring Scandinavia to your home? You’ve got until 11, 12 and 14 June respectively to bid on these lots and furnish your interior.
August Strindberg (1849-1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. His career spanned decades and from his earliest work – no matter the medium – he developed innovative forms of dramatic action, language and visual composition.
This is evident in his Flowering Wall painting, likely completed around 1903. The piece is immediately dramatic, the long sweep of blue sky coming down the picture plane vertically (as opposed to the typical horizontal format with a thin stretch of sky at the top). The medley of colours pool together beneath this blue expanse in dabs and swirls, signalling a somewhat impressionistic style of flowers atop and beneath a wall.
Another artist (this time Austrian-born, though he later acquired Swedish citizenship) known for his stunning designs is Josef Frank (1885-1967). Frank was an architect, artist and designer. His beautiful textiles feature patterns of nature in a heady mix of vibrant colours and swirls.
A lot of his famous furniture and cabinetry is available with his botanic prints on their exterior, as with this mahogany Flora cabinet, from c. 1930s/40s.
Perfect for keeping small treasures in, this beautiful gold box, accompanied with original case, is 18K and enamel. The painted decor depicts mythological scenes and unites pinks, blues and greys.
The box depicts a prestigious stamp for Frères Cellier, Geneva, early 1800s.
Have all these European treasures made you want to pack up and travel the globe? Well, make sure you do so in style.
This Louis Vuitton suitcase from the first half of the 20th century is monogrammed canvas with brass details, reinforced with leather and wood. The interior is lined with light linen fabric and it is marked with initials S v B (probably the family of Bahr).
Carried out in 1914, this Walk in Pink oil on canvas was executed by Sigrid Hjertén (1885-1948), one of Sweden’s foremost artists and a major figure in Swedish modernism.
It is said that Hjertén was highly productive and participated in over 100 exhibitions. She worked as an artist for 30 years, completing swirling canvases in a mixture of soft and bright pastels, before dying of complications from a botched lobotomy for schizophrenia.
As a reminder, Uppsala Auktionskammar’s auctions, Asian, Modern & Contemporary, and Classic, are taking place until 11, 12 and 14 June, respectively. If you wish to take advantage of this Scandinavian treasure trove, be sure to take a look at their catalogue before they close!