Delivery from €39Buyer protectionAll items curated by Whoppah
Vintage William Watting for Modernord cabinet
Professional seller:Verified sellerSOLD for €1,495,-
Item not as advertised, money back.All items are curated and 100% authenticHave it delivered hassle-free or pick it up yourselfShop only from Trusted Sellers
Professional seller: Verified seller
Oss, NetherlandsView all items from this seller
William Watting was an architect/designer of American origin but living in Denmark.
Already at the beginning of the 1950s, just after the difficult reconstruction time has come to an end, Watting comes up with a completely new design language, often inspired by the emerging Scandinavian style.
Although it is generally assumed that no furniture is produced in-house, he quickly manages to attract the attention of existing manufacturers with his ultramodern-looking designs.
It is known that many designs, modified or not, are licensed to various manufacturers from all over the world, they all have one thing in common; They are renowned factories, equipped with a high degree of automation for that time, which are known for their constant high quality.
Watting aims to design furniture that should be available to a large audience, all according to the very latest design trends. When one opted for a design of his hand in the mid-1950s, one was assured of a modern piece of furniture that has no equal. Optimism and prosperity in the years after the war, a sense of style and quality, an investment for life, the idea is that the mostly young, new-thinking clientele buy the furniture from traditional furniture stores.
In the Netherlands, the Fristho furniture factory from Franeker, Friesland, is collaborating with Watting and his revolutionary designs. A breath of fresh air is just blowing through the factory with the appointment of director Arnould Jean Baptist Merckx Jr. Son of the founder.
He will be in charge of what is at that time one of the leading furniture factories in the Netherlands, with more than 300 employees and customers throughout the country. Chain stores such as the Bijenkorf place large orders, but the traditional (luxury) furniture stores have also been regular customers for many years of the furniture, which is known for its quality.
Early on in the 1950s, it was decided to invest everything in modern, exclusive quality furniture, the designs of William Watting, among others, are certainly suitable for this.
However, when this series comes on the market, things will not immediately take off, because the Scandinavian designs are different in everything than what people in the Netherlands have been used to for a long time. We now see lighter materials, clean and sharp lines, simplicity and design are entering the modern interior.
this furniture.
The furniture that we offer here has been the showpiece of 1 couple from the province of Groningen since it was purchased in the 1950s. It was not until August 2021 that they were forced to say goodbye to this beautiful piece due to relocation. We bought this for our design collection and are looking for a new home for this unique piece of furniture.
It is an early copy, still marked on the inside with the double letter "W/W" (William Watting) and the brand name "Modernord". Thus, it is generally assumed that this series was produced at Fristho.
The model is designed as a particularly attractive sized sideboard / sideboard with 2 sliding doors and a normal door, all in high quality.
At the bottom we see beautiful tapered brass feet, a truly beautiful detail!
A separate, but extremely stable construction with display case has been placed on top of the cabinet, which makes this item extra unique.
Since the purchase, the furniture has been treated with the utmost care and with a high degree of care, which is evident from everything. The only blemish is a very small dark spot on the top, considering the condition of the whole and the extreme rarity of the furniture, this is hardly noteworthy.
Total height: 192.5 cm
Height at the bottom: 85 cm
Height top: 107.5 cm
Width: 159.5 cm
Width top: 96 cm
Depth: 47.5 cm
Depth top: 35 cm
ConditionGoodColorsBrownMaterialWoodNumber of items1StyleVintageHeight193 cmWidth160 cmDepth48 cm