The design of this display cabinet from 1936 goes back to the Cologne architect Georg Satink (1902-1985), who had become an artistic collaborator of the Deutsche Werkstätten in Hellerau in 1934. Following his training as a craftsman, he had attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Cologne before working as a master student in Bruno Paul’s office from 1922 to 1932. During the Third Reich he was a member of the Reichskammer der Bildenden Künste. Satink is known today mainly for his avant-garde furniture. The display cabinet here is exemplary for the straightforwardness and the material visibility that characterise his designs. They span a line of tradition that extends seamlessly from Empire to Art Deco.
The cabinet is part of a dining room that also includes a round, extendable table and a credenza, which are also preserved at the Kunstgewerbemuseum (inv. nos. 41988 and 41987). They are made of the same materials and are also characterised by clear forms and materials. Their combination would have resulted in a closely coordinated ensemble - entirely in keeping with the holistic approach for room furnishings that Satink had in mind.
The display cabinet reveals Satink’s association with Bruno Paul, who is considered one of the pioneers of modern architecture in Germany. Like the median risalit of a baroque façade, its corpus, standing on short square feet, juts out. Little distracts from the experience of the precious mahogany, which has even been stained. Only an oval brass fitting for the lock accentuates the two-door lower section. The upper section, which can be opened with sliding glass doors, is lined with maple wood, which has been cut lengthwise to create a striped pattern.
Text: Alexander Röstel