Carl-Axel Acking cabinet

This cabinet, conceived in the 1950s by Swedish architect and designer Carl-Axel Acking and produced by Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm, exemplifies the seamless marriage of functional modernism with artisanal craftsmanship. Its case is fashioned from select mahogany, the veneer laid to showcase a medium-brown hue enlivened by a subtle, straight grain. Each side panel and top surface is uninterrupted, allowing the wood’s warm coloration to read clearly against the room’s architecture.

The front is distinguished by a grid of small, recessed rectangular panels—twenty in total—each panel precisely set within its frame to create a rhythmic, tactile relief. This decorative pattern conceals the cabinet’s lock mechanism, which operates via a slender brass key escutcheon discreetly integrated into the panelwork. Additional brass fittings—hinges and pulls—are pared back in profile but executed with fine detailing, their soft sheen harmonizing with the mahogany’s natural luster.

Rising to 159 cm in height, the cabinet’s upright silhouette is grounded on four square-section legs in matching mahogany. A gently arched stretcher spans between the rear legs, echoing the gentle curvature of Acking’s architectural forms and lending lateral stability without interrupting the overall rectilinear language. The structure’s precise joinery—mitred corners and clean-lined mortise-and-tenon joints—speaks to NK’s exacting standards of production.

Opening the pair of full-length doors reveals a spacious upper compartment, its interior lined in pale birch veneer to maximize reflectivity and contrast with the darker exterior. Below this, a row of ten drawers offers organized storage; each drawer front is sculpted with a subtle concave handle in natural birch, creating an ergonomic finger grip that underscores Acking’s attention to human-centered detail. The drawer boxes themselves are solid hardwood, and their smooth gliding action reflects the quality of NK’s hardware.

Carl-Axel Acking (1910–2001) was instrumental in bridging the late-Art Deco–influenced Swedish Grace movement and the emerging functionalism of the post-war era. His work consistently balanced strict geometric form with careful material selection, and this cabinet illustrates that ethos: an object that is at once decorative, highly usable, and enduringly elegant. Nordiska Kompaniet’s workshop, long celebrated for collaborating with Sweden’s leading designers, ensured that Acking’s precise drawings were translated into finely finished production pieces.

Measuring 110 cm in width, 48 cm in depth, and 159 cm in height (approximately 43.3 × 18.9 × 62.6 inches), this cabinet remains in very good vintage condition. The mahogany surfaces retain their original finish, with only minor surface marks consistent with careful use. All hardware functions smoothly, and the piece stands as a distinguished example of mid-century Scandinavian cabinetmaking.