Posts Tagged ‘charles rennie mackintosh’

ART NOUVEAU CHAIRS: UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR, LAYERED WOOD CHAIR, SLAT-BACK ARMCHAIR, BENTWOOD SIDE CHAIR, UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR, CANED-SEAT ARMCHAIR, CURVED DESK CHAIR

ART NOUVEAU CHAIRS

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WHEN  IT CAME TO the chair, Art
Nouveau designers let their imaginations run wild. Designers from Glasgow to Nancy used the chair to illustrate and promote the Art Nouveau ideal.
Breaking free from traditional methods of design and construction, designers experimented with flowing, abstract shapes influenced by nature, and bending or elongating wood into sculptural pieces.
The Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh left an indelible mark on Art Nouveau furniture, especially with his ground-breaking chair designs. Well proportioned with attenuated backs imparting an almost ecclesiastical appearance, his cube-based chairs decorated with geometric cut-out patterns were influential, especially on designers
working in Germany    Austria, who embraced this more linear approach.
The French strand of Art Nouveau produced a contrasting style. with its sinuous, organic. fluid chair designs which were made by Louis Majorelle and Hector Guimard in exotic woods. These were often lavishly decorated with intricate inlays, marquetry. and carved botanical motifs on top rails, legs, and aprons.
A taste for the exotic also provided another decorative and extremely influential outlet in chairs – from Japanese and Moorish-inspired designs to bizarre seat furniture created by Carlo Bugatti and Antoni Gaudi using a variety of materials. Bugatti and Gaudi used imaginative combinations of wood and metals, embellished with materials such as leather, vellum, and silk.

The curves on this piece were achieved using the bentwood technique.
Aluminium nails decorate the replaced leather seat and back.
The beech frame is stained the colour of mahogany.
UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR
This chair is constructed from bent beechwood stained the colour of mahogany. The curved shape was achieved by steaming the wood, then applying even pressure. The prolific architect and founder of the Vienna Secession, J.M. Olbrich, designed this armchair for Thonet of Vienna. c1902.

ARMCHAIR
This mahogany armchair has an upholstered crest, a slat back and carved arms. The seat and back panel are upholstered in velvet. The slat back forms a back leg and the piece
terminates in bun feet. c. 1900.
LAYERED WOOD CHAIR
This is one of a set of four chairs made in the style of the early Vienna Secession. The chair is made of cut beechwood and layered wood which is stained in two shades. The seat is covered in black leather, but is not original. c.1900.
This stained beech and elm chair was probably made by Wylie & Lochhead of Glasgow. The curved top rail sits above three splats. The seat is inlaid with boxwood lining. The legs are joined by double stretchers that terminate in upholstered, panelled feet. L&T I
This Viennese slat-back armchair is constructed from veneered and polished nut wood massif. The design is accredited to Josef Hoffmann. A low, D-shaped stretcher unites the straight legs near to the base of the chair. c.1905.
ARMCHAIR
SLAT-BACK ARMCHAIR
BENTWOOD CHAIR
This beech chair, made and signed by Austrian manufacturer Thonet, has a flowing bentwood frame made of bent rods, which curves without the use of carving and joints. It has a shaped seat rail and a reversed, heart-shaped back that sweeps below the seat to form stretchers. The triangular seat is made of cane, although it is not original. The chair terminates in three legs. c.1900.

This is one of a pair of side chairs made of oak. The back of the chair has curvilinear rails linking tapering uprights above a drop-in seat.
Square-section, tapering legs terminate in pad feet.
This early J. & J. Kohn side chair was designed by Josef Hoffmann. It has a bentwood back and tapering legs, and there are four wooden spheres under the seat rail. The brown leather
upholstery is tacked on to the seat and back, obscuring the stamped mark.
SIDE CHAIR
BENTWOOD SIDE CHAIR
ARMCHAIR
This is one of a pair of mahogany armchairs designed by J.S. Henry. The tall, upholstered back has sinuous leaf finials, curving open arms, and an upholstered pad seat. The seat is supported on turned and tapering legs linked by an arched stretcher at the front and straight side
stretchers.

MARQUETRY ARMCHAIR
Designed by Louis Majorette, the back splat of this mahogany armchair is decorated in marquetry depicting branch and leaf designs. The chair has moulded “U”-shaped crinoline arms that have distinctive duck’s-head terminals. The seat is upholstered in velvet.
UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR
This mahogany armchair, designed by G.M. Ellwood, has a tapering back containing an oval upholstered panel and elegant vertical splats. The piece has open upholstered arms and an upholstered seat. The legs terminate in tassle carved feet.
ARMCHAIR
This stained mahogany armchair features distinctive, wavy, horizontal splats positioned above and below the rectangular panelled back. The downswept, open arms and
upholstered panel seat are raised on turned, tapered legs.
CANED-SEAT ARMCHAIR
This is one of a pair of “Model 511″ chairs by Thonet, constructed from bent beech. The splat is pierced with holes, with parallel slats below. The back continues in a curve down to the feet. The seat is made of woven caning. c.1904.
This mahogany desk chair by Louis Majorelle has open arms featuring galleries of tapered spindles. Red-leather upholstery on the back and scat is fixed to the frame with studs. The twisted form of the legs emphasizes the sinuous, feminine design.
This carved walnut armchair designed by Henri Rapin has a wing back and bold scrolling terminals. The tapering legs lead to splayed spade feet. The heavily patterned upholstery is not original. 1910.
This Louis Majorelle carved mahogany desk chair (part of a desk set) has moulded arms leading into sweeping, reverse-curved supports. The chair has a distinctive, low upholstered back. The front legs are cabriole in shape. c.1903.
This armchair was designed by Josef Maria Olbrich and made by Josef Niedermoser of Vienna. The frame is black-varnished maple, the chair is upholstered with yellow leather covers, and the feet are metal. 1898 99.
DESK CHAIR
OPEN ARMCHAIR
CURVED DESK CHAIR
ARMCHAIR

Art Nouveau Furniture: FRENCH CABINET, ENGLISH HALLROBE, SCOTTISH BOOKCASE, VIENNESE SIDEBOARD, VENEERED CUPBOARD, STAINED-GLASS CABINET, MAHOGANY CABINET, OAK BOOKCASE

ART NOUVEAU
CASE PIECES
THE CABINET CONTINUED to be one
of the most expensive and impressive pieces of useful furniture in European houses. Both decorative and functional, cabinets were used as writing chests, for locking away precious jewels, for storing important papers, and for the display of small, treasured collectables.
Art Nouveau cabinets were made in a variety of styles. The Anglo-Japanese cabinets, such as those designed by E.W Godwin, were embellished with brass mounts and painted decorations.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, C.EA. Voysey, and E.W Gimson combined simple designs and an attention to the details of fine craftsmanship with
the use of rich timbers, such as oak, walnut, satinwood, and mahogany.
These designers influenced the design of cabinets in the Art Nouveau style in Europe, especially the austere, geometric style favoured in Germany and Austria.
In contrast, French cabinets
were more sensuous in their
design, with Rococo and Oriental elements combined to produce asymmetrically shaped pieces, decorated with curvilinear plant, flower, and vegetable motifs. Louis Majorelle created superbly crafted cabinets of extraordinary luxury, in fine-quality woods. These pieces were often embellished with finely wrought gilt-bronze or wrought-iron mounts, or included decorative inlays of mother-of-pearl or metal.
This elegant cabinet is made of walnut. It is decorated with a marquetry design depicting a clematis and a bird, executed in exotic hardwoods. The top section provides open storage, which is accessed via a rounded
opening, surrounded by relief carving. The piece was made by Louis Majorelle. His sinuous and fluid style, evident here, was inspired by 18th-century Rococo furniture. c.1900.
Carved circular supports
are decorated with
a twisting tendril and root-like design.
The cabinet body is made from walnut
with marquetry in exotic hardwoods.
The marquetry incorporates floral motifs.
FRENCH CABINET

ENGLISH HALLROBE
top of this hallrobe supports Classical carved panels. The panelled front is adorned
stylized copper hinges and handles and
interior is fitted. This piece was made by
the prominent commercial furniture manufacturer, Shapland and Pettey.
SCOTTISH BOOKCASE
This oak bookcase by leading furniture-maker, Wylie and Lochhead of Glasgow, is in the style of the Scottish school. The intricate floral panels are in stained glass and flanked by angular, stylized, copper, repousse panels, all above a long drawer and a bottom cabinet. c.1900.
VIENNESE SIDEBOARD
This impressive walnut veneer sideboard is by the school of Josef Hoffmann. The piece is decorated with intarsia. The symmetrical, clean design is typical of Hoffman and the linear style reveals the influence of Charles Rennie
Mackintosh. The upper section is enclosed behind glazed doors that form a geometric pattern. The mirrored central section is supported by rounded columns. The base has a marble top and contains cupboards and a drawer. The plinth and the handles are made of brass. c.1902.

The straight lines and gentle curves of this cabinet are typical of the Glasgow School, as is the stained-glass window depicting a pastel-coloured flower design. The piece has a broad, projecting cornice, which was a feature of many Glasgow School cabinets.
This walnut veneer and brass dining room cabinet is part of a set by Otto Wytrlik. The matching table, stool, pair of commodes, four armchairs, and two further chairs are solid, dark pieces with strongly geometric lines, and would have given the room a masculine look. c. 1901.
This small, mahogany-veneered cupboard from Austria is raised on four slender legs. The two cupboards, two drawers, and shelves all have nickel fittings. The distinctive top cupboard has three sides of panelled glass with ornamental silver decoration. c.1900.
Anglo-Japanese influences are evident in this mahogany music cabinet decorated with stylized, floral, stained-glass panels. The fine, string ebony and boxwood inlay is enriched with delicate floral carvings. The arched apron is reflected in the curved pediment. c.1895.
STAINED-GLASS CABINET
DINING ROOM
VENEERED CUPBOARD
MUSIC CABINET

INLAID CABINET
This ornate mahogany display cabinet is elaborately inlaid in copper, pewter, and specimen woods with decoration of stylized flower-heads and leafy tendrils. The central panel is mirrored and flanked by two glass doors opening onto glass shelves.
MAHOGANY CABINET
The shaped, raised back, and moulded finials of this highly decorative display cabinet have whiplash-style foliate and floral marquetry inlays. The leaded and stained-glass panel doors are decorated with a floral design, and are enclosed by marquetry panels.
FLORAL CABINET
This mahogany display cabinet, attributed to the Scottish designer Ernest Archibald Taylor, has silver plated repousse decoration on the glass. The architectural form is decorated with a butterfly centrepiece and floral designs in sycamore and tulipwood inlay. c.1903.
OAK BOOKCASE
This bookcase cabinet has a projecting dentil cornice above three open compartments, flanked by pierced decorative brackets. The twin doors, enclosing adjustable shelves, have leaded clear glass panels with stained-glass decoration on the top.

ART NOUVEAU TABLES: MARQUETRY TWO-TIER TABLE, NEST OF TABLES, MARQUETRY TABLE NEST, PINE WORKBOX, ROSEWOOD STAND, BRASS FRAMED TABLE

ART NOUVEAU TABLES
ART NOUVEAU DESIGNERS transformed
the functional table into works of art, with motifs inspired by the natural world. A table embellished with dragonflies or sculpted leaves, for example, might take on the form of a tree, with its support shaped like a trunk, and feet resembling roots.
Those working in the French and Belgian style of Art Nouveau, such as Louis Majorelle and Emile Galle, created tables with tapering, sinuous legs; serpentine-shaped tops; and carved decoration or marquetry patterns of flower blossoms, trees, or fruit. These were rendered in veneers of precious and exotic woods.
The Glasgow School led by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and other like-minded designers, including Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser, offered a radical contrast. They favoured tables with rectangular, geometric proportions, narrow,
elongated lines, and decorative cut-out motifs such as squares and spheres.
In England, tables mirrored historic styles, exotic Japanese or Moorish designs, or favoured simple construction and functional, aesthetic design, as seen in the work of C.F.A. Voysey and Charles Ashbee.
In Spain and Italy, tables were often incorporated into sofas or other pieces of furniture, or had practical features such as built-in cabinets.
The Japanese style was popular with its simple designs, asymmetric forms, undulating lines, use of lacquer or lacquer-look-alikes, and a love of nature, often appearing as typical Japanese motifs such as dragonflies.
Many innovative types of table appeared, such as the tripod, tier, and the nest of tables, while decorative features such as the arched stretcher showed how new techniques pushed wood to limits never seen before.
Raised edges prevent Brass handles enable
items from falling off. the table to be easily moved around the room.
Sculptural design with W-shaped table sides
MARQUETRY TWO-TIER TABLE
This two-tier nutwood and mahogany occasional table by Louis Majorelle is of double-framed construction. It has decorative carving, and each of the two tiers is embellished with floral marquetry. The top tier also has applied brass handles. 1900.
NEST OF TABLES
This nest of four Secessionist, black-lacquered tables is attributed to Josef Hoffmann. Each table has a rectangular top with rounded edges supported by turned, spindle-filled supports leading to platform stretchers. The largest of the four carries two sphere-turned carving handles. The Japanese influence is displayed in both the materials used and the form of this nest.
Floral marquetry table top
MARQUETRY TABLE NEST
This nest of four occasional tables wasdesigned
fined by Emile Galle. They are constructed from mahogany and various other hardwoodswith
high-grade veneer. The tops and side mouldings of the tables are supported by
frames with elegant scroll curves at the bases. Each of the rectangular table tops is decorated in marquetry using various fruitwoods with a different floral scene. The largest of the tables bears the signature “Galle” within the marquetry. c.1900.
BEECH TABLE NEST
This nest of four “968″ tables is made of beech. They were designed by Josef Hoffmann and produced by J. & J. Kohn of Vienna (see .c.376). The tables are raised on slender, tapering legs, joined on three sides by stretchers. The
largest of the tables has handles and trellis splats on the sides. Each of the smaller units slides into place on runners, which store the tables in a hanging position. The table nest has a mahogany stain and the remains of an original paper label underneath. 1905.
This table, designed by Louis Majorelle, is known as les Goings, meaning quinces. Constructed from walnut, the tops of the legs and the apron boards carry deep-carved decoration depicting
quince fruits on the branch. 1905.
This French tea table, from the Ecole de Nancy, is constructed from walnut, brass, and glass. It has a tray top with a raised edge to prevent items falling off. Below the tray top is an additional shelf with fold-down sides. These offer more table space but can be folded
away when not in use. c. 1900.
PINE WORKBOX
FRETWORK OCCASIONAL TABLE
ROSEWOOD STAND
This J.S. Henry occasional table has a shaped top above an elaborate fretwork frieze. It is supported on slender, tapering, cabriole legs with pad feet that are linked by a lower tier. The maker’s label is still attached.
This stained pine artist’s workbox is from the Scottish School. The rectangular top has a twin-hinged lid, which opens to reveal an interior fitted with compartments for materials. The pegs used for joining are visible at the sides.
This rare rosewood and marquetry stand was designed by Emile GaII6. The lobed top is inlaid with floral decoration and butterfly motifs. The four moulded legs are united by an elegant arched stretcher.
This small Austrian bentwood three-tier table is designed in the manner of Josef Hoffmann. It has a rounded square top supported on splayed legs. Two undertiers with wooden balls at the joints provide additional storage.
THREE-TIER TABLE
HEXAGONAL TABLE
GILT SIDE TABLE
BRASS FRAMED TABLE
TILED OCCASIONAL TABLE
Originally sold by Liberty & Co., this hexagonal table has a moulded top raised above square, tapering legs, which are linked by distinctive pierced stretchers halfway up the legs. The piece terminates in simple, pad feet.
This opulent, giltwood side table with relief-moulded decoration was designed by Louis Majorette. A mottled-orange marble top is set within a leaf-and-berry carved slip, with a wavy frieze below. Arched stretchers link the legs.
The elegant brass tripod of this Richard Muller-designed table bends towards the centre at the top. The plain, circular table top is made from mahogany. Two triangular mahogany tiers provide additional storage. 1902.
This occasional table is made of oak. The circular top features a red and green tiled insert in a geometric pattern. The three tapered supports are pierced with decoration

Art Nouveau Austrian Furniture: DISPLAY CABINET, DISPLAY CABINET, VIENNESE SERVING TABLE, CIRCULAR TABLE, BLACK-PAINTED CUPBOARD, LARCHWOOD TABLE AND CHAIRS, BENTWOOD CHAIR, FOOTSTAND

ART NOUVEAU AUSTRIA
VIENNA WAS PARTICULARLY receptive
to the desire for innovation that swept across Europe in the last 25 years of the 19th century. This recognition of the need for change signalled the approaching demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed at the end of World War 1. Austria founded her own distinctive version of Art Nouveau, and established a new set of stylistic ideals.
The Vienna art establishment was challenged by a group of artists, architects, and designers, who, in 1897, founded the “Secession” under
the chairmanship of Gustav Klimt. This movement protested against the conservative teachings of its masters and campaigned for modernity,
heralding the beginning of one of Austria’s most creative periods.
BOLD DESIGNS
Sculptors and artists were active in the Secession, as were the architects and interior designers Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, and Josef Maria Olbrich, and furniture designers Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. This enterprising group created bold furniture designs
for the new century. The Secessionists rejected the flamboyant naturalism of French Art Nouveau, preferring the linear furniture designs created by
the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh (see pp..364-65), who was widely admired in Vienna. Austrian designers were more influenced by the British Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century than by French or Belgian Art Nouveau.
NATURAL INSPIRATION
The Secessionists were inspired by the geometry of nature. The curving,
sinuous plant forms popular with the French and Belgian Schools were rejected in favour of rectangles and squares. The Secessionists based their designs on a spare, geometric style, using simple shapes and linear patterns and new materials such as plywood, aluminium, and bent beechwood. Their furniture was designed for uncluttered interiors.
KEY FIGURES
The most distinguished Secessionists were Josef Hoffmann and Koloman
Moser, co-founders of the Wiener Werkstatte in 1903. Hoffmann created a purer, more linear version of the Art Nouveau style producing furniture in a simple, geometric form that was elegant and restrained, thereby forging a link between Art Nouveau and Modernism. Hoffmann was a designer for the firm established by the German,
Michael Thonet (see below).
More colourful than most Viennese furniture of the time, Kolomon Moser’s tables, cabinets, and chairs were linear but lavishly embellished. In fact,
decoration often took precedence over form, with luxurious woods, such as rosewood, used for veneers and decorative inlays.
ADOLF LOOS
The architect Adolf Loos was a key member of the Secessionist movement. Better known for his philosophical writings than his buildings, Loos wrote an essay, “Ornament and Crime”, in which he opposed the highly decorative style of Art Nouveau. Instead, he advocated that reason, not passion, should determine the way that people designed.
The Secessionist’s linear, geometric interpretation of Art Nouveau paved the way for the geometric shapes and spare style later favoured by the
Bauhaus and the Modern movement of the 1930s.
The embossed panels with
harpist and knight moths
were inspired by Klimt.
The case is oak, furnished and polished. with maple inlays.
The panels of the glazed door forma geometric pattern with the low shelf.
DISPLAY CABINET
This mahogany display cabinet is part of a dining-room set designed by Otto Wytrlik of Vienna. Note the straight lines of the design and the simple veneered walnut finish and brass fittings. c.1901.
DISPLAY CABINET
This oak cabinet was made in Vienna. It is almost square in shape and rests on a framed plinth. The glazed central door is flanked by flat-panel doors with geometric-pattern oak figuring and maple inlays. The open shelf in
the centre is flanked by brass panels embossed with a scene depicting a harpist and a knight. The design of these panels was influenced by Gustav Klimt’s Beethoven Frieze. The embossed panels were probably created for this piece by Klimt’s brother, Georg. c.1905-10.
VIENNESE SERVING TABLE
This serving table is made of stained oak with brass handles. It has a removable top with glass inlay, and hinged sides with facetted glass panels to allow access to the shelves. c.1905.
CIRCULAR TABLE
This small, circular topped, beech bentwood table is of a very simple design with no additional decoration. It has two circular undertiers, and the piece stands on slightly splayed supports.
BLACK-PAINTED CUPBOARD
Designed by Adolf Loos, this functional cupboard is made from softwood, painted black and then varnished. It has distinctive twin two-over-three glazed doors and brass hardware. c.1908.
Wall mirror This piece is made from carved bentwood to create a simple, elegant effect. The wood has been steamed and then bent into shape, and this technique is a hallmark of Thonet’s furniture.
LARCHWOOD TABLE AND CHAIRS
This round table and chairs were designed
and made by the company of Portois & Fix in
Vienna. The chairs are made of larch wood and the backs are carved in an elaborate floral pattern. The seats are upholstered in a floral
fabric. The table is made of nut wood, with a red-brown leather skiver on the top. The profiled legs are decorated with floral carving, and there is a shelf about halfway down the legs. All of the pieces bear the manufacturer’s stamp. c.1900-05.
BENTWOOD CHAIR
Armchair “No.25″, made by Mundus of Vienna, is made of dark-brown stained beech, with an open backsplat decorated with stylized, scrolling plant stems and a canework seat. c.1910.
FOOTSTAND
This three-legged footstand was designed by Adolf Loos. It has a mahogany-stained, beach top, which is carved into a bowl shape. The piece stands on splayed mahogany legs. c.1905.
In his small furniture workshop, Michael Thonet perfected the bentwood technique – marrying forward-looking, elegant design with industrial production – that ultimately exploded on the international stage. In 1849, Thonet established the Gebruder Thonet company, setting up a host of factories across Eastern Europe. In the following decades the company achieved tremendous growth and success as it paved the way for the industrial mass production of functional, inexpensive and robust furniture that contributed to the fashion for minimal ornamentation.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Thonet’s signature bentwood furniture
with its sinuous, elegant curves inspired a number of celebrated Art Nouveau architects and designers, including Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Henry van de Veldc. The reputation of the Thonet Brothers attracted a collection of visionary talents who designed furniture for the firm, among them one of the pioneering founders of the Wiener Werkstatte Josef Hoffmann, along with Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, Koloman Moser, and Otto Prutscher.
GEBRUDER THONET
IN AUSTRIA, THE EVOLUTION OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE OWES MUCH
TO THE TRAILBLAZING DESIGNS OF CRAFTSMAN MICHAEL THONET.
Gebruder Thonet catalogue The catalogue for L`industrie Thonet bears the subtitle “From handcraftsmanship to mass production: bentwood furniture.”
Gueridon This small table is made of beech wood and consists of a plain top above an ornate bentwood base, decorated with oval motifs.

Art Nouveau English Furniture: WARDROBE, UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR, OCCASIONAL TABLE, WRITING DESK.

BRITISH FURNITURE DESIGNERS took
the basic themes of Art Nouveau and interpreted them in two different ways: some experimented with a more understated version of the flowing, feminine lines popular in France and Belgium; others, most famously Scotland’s Charles Rennie Mackintosh (see pp.364-65), favoured the restrained, rectilinear style seen in Germany and Austria. In fact, the Viennese Secessionists later drew inspiration themselves from the bold, architectural furniture that Mackintosh designed. Interestingly, the Art Nouveau movement in Britain also evolved from the stylized forms of Aesthetic period furniture (see p.326).
WELL-CRAFTED FURNITURE Towards the end of the 19th century, the quality of British furniture had started to decline, as mass-production enabled manufacturers to churn out hundreds of identical pieces at affordable prices for the growing middle classes.
The work of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement had started to reverse this by championing furniture handmade by craftsmen. The trend was continued by designers and craftsmen working in the Art Nouveau style, who, despite using machines to produce their furniture, also put a premium on quality.
Many British Art Nouveau furniture-makers used satinwood or walnut as well as mahogany for their designs. Some of the most spectacular examples of their work are display cabinets or cupboards that feature intricately cut and inlaid designs.
SHAPLAND AND FETTER
Although perhaps best known for their work in the Arts and Crafts tradition, the firm of Shapland and Petter produced elaborate, high-quality furniture in exotic woods such as mahogany Based in Barnstaple, Devon, they also made oak pieces decorated with good-quality carving, colour-stained panels, or stylized copper panels, as well as ceramic roundels made locally by the Brannam pottery works.
Their team of designers remained anonymous, but Shapland and Petter supplied stores across Britain,
including Marsh Jones and Cribbs in Leeds, and Wylie and Lochhead in Glasgow. Their work also sold abroad. Although their furniture was mass-produced, it was very high quality.
DECORATIVE INLAYS AND MOTIFS Shapland and Petter, together with the architect and designer, Ernest Gimson, used inlays of ivory, silver, abalone shell, mother-of-pearl, and fruitwoods to
decorate their designs.
As in France and Belgium, motifs from the natural world — stylized peacock feathers, snowdrops, and lilies — were worked in marquetry or metal inlays; designs for decorative hinges and door pulls were often inspired by the sinuous, whiplash lines that were favoured by Continental makers.
The Glasgow firm of Wylie and Lochhead also made pieces in this style, sometimes combining elements with the angular look favoured by Mackintosh and the Glasgow School.
ARTS AND CRAFTS HYBRID
Some of the designers and craftsmen who had been working in the Arts and Crafts style — including Charles Frances Annesley Voysey and Charles Robert Ashbee — were influenced by Art Nouveau motifs, and combined them with a more sturdy Arts and Crafts form to create a hybrid look.
Voysey, for example, used decoration sparingly, preferring to let the grain and beauty of the woods he used speak for themselves. However, when he occasionally used metal mounts or panels, these were often in a flowing style inspired by Art Nouveau.
The London store Liberty & Co. (see right) helped to popularize Art Nouveau by championing the work of the most innovative designers,
such as Voysey and Mackintosh, and also by commissioning commercial imitations. Much of Liberty’s furniture was made in oak and mahogany, and the designs they commissioned from Leonard E Wyburd and E.G. Punnets for oak cupboards, tables, and chairs are among the store’s most widely
recognized items of furniture. Liberty furniture was known for its simple construction, symmetrical design, and the restrained use of decorative motifs, and it was often marked “Liberty & Co.” on a rectangular plaque.

UPHOLSTERED ARMCHAIR
OCCASIONAL TABLE
This mahogany armchair has distinctive, horizontal, slatted arms and a drop-in seat. The top rail is inlaid with a band of five stylized seedpods. The seat and back are upholstered in a floral fabric. L&T
This table has a shaped lower tier beneath the hexagonal lobed top. There are three elaborately pierced supports, each terminating in a pair of slender, curved legs.
LIBERTY &_ CO.
THIS EMPORIUM ON LONDON’S REGENT STREET WAS FOUNDED IN 1875,
AND WAS AT THE VANGUARD OF THE NEW STYLE.

In 1883, Liberty & Co., already famous for its Oriental wares and Art Nouveau fabrics, opened a Furnishing and Decorating Studio under the direction of Leonard L Wyburd. The Studio’s aim was to meet the growing demand for fashionable, decorative, and affordable furniture that incorporated the design vocabulary of Art Nouveau. The furniture borrowed freely from pioneering designers such as C.EA. Voysey and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who also contributed designs. By 1887, Liberty was selling a highly successful range of simple chairs and country-style oak furniture embellished with inlaid decoration, elaborate strap hinges, leaded glass panels, and tiles. bringing Art
furniture to a wider audience.
A signature Liberty & Co. ivorine plaque
Walnut dressing table The table has original hinged copper handles. The simple construction and restrained decoration are typical of Liberty.

WRITING DESK
The pierced gallery at the back of this mahogany desk, and the embossed copper panels depicting owls and stylized plants, place this piece firmly in the Art Nouveau period. The desk is thought to be the work of either Shapland & Pettey or Wylie & Lochhead — both highly regarded furniture
manufacturers.
CORNER CHAIR
Specifically designed to stand in a corner, and a direct descendant of the corner chairs of the late 18th century, this chair has backs on two sides of the square rush seat. The moulded top rail is supported by shaped splats. The chair is raised on turned legs, linked by parallel stretchers, and ending in bulbous feet. L&T
The door and drawer fittings are handmade.
A central tabernacle provides open storage.

DISPLAY CABINET
This ornate and curvaceous mahogany cabinet features marquetry decoration of flowers and whiplash tendrils. This fashionable technique was used extensively on expensive furniture during the period. The cabinet doors, positioned below the oval mirror, are made of leaded glass decorated with a tulip pattern.
This mahogany wardrobe is a high-quality combination of traditional craftsmanship and machine technology typical of its maker, Shapland & Pettey. A decorative feature is made of the plated metal-hammered door and drawer fittings, and the central cupboard door is inlaid with distinctive foliate motifs.
The marquetry panel has a stylized and geometric floral design.
The door hinges, handles, and escutcheon are decorated with bold geometric motifs.
The wooden case was made by machine.

THE GLASGOW SCHOOL
AT THE HEART of the Art Nouveau
movement in Scotland, the Glasgow School of Art sowed the seeds of an artistic revolution.
The enterprising director, Francis Newberg, and his wife Jessie, were instrumental in taking the Glasgow School of Art beyond its traditional role as an institution for formal
instruction in painting. A great admirer and champion of the teachings of William Morris, Newberg urged his students to learn as much as they could from the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements. He set up art studios where artist-craftsmen provided
broad range of commercial crafts, including bookbinding, woodcarving, ceramics, stained glass, and metalwork.
KEY DESIGNERS
An influential team of designers and architects closely associated with the Glasgow School included Charles Rennie Mackintosh, J. Herbert MacNair, and the sisters Margaret and Frances MacDonald. Known as “The Glasgow Four” or “Four Macs”, they created furniture and interior decoration inspired by Arts and Crafts ideology, but which developed as a movement in its own right and was
“Glasgow Style”. This style incorporated natural imagery together with a strong, psychological identification with the city – then booming economically and culturally – powered by its engineering and industrial skills.
It was a decidedly Scottish and occasionally modest interpretation of the Art Nouveau. Simple, geometric furniture designs were decorated with stylized patterns of flowers, plants, animals, figural patterns, and Celtic-style decoration. These
were shown in unusual colours drawn from local scenery, such as heathery purple, misty greys, and soft green. The Glasgow style won international acclaim, especially at the 8th Secessionist Exhibition in 1900 in Vienna, and exercised a
potent influence on the architects of industrial design in Germany and Austria. The rooms furnished by the group for the 1902 Turin International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Arts focused on controlled line, eschewing serpentine curves, and favouring symmetrical flowers,
elongated figures, and intricate linear designs in glass, metal, and enamel.
THE ROSE EMBLEM
Nature always inspired the Glasgow Four and was occasionally approached from a scientific perspective. Even the group’s emblem – the two-dimensional rose, which was designed by
Mackintosh and featured frequently on its architecture and furniture – was
inspired by a cabbage cut in half. Other talents associated with the Glasgow School were Ernest Archibald Taylor, lauded for his clean, elegant, and highly refined designs in the style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh; George Walton, with his delicate and subtle designs for furniture, textiles, and glass; and Talwin Morris, who worked in a variety of media, from furniture to textiles, metalwork, and glass.
The Glasgow School of Art This building was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1896 and is regarded as one of his most notable architectural achievements.

A Glasgow School hammered brass mirror This piece has a repousse, stylized, floral motif design with long, flowing tendrils ending in a swirl, and a circular bud design with striking blue, enamel.

MAHOGANY CUPBOARD
This inlaid cupboard is made from mahogany and consists of elegant, vertical lines embellished with a projecting and moulded cornice. It is raised on a plinth. In contrast to the simple lines of the piece, the fielded, panelled door is inlaid with florid, geometric, stylized flowers, plant forms, foliage, and stems, and is flanked by similarly inlaid panels.
The moulded hinges and handles are elaborately decorated with foliate motifs. The plinth is pierced at the front and sides with a repeating heart-shaped pattern that echoes the inlaid design. The cupboard was possibly designed by J.S. Henry, a Glasgow wholesale company that often supplied furniture to Liberty and Co. and worked with leading
designers such as George Walton.
HALLSTAND
This hallstand is made of stained oak. It was designed by Wylie and Lochhead and shows the influence of Mackintosh. The moulded cornice above a central bevelled plate is flanked by repouss6 copper panels showing stylized briar roses. Decorative supports in the form of flower stems add to the overall design.