Bureau with concealed journeyman inscription

Lorentz (Lars) Nordin1770

Nordiska Museet
Stockholm, Sweden

Bureau, rococo, circa 1770, veneered with olive wood, signed by master of the Stockholm cabinet-makers' office, Lorentz Nordin.

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Details

Title: Bureau with concealed journeyman inscription
Creator: Lorentz (Lars) Nordin
Creator Lifespan: 1708/1786
Date Created: 1770
Location Created: Stockholm, Sweden
Subject: Bureau, rococo
Physical Dimensions: w87 x h103 x d48 cm
More Information: Lorentz Nordin (1708-1786) was considered the foremost Swedish rococo cabinet-maker. He supplied furniture to both the court and the open market and during 1750s and 1760s his workshop played a significant role in Stockholm as a manufacturer of exclusive veneer furniture. Nordin was born in Västmanland and received his basic training in Stockholm. After several years as a journeyman and training in Paris, he returned to Sweden. On the recommendation of the architect and superintendent Carl Hårleman, he was taken on by the court as the royal joiner in 1743. The reason was that a new castle was being built in Stockholm that was to be equipped with furniture in the French style. In 1752, Nordin became a master of the Stockholm cabinet-makers' office without having to produce the otherwise mandatory masterpiece. It is rare to encounter journeyman signatures in furniture from the eighteenth century, but there is a journeyman signature concealed inside the bureau: “David Gabriel Stumpff”. Nordin employed several apprentices and journeymen and it is known that Stumpff worked for Nordin for a few years around 1770. So it is around that time that the bureau would have been made. The bureau is veneered with olive wood, a very exclusive wood at that time. The natural line of the wood has been used skilfully and is laid in one direction diagonally upwards. Nordin was active for a relatively long time, and the bureau was made late in his career. When this elegant French-inspired rococo bureau was being made, the Gustavian style had already made its first appearance in Stockholm. Signature: L NORDIN
Materials and Techniques: Pine, veneered with olive wood, bronze
Type: Furniture
Rights: Photo: Peter Segemark, © Nordiska museet
External Link: http://www.digitaltmuseum.se/things/sekretr/S-NM/NM.0138592*1

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