Not currently on display at the V&A

Three Nesting Tables

Nesting Tables
ca.1936 (designed), ca.1965 (made), ca.1965 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This set of three nesting tables was designed by the Hungarian designer Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) in 1936. Originally from Hungary, Breuer studied and taught at the Bauhaus in Germany, before coming to England in 1935. On the recommendation of Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, Breuer started working with the newly founded Isokon Furniture company (founded in 1935) where Gropius was 'Controller of Design'. The first design that Breuer worked on for Isokon was a reclining chair in plywood (CIRC.80-1975). A dining chair and dining table followed. The concept behind the design for the three nesting tables was that they were intended to be cut and bent from a single board of birch plywood. They were originally manufactured in Estonia by Venesta, but the present examples were produced in the UK in the 1960s and are made from laminated beech plywood.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
TitleThree Nesting Tables (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Beech laminate, cut and bent
Brief description
Nest of 3 tables; bent beech laminate; designed by Marcel Breuer ca.1936; made by Isokon Furniture ca.1965
Physical description
A nest of three tables made of beech laminate; template cut flat and then bent to form four legs.
Dimensions
  • Height: 38.1cm
  • Width: 45.7cm
  • Depth: 60.9cm
Dims when all three tables in nest
Object history
These nesting tables were originally designed by Marcel Breuer in 1936 and were part of the furniture that Breuer designed for Isokon when he came to England from Germany in the 1930s.
Production
The three tables are described as 'replicas of the original tables which were made in birch'
Subject depicted
Summary
This set of three nesting tables was designed by the Hungarian designer Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) in 1936. Originally from Hungary, Breuer studied and taught at the Bauhaus in Germany, before coming to England in 1935. On the recommendation of Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, Breuer started working with the newly founded Isokon Furniture company (founded in 1935) where Gropius was 'Controller of Design'. The first design that Breuer worked on for Isokon was a reclining chair in plywood (CIRC.80-1975). A dining chair and dining table followed. The concept behind the design for the three nesting tables was that they were intended to be cut and bent from a single board of birch plywood. They were originally manufactured in Estonia by Venesta, but the present examples were produced in the UK in the 1960s and are made from laminated beech plywood.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.314-1965

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 28, 2007
Record URL
Download as: JSON