“Functional, uncluttered and simple” may not be words commonly associated with 18th Century antiques. But it is a perfect description of the Gustavian interiors at the 200-year-old Ekensberg manor near Stockholm.
The period, named for Sweden’s King Gustav III (1746-1792), a great admirer of French design, marks a peak of artistic refinement in the arts, architecture and design in Sweden.
The furniture from this period, with its gentle curves and spare carving, is “elegant and has a strong historic identity, a sort of simplified Nor-dic marriage be-tween French Rococo and Neoclassicism,” explains Lars Sj’berg, lead curator of the National Museum in Stockholm and the owner of Ekensberg manor on the shore of Lake Mlaren.
But the enduring popularity of Sweden’s Gustavian style is not just about period furniture. It has a lot to do with an atmosphere created by muted colors, bare wooden floors, clean, airy spaces and an abundance of daylight.
And it has had a big influence, too, on contemporary Swedish design, says Sjoberg, an art historian and the author of “The Swedish Room” (Pantheon Books, $45) and two other books on historic furniture. Perhaps this link to the present is one reason for the current international interest in the style.
In Sweden, specialized carpenters and furniture designers produce custom-made replicas of Gustavian pieces, especially chairs. And now, furniture retailer Ikea of Sweden has made the style available on the international market with a collection of replicas of Gustavian home furnishings.
Although there are other replicas of Gustavian pieces, 18th Century Swedish Furniture from Ikea is the only collection certified by the Swedish Board of National Antiquities, represented by Sjoberg.
It’s an interesting twist: The company that supplied generations of Swedes with affordable, contemporary furniture easily assembled with an Allen wrench, now manufactures furnishings from palaces and manors.
Which begs for the question, why make replicas?
Affordable history
“It’s part of our heritage, and at the same time, (it’s) contemporary,” says Ikea’s North American spokeswoman Pamela Diaconis. “This period says a lot about who we are today.”
The 18th Century Swedish Furniture from Ikea line gives people an opportunity to get historic pieces that are affordable, Diaconis explains. “People can certainly buy period antiques but not everyone has access to that, and certainly not such a variety of antiques collected in one place, like this entire line.
“This furniture works well in a modern home, either as accent pieces or as a whole ensemble,” she adds, explaining the company’s preference for Gustavian over other period styles.
Indeed, its unobtrusive colors and restrained design give Gustavian furniture a timeless quality.
Ikea’s new collection includes a wide range of home furnishings: upholstered dining chairs (which come fully assembled); an armchair with a footrest (an 18th Century innovation); a wooden sofa with loose cushions; a canopy bed; various tables (which come partly assembled); chests and cabinets; textiles; tableware; gilt-framed mirrors; and lighting.
For certified 18th Century replicas, the Ikea collection is fairly modest in price. The furniture starts at $175 for a small folding tea table and $225 for an upholstered dining chair and goes up to $1,650 for a sofa and $1,950 for the canopy bed. The porcelain tableware is $20 for two dinner plates, $38 for two tapered, mouth-blown schnapps glasses.
With Sjoberg’s expert advice, Ikea strove to make faithful replicas using the manufacturing techniques and materials of the 18th Century. The new furniture is made of solid hardwood, upholstered with natural fibers.
The hand-painted porcelain dinnerware was made for Ikea in the province of China where the original set was made in the 1700s and with the same sort of clay.
One of the ideas behind the project, Diaconis says, was to show the relevance of the style, in that “what was good design then, in the 18th Century, is still good design now.”
Another strong incentive was the preservation of a national Swedish heritage; part of the proceeds will fund conservation of the original pieces, several of which are part of a priceless Gustavian collection at Medevi Spa in Sweden.
Elegance and simplicity
Besides the issue of heritage, Sjoberg sees something innovative and fresh in 18th Century design.
“We have a lot to learn from the 1700s, in the way people used their homes and the skillful way in which artisans and artists made beautiful objects,” he says.
Sjoberg points to an Ikea replica of a Swedish tea table from the 1790s. When not in use, the brown, round-top table is folded in a vertical position and becomes a decorative accent in the room.
Another beautiful piece is a yellow side-table with curved Rococo legs originally made in the 1760s. Sjoberg explains that this “tray table,” another example of practical 18th Century design, was used for serving tea or coffee, novelties in Sweden in the early 1700s. The wooden table top can be removed and used as a tray. More exclusive pieces, for instance in the Royal Palace, would have trays topped with faience.
Swedish carpenters in the 1700s adapted French influences to Swedish materials and taste–using hardwood instead of more exclusive wood, often painting it to emulate more expensive materials and simplifying and sometimes improving the details.
One such example is a dining chair with fluted legs and a spoon-shaped backrest. The Swedish original from 1783 was commissioned by King Gustav III, who had seen the chair at Versailles. The Swedish chairmaker, Johan Peter Manserus of Stockholm, made several alterations: He replaced the French upholstered back with a baluster-shaped splat, and added an H-shaped stretcher to join and strengthen the four legs.
Boldly printed fabrics were another new element in design that became immensely popular during the 18th Century. The technique of printing intricate patterns onto textiles reached Sweden via England and France in the mid-1700s. Previously, designs were woven into the fabric, limiting the choice of upholstery and curtain fabrics to either checked or striped patterns.
The variety of patterns and colors available with this new technique is reflected in Ikea’s collection. Aekebyholn is a replica of a linen/cotton fabric with a pattern of jungle plants inspired by Far Eastern flora.
Changes in Swedish lifestyle in the 18th Century gave birth to some of the hallmarks of Gustavian style–all of which can be seen in Ikea’s new collection.
Before the 18th Century, beautiful furniture had been the privilege of the rich in Sweden. But a new custom of entertaining in the drawing room created a demand for elegant and versatile home furnishings for the masses.
Lighting became important as people began to socialize more in the home. Without the electric light sources that we take for granted today, people then employed clever tricks for brightening a room using only available light: building houses with oversize windows and tall ceilings; painting ceilings, wood trimmings and furniture in light colors; and strategically placing crystal chandeliers, mirrors, wall sconces and candelabra.
One of the most exciting qualities of the period is what Sjoberg refers to as the “multi-purpose” room. The room served several different functions, such as dinners, dances, games, plays and concerts. “There was always empty floor space in the center. You simply moved out the furniture when it was needed.”
To illustrate, Sjoberg folds and picks up each of the two drop-leaf, gate-leg dining tables that a moment ago, placed together, could seat 12 guests in the center of the room. He places them next to the wall, leaves folded. The straight-backed dining chairs with carved, floral ornamentation on the crest rail and on the base of the leg are placed with their backs against the window.
Judging from the unfinished wood on these Ikea reproductions, it’s apparent these dining chairs are brand new, which, Diaconis says, is precisely what the company aimed for.
“The pieces are not copies or reproductions. They are not distressed, that is, not made to look like 200-year-old antiques,” she explains. “The collection is purposely made as the originals were, to look new and to eventually age and become heirlooms.”
A free catalog of the 18th Century Swedish Furniture from Ikea collection can be obtained and pieces can be ordered by calling 800-434-4532. Or the pieces can be purchased at Ikea stores in Elizabeth, N.J., and Hicksville, Long Island, N.Y.
And in spring 1998, Swedish Gustavian–and all other things from Ikea–will come to the area, when the new Ikea store is scheduled to open in Schaumburg.
