Mediating Authenticity : Gustavian Style Period Furniture in the 1930s and 1940s

•  Swedish home interiors in the 1930s and 40s were shaped by a powerful nostalgia as well as modernist ideals of efficiency. This was a contradiction that generated controversies as well as creativity. This paper focuses on debates and negotiations about ideals concerning period furniture, especially relating to production and the concept of authenticity. Further, it explores how these ideals were mediated among professionals and to the individual customer. There were many different types of period furniture available to the customer; antiques, high-class copies, updated and simplified furniture, and industrially produced furniture of varying quality, also flat-pack versions. The specific example discussed in this paper is Gustavian style period furniture. The paper argues that this sometimes-controversial type of furniture was an important component in debates about design at the time, focusing on notions such as taste, honesty, and authenticity. By studying the debates about this alternative category of production, period furniture, this paper wishes to contribute with a complementary approach, which acknowledges a complexity found in the material from the 1930s and 40s.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Konstvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Art History (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Art History

Konstvetenskap

Business Administration

Företagsekonomi

Konstvetenskap

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