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Cinderella table thumbnail 2
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Cinderella table

Table
2005 (designed), 2006 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Cinderella table is a reinterpretation of historic forms through contemporary computer-related design and production techniques, as well as a virtuoso example of the use of plywood. It was designed by Jeroen Verhoeven while still a student at the prestigious Design Academy, Eindhoven in The Netherlands. With this table, Verhoeven aimed to rediscover the craftsmanship and poetry of making, which is concealed by today's complex design and manufacturing systems. It alludes to grandeur through the outlines of historically grand furniture in its profiles, yet it is also economical and humble, an unadorned plywood shell with no applied surface. These contradictions, or juxtapositions, are commonly found in recent Dutch design.

The design originates with the outlines of an eighteenth century-style commode (chest of drawers) and table which were merged together on computer to produce the form of the three-dimensional plywood shell. The outlines of the commode and table are still visible in two dimensions at right angles to each other. Verhoeven worked with a specialist company that ordinarily builds boats. The table was made by virtually cutting the design on computer into 58 slices, every one a development in shape from the last. Each slice was cut from plywood 80mm thick using advanced computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) cutting tools to ensure accuracy. All the slices were assembled and the table was finished and surfaced by hand.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleCinderella table (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Birch plywood, the cutting computer controlled
Brief description
Of birch ply, the cutting computer controlled
Physical description
Table in the form of a D-shaped hollow shell open on two sides but closed on the longest side, the top and the bottom; entirely comprised of layers of plywood; the form derived from merging the outline of an eighteenth century-style commode and the outline of an eighteenth century-style table, these outlines being visible as the profiles of the two open sides of the object at right angles to one another.
Dimensions
  • Height: 806mm
  • Width: 1315mm
  • Depth: 1000mm
  • Table top thickness: 18mm
  • Structure other than table top thickness: 15mm
Measured from object
Production typeLimited edition
Marks and inscriptions
  • DEMAKERSVAN (Stamped in ink on the underside of the table top. Demakersvan is the name of the designer's design consultancy.)
  • Jeroen Verhoeven 2006 (Name of the designer and date of fabrication written in ink on the underside of the table base.)
Gallery label
103-106 CINDERELLA TABLE Designed by Jeroen Verhoeven (Dutch, born 1976) CNC-cut plywood Dutch, 2005 Number two from an edition of twenty The table's shape derives from the outlines of an eighteenth century commode (chest of drawers) and a table at right angles to each other that have been merged together on computer. The virtual form was sliced into 58 sections on computer and each section was cut from plywood using advanced computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) cutting tools. Much contemporary Dutch design interprets historical precedents using modern means. W.1-2006(12/07/2006)
Historical context
The first version of this table was made while the designer was a student at the Design Academy Eindhoven and was shown in an exhibition staged by the Academy at the Milan Furniture Fair in 2005, and again at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York, on both occasions seen by V&A curators. This version was subsequently commissioned.
Production
Attribution note: Number two from an edition of twenty
Summary
The Cinderella table is a reinterpretation of historic forms through contemporary computer-related design and production techniques, as well as a virtuoso example of the use of plywood. It was designed by Jeroen Verhoeven while still a student at the prestigious Design Academy, Eindhoven in The Netherlands. With this table, Verhoeven aimed to rediscover the craftsmanship and poetry of making, which is concealed by today's complex design and manufacturing systems. It alludes to grandeur through the outlines of historically grand furniture in its profiles, yet it is also economical and humble, an unadorned plywood shell with no applied surface. These contradictions, or juxtapositions, are commonly found in recent Dutch design.

The design originates with the outlines of an eighteenth century-style commode (chest of drawers) and table which were merged together on computer to produce the form of the three-dimensional plywood shell. The outlines of the commode and table are still visible in two dimensions at right angles to each other. Verhoeven worked with a specialist company that ordinarily builds boats. The table was made by virtually cutting the design on computer into 58 slices, every one a development in shape from the last. Each slice was cut from plywood 80mm thick using advanced computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) cutting tools to ensure accuracy. All the slices were assembled and the table was finished and surfaced by hand.
Collection
Accession number
W.1-2006

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Record createdMarch 8, 2006
Record URL
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