Fruktlåda (Case of Fruit)

1947

Fruktlåda (Case of Fruit), 1947. Stig Lindberg (Swedish, 1916–1982), Knoll Associates (American, est. 1938). Plain weave cotton, loom width, printed; overall: 89.5 x 128.3 cm (35 1/4 x 50 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund 1952.402 Initially produced by the Swedish department store Nordiska Kompaniet, this version of Fruktlåda was manufactured in America despite its Swedish name. The textile’s bright blue color was only associated with the version printed by Knoll Associates, who usually identified the pattern as Apples. Its strongly delineated pattern depicts the various stages of an apple’s life from seed to decay. The apple tree likely refers to the Tree of Life, called the “Yggdrasil” in Norse mythology.