Hans Itel (1898–1988) was born in Schlieren, near Zurich and first encountered Steiner through his writings. In 1922, with Ernst Aisenpreis, Itel designed and built a home in Dornach, called Villa Dornröschen, complete with built-in furnishings in the Dornach style. Although the villa was tragically demolished in 1999, some of Itel’s creations survived. Among these was the powerfully expressive table, which Itel carved from stack-laminated wood. Others employed this technique as well, including Steiner, to create large sculptural objects. Itel’s table exemplifies the concepts of visual music and a living surface of convex and concave curves.
