Adolf Relling

Adolf Normann Relling, born on 3 January 1913 in Sykkylven and deceased on 24 February 2006 in Oslo, was a Norwegian interior architect, furniture designer and furniture draughtsman with a background in cabinetmaking. He founded the Rastad & Relling design office with Rolf Rastad in 1943 and headed the office. Many pieces associated with his name were developed collaboratively or as work produced by the office. Reliable attribution must therefore be based on the manufacturer, model number, dating, catalogues, working drawings and provenance, rather than on visual similarity alone.

Education and the design office

Relling had craft training and work experience in the furniture industry in Sykkylven before studying at the Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in Oslo from 1936 to 1939. Norsk kunstnerleksikon also records a period of study from 1942 to 1943. The sources agree that he held both a journeyman's certificate and a master craftsman's certificate as a cabinetmaker, but Norsk biografisk leksikon gives 1942, whereas Norsk kunstnerleksikon gives 1943 for the master craftsman's certificate. The year should not be stated categorically without consulting the original documentation.

Relling and Rolf Rastad established the Rastad & Relling design office in Oslo in 1943 and opened a furniture shop in 1945. Relling headed the design office, while Rastad took principal responsibility for the shop. The office became an important workplace for designers including Torbjørn Bekken, Sigurd Resell, Fredrik A. Kayser and Rolf Gabrielsen. Norsk kunstnerleksikon emphasises that many of the firm's models were products of group work. A Rastad & Relling label or catalogue entry therefore documents an association with the office, but does not automatically identify Adolf Relling as the sole designer.

Manufacturers and collaborations

Documented connections include Arnestad Bruk, Gustav Bahus Eftf., Sørliemøbler, Mysen Møbelindustri and Rasmus Solberg Møbelverksted. For the Royal Yacht Norge, A. Huseby & Co. made tables, while Arnestad Bruk made chairs and sofas from drawings by the office. Such commissions should be catalogued at office level unless a specific individual contribution is documented. Relling and Rastad separated their businesses in 1970. Relling continued the design office, which was transferred to his son Jens Relling in 1983 and converted into an architectural practice in 1984.

Kaminstolen, Bambi and Rock'n Rest

The National Museum dates Kaminstolen to a 1946 design and a museum example to about 1947. The museum names Adolf Relling and Fredrik A. Kayser as designers, Arnestad Bruk as manufacturer and Rastad & Relling as the responsible design office. Norsk kunstnerleksikon instead states that Relling designed the chair with Rolf Rastad. This conflict remains unresolved. The museum example from about 1947 has carved and turned mahogany, registered as sapele, linen webbing and a padded cushion covered in wool fabric.

Bambi model 56/1 has a design year of 1955 and is represented by a museum example dated to about 1956. The National Museum registers the Rastad & Relling design office, Sigurd Resell and Adolf Relling, with Gustav Bahus Eftf. as manufacturer. The materials include teak, rattan or another palm material, foam and wool fabric. The collective attribution means that the model should not be presented as a solo work by Adolf Relling without specific documentation.

Rock'n Rest is registered by the National Museum at about 1957 as work associated with Arnestad Bruk, Rastad & Relling, Torbjørn Bekken and Adolf Relling. One example has veneered and lacquered elm, iron, woven wool upholstery and rubber or plastic. R. Chr Natvig is registered as the client in this record, but as a manufacturer in another museum record. The role must therefore be stated for the specific object. A matching footstool from 1957 has personal attributions graded as probably certain. The name Rock'n Relax and the year 1959 occur in an image caption in Store norske leksikon. Rock'n Rest and Rock'n Relax must not be merged without a working drawing, catalogue or other direct documentation.

Syklus, Futurum and Quadratum

The Syklus sewing table is registered by the National Museum as a 1962 work by Adolf Relling, manufactured by Rasmus Solberg Møbelverksted, with Rastad & Relling as the responsible design office. The museum example is made of lacquered oak veneer and suede and has a hinged construction.

Futurum was developed in the mid 1960s as a modular series in pine. It began with Adolf Relling's armchair number 30 from 1965. Rolf Gabrielsen and Torbjørn Bekken contributed to the subsequent development. The earliest seats used stretched canvas for the seat and back, while later variants added cushions. Sørliemøbler and Mysen Møbelindustri handled series production. The National Museum's Chair no. 30 documents untreated pine, hemp and foam, with mortise and tenon joinery and screws. Other museum records document an upholstered Futurum variant in pine, wool and cotton and Table no. 35 in untreated pine. Later versions could be stained and lacquered. The year 1965 applies to the registered objects and does not establish the complete production period of the series.

Quadratum was designed in 1974, and the National Museum's chair was manufactured by Sørliemøbler in 1975. The museum names Adolf Relling, Rolf Gabrielsen and Torbjørn Bekken, with Rastad & Relling as the responsible design office. The registered chair has brushed aluminium, padding, wool upholstery and plastic. The series included a chair, sofa and table for public interiors.

Identification and dating

Inspect the underside, back, interior surfaces and areas beneath loose cushions for labels, stamps, model numbers, manufacturer names and handwriting. Record the wording exactly. Compare dimensions, construction, timber, joints, metal fittings, upholstery and proportions with museum examples, contemporary catalogues and working drawings. No single universal mark has been documented for all of Relling's furniture. The absence of a mark does not exclude earlier production, but visual similarity alone is insufficient.

Keep the design year, production year and date of the specific example separate. Kaminstolen has a design year of 1946 and a museum example dated to about 1947. Bambi model 56/1 has a design year of 1955 and a museum example dated to about 1956. Quadratum has a design year of 1974 and a museum example manufactured in 1975. A museum record does not automatically document the entire production period.

Condition and provenance

For wooden furniture, check for loose or reglued joints, cracks, chips, pressure marks, staining, fading, sanding and later lacquer, stain or oil. Examine veneer for lifting, blisters and losses. On seating, record the condition of padding, foam, webbing, canvas, rattan, wool fabric and any replacement upholstery. Examine metal and plastic for scratches, oxidation, distortion, loose screws, cracks and discolouration. State whether upholstery, cushions, foam, webbing or fittings have been replaced or are of unknown age.

Provenance should rely on datable documentation such as an original invoice, manufacturer's label, model number, correspondence, exhibition history or a continuous ownership history. Oral family information may be reported as information supplied by the owner, not as proven fact. A claim that a piece was used on the Royal Yacht Norge, at the Norwegian Parliament, Grand Hotel, NRK or another known location must be linked to that specific object.

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