Today I purchased what I'm assuming is a relatively rare elliptical table designed by Arne Vodder and manufactured by Sibast. The only instances I've seen of this table are a sold 1stDibs listing and this completed auction on Paddle8:
https://paddle8.com/work/arne-vodder/53743-surfboard-table
I have also seen a round coffee table and a dining height table in the same design.
The seller I purchased this from on Craigslist must have no idea what she had. Because if she did, she wouldn't have done an awful job refinishing the table.
The top has been re-stained and is splotchy in places. Then it was oiled and then a thin coat of poly (as per the seller). There are some dents that I could probably iron out. The legs must have been quite rusty (even stainless steel rusts) as there are evident sanding marks from rust removal. She said she "rescued" the table, so it must have been in really bad shape before.
Because of the amateur refinish, I'm assuming this table has lost what collectibility it may have once had. My thoughts on this table are now to take each component apart, strip any stain on the legs and top, refinish with danish oil, iron out the dents and properly re-polish the stainless steel legs then reassemble.
Is there still a market for properly restored, but obviously not original vintage rare furniture pieces like this? I like the piece but have too many coffee tables. Ultimate goal is most likely resale, but I may still be able to find a home for it.
Worst case, I only paid $300 for the table.
Also, does anyone know anything else about the table? I have unable to find anything other than the above links, nor any Sibast advertising or catalog from the period.
Did you buy this from Crazy Tanya? She often has no clue what she has (e.g. once listed a pair of Finn Juhl Japan settees for $500 that caused a local feeding frenzy). And even if she did know, she still would've butchered the restoration job.
I can't help you with attribution, but Vodder did design pieces for Sibast with stainless steel legs and teak feet. This furniture index listing even mentions a wide range of furniture from this particular design line:
https://aleph-01.kb.dk/F/5ASAUS2TLCVU19A9LNNBYELNNHEIJF1KV2YFYD86H4CUXHE...
Sibast recently restarted production of old designs under Helge's grandson. Perhaps you can send them a note of inquiry?
Cdsilva, are you in Chicago? If the Tanya you're referring to lives in Ravenswood, then yes, I did purchase the table from her. When it popped up on CL I knew I had seen something similar before. You are right that this is a whole line of furniture from Vodder/ Sibast. I have seen credenzas, desks, tables, stools, dining tables, etc. The details are similar between all the pieces, helping my confirm my ID.
The "restoration" was/ is particularly butchered. Blotchy stain job, sanding marks everywhere, stain runs and drips, etc etc. There is sense of pride in workmanship or a care to to a quality job evident.
I'm leaning towards taking the whole table apart piece by piece and tagging which part went where. This will allow me to re-polish the stainless steel legs on my lathe and get rid of the sanding scratches. From there its a matter of stripping all the stain and poly of the wood, ironing out the dents, sanding out the previous sanding scratches, re-oil, ordering fresh hardware from McMaster and re-assemble.
I thought this topic rung a bell:
http://www.designaddict.com/forum/Repair/arne-vodder-small-sibast-sidebo...
Does your table have the same teak foot fixing detail as shown in post #11?
However, just because the legs are similar, I'm not sure that qualifies as confirmation of ID. I think "strong possibility" is a good term until you can find some type of proof that your table is part of the OS design line. Hopefully someone will drop by soon who has a Sibast catalog.
Either way, post updates of the re-restoration process.
Unfortunately this crazy Tanya wasn't as well endowed as the above.
Cdsilva: the legs have the exact same retention detail.
Here is a side table with drawer with the same design hallmarks- stainless steel legs, wooden stringers, 4 distinct pieces of veneer at 45 degree angles making up the top.
http://www.orbitzstudio.com/collections/tables-1/products/sold-scandinav...
Is the top walnut? I ask because if it is, and it looks more like walnut than teak to me, that would very likely suggest one origin, and rule out another, which would put you on a much more accurate path. A sharp close up and we can tell you.
Here is another of the line listed on 1stDibs claimed to be Vodder for Sibast:
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/tables/dining-room-tables/arne-vodder-...
And I think it is not a Vodder, nor Sibast, nor even Danish. The veneer work looks wrong, and the stretchers feel wrong to me too.
There are a few options that you need to consider before calling this table as anything to do with arne vodder.
You can contact his daughter Julie vodder who is in charge of his website arnevodder.dk and facebook page.
I have never seen any documentation placing the table at sibast's door but i have seen a series Dyrlund made called scanline which has striking similarities to the table.
Here is a link to a pair of them
http://danish-homestore.com/acatalog/Vintage-tan-leather-and-rosewood-ar...
Simon
Thank you for the additional reference Danish-homestore. However, there are differences between the posted chair on my coffee table. The wooden stretchers between the metal legs are more square than my table. My table also has the difference of having the radius along the top edge of the stretcher decrease at the ends. This would have complicated manufacturing, so must have been a designed element.
The bigger difference is the use of 2 slotted oval-head fasteners to attached the steel legs to the wooden stretches. This leads me to believe the table is earlier than the 1970s, because from an engineering standpoint, slotted fasteners suck. The posted chair uses what looks like a custom socket head fastener. A superior fastener choice over a slotted screw.
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