Prullenbak met ingelegd motief van cirkels c. 1900 - 1910

Here we see a trash can with inlaid circle motif made by ‘t Binnenhuis, and it’s currently housed at the Rijksmuseum. The first thing you notice is probably the brown wood, but there’s also this playful approach to shape, this kind of rounding off of edges, which feels very process-oriented. The surface has a great texture, very tactile. I like how you can see the wood grain running through it, which adds this layer of organic feel to a very functional object. The inlaid circles catch the eye, they almost seem like small portals, and the way they are inlaid makes me think about the labor involved in creating the piece. Overall, it feels very Bauhaus, maybe a touch of the Vienna Secession, but there’s something so charmingly handmade about it. The whole thing rejects the idea of a trash can as something purely utilitarian. In a way, it invites us to reconsider the beauty in everyday objects.