Skønvirke Cabinet
Martin Nyrop
Denmark, 1905

Description:

A free-standing cabinet or bookshelf designed by architect Martin Nyrop and made by Rudolph Rasmussen before 1905.
The cupboard until recently was part of Copenhagen City Hall, the Danish Art Nouveau* National Romantic style building they were designed and built for. Nyrop was responsible for the design of the City Hall's totality: shell, accessories, furnishings. Construction on the building began in 1892 and concluded in 1905, therefore the cabinet was designed, built and installed before 1905. This makes the cupboard one of the first major collaborations for cabinetmaker Rudolph Rasmussen.
In keeping with a main tenet of the Arts and Craft movement which inspired *Skønvirke (Danish Art Nouveau), the cabinet not only reveals its construction but makes a feature of the methods used to make it. This can be seen on the sides of the cupboard where the central fixed internal shelf punctuates through the side panel to create maximum strength.
Similarly, the materials used have been worked in order to allow the bookcase to speak clearly of its properties, the solid pine has been crown cut to display the irregular elliptic grain shapes of the wood. The top of the cabinet has an interesting crenellation detail, aiding in its beauty. 

The bookcase is structurally sound and is an absolutely usable and practical piece. The colour of the pine used throughout is spectacularly rich and warm.

In great condition, all wear commensurate with age.

Specifications: 

Width: 75cm 
Height: 146cm
Depth: 37cm