Posts Tagged ‘davenport captains desk’

WINE-GLASS, BLUE GLASS CASED OVER
GLASS, with ACID-ETCHED DECORATION
Benjamin Richardson, England, 1857
I It. 143 mm (563 in.)
Acid Etching: Although acid-etched glasses
arc known to exist from the 17th century,
the process was not generally used in glass-
making until the 19th century, with the
discovery of hydrofluoric acid. Heinrich
Schwanhardt (d.1693), son of the Nurem-
berg engraver Georg Schwanhardt, is
recorded to have engraved glasses with
acid, one example attributed to him being
dated 1686. The technique can be used
either to cut through one layer of glass to
another, as in the glass illustrated, or to
provide a single-layered glass with a matt
finish. An acid-resist such as wax paraffin
covers the parts that are not to be affected,
the pattern having been cut through the
resist. The surface of the glass is then
treated in an acid bath (such as a mixture
of 100 parts of water, 10 of potassium
fluoride and t part hydrochloric acid).
Benjamin Richardson of the Richardson
firm of Stourbridge took out a patent to
etch glasses in 1857.
VASE WITH ACID-ETCHED DECORATION
J. & J. Northwood, England, r.1878.
Ht. 216 mm (85 in.)
It was only in the 19th and 20th centuries
that acid-etching became at all an accepted
mode of decoration. In England it is
known that the Dudley firm of Thomas
Hawkes used the technique in the 1830’s.
Besides flat glass objects, wine-glasses,
bottles and vases were being acid-etched
by the 1840’s. John Northwood and T.
Guest were involved in the Richardson
experiments with acid-etching, and in the
186o’s established themselves as individual
firms specialising in etching. They were
known as J. 8c J. Northwood, and Guest
Brothers respectively, and produced a
quantity of etched work in the later 1860’s
and 1870V The skill and delicacy of the
etching they achieved can be seen on the
vase illustrated, made at the J. 8c J.
Northwood works and shown at the Paris
Exhibition of 1878. Acid-etching was by
no means a technique confined to England,
however.
The Techniques of’Taking Away
As Maurice Marinoi of Trance grew to
understand the nature and working of
glass, he experimented with its ornamen-
tation. In 1922 he began using the
technique of acid-etching in a manner
distinctly his own. The process had been
used by French glass-makers since the
mid-19th century. F.mile Galle, comment-
ing on the technique, had said that it would
not do for delicate work, but ‘it cuts into
certain glasses in a manner of its own’. He
used it in his factory from 1890 onwards,
and the Daum factory had also used it to
some extent. Marinot took up acid-etching
because it suited his purpose better than
any other decorative technique. When he
employed acid-etching he used the massi v e
forms he had always favoured, in trans-
parent, occasionally tinted, glass. The
etched designs cut deeply into the surface,
giving an almost sculptural look to the
glass. The whole surface of the glass was
subjected to the treatment, with the most
varied results.
Acid-etching has been used to give a matt
surface to the colourless glass vase illus-
trated. This slender vase has a round foot,
w ith a long stem widening slightly towards
the bowl, which is of an exaggerated tulip
shape. It is just one example of the beaut]
of modern Swedish glass. Even such an
aesthetically difficult technique as etching
has been triumphantly used to give .1
beautiful all-over textural and eye-catch-
ing finish. It has been said that ‘Sweden’s
great contribution to modern design was
to transform Functionalism from an in-
tellectual theory into a practical instru-
ment for better living’ (Polak, 1962). This
was eminently shown in her glass-making;
but besides qualities like fitness for prac-
tical purpose, toughness in wear and
cheapness of production, the general aim
from the beginning was to create objects
of beauty. The Swedes succeeded in their
glassware perhaps more than in any other
branch of modern design.
ENGRAVED AND SAND-BLASTED VASE
Hy Sverre FtTterscn, Hadeland, Norway, 1038
Sand-blasling: In the process of sand-
blasting a stream of sand, crushed flint or
powdered iron is directed on to the surface
of the glass in a jet of air. The parts of the
glass to be left plain are covered with a
stencil plate of steel, or an elastic varnish
or rubber solution painted on to form a
protective shield. The type of finish is
varied by altering the size of the nozzle, or
the abrasive, or the air pressure. The
technique has been in use since 1870,
though it has rarely been applied to vessel
glass, except for lettering on mass-pro-
duced items, and is mainly used on glass
panels for decorative architectural use.
One of the more successful uses of sand-
blasting on vessel glass was by Sverre
Pettersen of Norway (1884-1959), who
was engaged as designer to Hadelands
Cilasswerk in 1928—at that time the only
factory for table glass and decorative glass
in Norway. During the ‘thirties he pro-
duced some very interesting pieces with
sand-blasted decoration.
PLATE WITH SAND-BLASTED ENGRAVING
By I adislav Oliva, Czechoslovakia, 1959
Diam. 362 mm (1425 in,)
Such are the difficulties attached to using
sand-blasting for anything but the heaviest
surface decoration that only very occasion-
ally are satisfying examples of the tech-
nique to be found. One of the exceptions is
this plate, designed and executed by
Ladislav Oliva (b. 1933) in Czechoslovakia.
The plate, in clear colourless lead crystal
glass, has a slightly raised rim, and the
grille-like decoration is in the form of cuts
about to mm (4/ioths in.) deep. Oliva
manages through this technique to give
the glass a new and exciting appearance.
His decorative themes always seem to
result from the natural lights of the heavy
glass mass. The matt finish that sand-
blasting imports to the glass can be very
pleasant to the touch, although sometimes
it can give a fairly rough effect.
The  century has been called the ‘golden
age of glass”, for it added many new tech-
niques to the glass-maker’s repertoire. This
sudden burst of activity can be put down to
many factors, including ‘the industrial revo-
lution, the relaxation of government controls
on the industry (specifically in England) and
a pride of craftsmanship born of freedom’
I Revi, i<)5g). Not since the Italian Renais-
sance had there been such an interest in new
glass-making ideas. In America the larger
firms hired scientists to discover new methods
of colouring glass, one of the best-known
being the Englishman Joseph I^ocke. In
Britain and on the Continent there was keen
rivalry in producing new types of art glass
for a highly competitive market. Demand
rem lied its zenith towards the end of the
I ii torian era. Since then, though new
techniques have still greatly interested glass-
makers, the art glass produced has reflected
the inherent qualities of the material, rather
than added decorative effects.
Pearl Satinglass, also known as Pearl Ware,
Mother-of-Pearl Satinglass and Verre de
Soie, can be found in a variety of patterns
and colours, but basically it shows the
technique of keeping a symmetrical or
controlled pattern of air traps within the
body of a vessel. The vase illustrated shows
a typical example in the so-called hobnail
pattern. Benjamin Richardson of England
filed the first patent for this technique in
1857. His method was quite simple. A
gather of glass was blown into a mould
which carried the pattern in projected
form. The piece, thus indented, was
covered by a further gather of glass, which
caused air traps to form over the pattern.
Another method current in England and
America in the late 19th century was to line
a heated mould with glass tubes, either
clear and colourless or coloured, and to
blow a bubble of glass into this mould.
BOWL OPAQUE IVORI
COLOURED GLASS CASED WITH A P.AIJi RUBY OUTER
LAYER
Stevens & Williams, England, about 1885
lit. 140 mm (55 in.)
The tubes would thus be caught up and
marvered into the body of the glass. By
twisting the paraison the worker produced
articles of glass with pearly swirled stripes
on the outer surface. This method was
probably used to produce the body of the
bowl illustrated, which has been further
worked to form a frilly rim, and has the
heavy applied decoration current around
1885, Patents to produce Pearl Satinglass
were filed by firms in New York in 1881
and France in 1885. The Mt. Washington
Glass Company of the U.S.A. filed patents
in 1886, which also suggested using heat-
sensitive metal to colour the glass, and
giving the article a lustreless finish by
using an acid bath, or by sand-blasting.
The Phoenix Glass Company of Pennsyl-
vania filed patents in 1886, 1887 and 1888;
the final patent described the use of two
moulds, one to pattern the inner wall of
the article, the other to be used after the
outer casing of glass had been applied.
FAIRY LAMP IN PEARL SATINGLASS, RAINBOW STRIPED
IN BLUE, ROSE, YELLOW AND APRICOT
About 1885. lit. 152 mm (6 in.)
The finished product made by the tech-
nique last described displayed a criss-
crossed network of pearly-indented lines
contained in the body of the article.
William Webb Boulton, who had the
Audnam Bank glass-house in England,
filed a patent for Pearl Satin Glass in 1885.
Other English glass-houses manufactured
this type of glass, notably Stevens &
Williams of Brierley Hill, who called it
‘Verre de Soie\ Much of the Pearl Satin-
glass produced in the late 19th century
came from Bohemian and French factories.
These cheaper wares, supplied by factories
at Steinschonau and Altrohlau, Bohemia,
effectively ruined the market for the finer
wares of England and America. Many
different means were used to colour Pearl
Satinglass. The rainbow striping suggested
in this fairy lamp was produced by laying
coloured rods of glass on the body of the
article before it was fully formed.
VASE IN PEARL SATINGLASS
Thomas Webb & Sons, England, probably early
iSoo’s. Hi. 260 mm (1025 in.)
The technical development of trapping air
in moulded recesses between an opaque-
glass body and a tinted layer was further
refined by Thomas Webb & Sons of
England. In the magnificent example
illustrated the vase has a diamond air-lock
pattern between opaque and translucent
layers of glass, but has been covered by an
outer layer etched away to form a floral
pattern in relief; the whole article has a
satin finish. In 1889 Thomas Webb
patented this process for manufacturing
cameo relief designs on articles of Pearl
Satin Ware. After the diamond air lock
pattern had been produced in the usual
way, an extra coating of opaque white or
coloured glass was applied. The design
was painted on to this coating with acid-
resisting inks; when the article was plunged
into an acid bath, the acid dissolved away
all glass not protected by the resist. The
glass-maker had to be extremely careful
not ti) leave the object in the acid too long,
lest the acid reached the air traps.
FOOTED VASE, WITH CORAIE1NE DECOR AI ION
Last quarter of iqih century. 111. 127 mm (j in.)
Corulene: ‘The vase illustrated displays a
type of decoration that became popular
from its introduction in the last quarter of
the 19th century and is known as
‘Coralcne’. A design was painted in enamel
on the surface of a glass. Tiny glass beads,
which could be clear, coloured or opales-
cent, were then applied and stuck to the
enamel paint of the design. The object was
next put into a muffle-kiln, where the
enamel and beads were fired firmly into
place. Decoration could be in the shape of
coral, but is also seen in fleur-de-lis,
herringbone, sheaf of wheat and many-
other patterns. This type of decoration is
found in all colours and on all types of
glassware. Coralenc was so named by the
Mt. Washington Glass Company in the
U.S.A., and by several Continental and
English glass manufacturers. Its use was
not restricted to any one factory.
Amberina is generally recognised as a
clear amber glass shading to red at the top.
The patent for it, dated July 24, 1883, was
granted to Joseph Locke of the Libbey
Glass Company. This remarkable man was
born in Worcester, Kngland, in 1846 and
worked first as a potter. Guest Brothers of
Stourbridge, etchers and decorators of
glass, engaged him, but later he was
persuaded to join the firm of Hodgetts,
Richardson & Company, where he pro-
duced his copy of the Portland vase. After
various employments, Locke finally went
to America in 1882, where he was signed
on by the New Kngland Glass Company
of Cambridge, Mass., later to become the
Libbey Glass Company of Toledo, Ohio.
‘Amberina’, ‘Pomona’, and ‘Agata’ glass
are only a few of his achievements while in
their employment. Amberina was the first
patented method for producing shaded
and parti-coloured glassware from a sen-
sitive homogeneous metal.
To produce Amberina a very small amount
of gold in solution was colloidally dis-
persed in a transparent amber glass metal.
When an object had been made from this
mix, it was allowed to cool below a glowing
red heat and then certain parts were re-
heated at the ‘glory hole’ (a small opening
in the furnace). This caused a red colour to
strike in the reheated portions—but over-
firing caused a fuchsia or purple shading.
Further patents were issued either to
Locke or to Kdward D. Libbey. An
interesting development was the produc-
tion of blanks composed of sensitive
Amberina glass which, after moulding,
were reheated to produce a deep ruby
colour on the outer surface only. A design
would be cut through to the undeveloped
amber colour below, giving a rich effect.
Amberina was made in Cambridge, Mass.,
between 1883 and 1888 by the New
Kngland Glass Company. A fine though
short-lived revival was made between 1917
and 1920, when the firm had moved to
Toledo, Ohio; one of its products is
shown above.
New England Glass Company, U.S.A., 1886
Ht. 178 mm (7 in.)
Almost every glass company in Europe and
America probably made Amberina at some
time during this period. A new technique
was patented for the New England Glass
Company in 1883 and was called ‘Plated
Amberina’; this was unique to that firm.
A piece of opal or opalescent glass plated
with a gold-ruby mixture was reheated at
the ‘glory hole’, so that it would develop
deeper and lighter shadings on its outer
surface. When Amberina metal was used,
the shading would of course be amber-to-
red. However, other colours could be
made: a sensitive cobalt and ruby glass
mixture would produce a plated ware
shading from blue to ruby. Canary, blue
and green colours were also mentioned in
the patent. Plated Amberina invariably has
moulded ribbed decoration, as in the
example shown, though this had no par-
ticular bearing on the specifications men-
tioned in the patent. It was manufactured
only from 1883 to 1886.
PARFA1T oi.ass in rose amber glass
Ml Washington Glass Company, U.S.A., 1886
Ht. 127 mm (5 in.)
The Mt. Washington Glass Company,
New Bedford, Mass., attempted more or
less successfully to produce its own
Amberina glass under the name ‘Rose
Amber’. This was in every way similar to
Locke’s Amberina. Needless to say, the
New England Glass Company had an
injunction granted in 1886 in their suit
against the Mt. Washington Glass Com-
pany for infringement of their patent.
The Circuit Court of the United States
forbade the New Bedford firm to produce
its Rose Amber wares. However, it did not
seem that this injunction had any effect.
The New Bedford Board of Trade Report
of 1889 describes the making of Amberina,
Rose Amber, by ‘two companies, of which
the Mt. Washington was one’, and de-
scribes how ‘it caught the popular fancy
and was all the rage for about two years’.
According to this report it was the success
of the Amberina glass that caused Mt.
Washington to go in for an opaque shaded
ware—Burmese glass.
AMBERINA GLASS
New England Glass Company, U.S.A., iS
iii. 121 mm (475 in.)
WINE-GLASS IN ALEXANDRITE GLASS
English, beginning of 2olh century
Ht. 114 mm (45 in.)
Quite a number of Amberina pieces were
pressed or press-moulded. This piece can
definitely be attributed to the New Eng-
land Glass Company, since it follows a
design sketch made by Joseph Locke in
1884 when he was head designer for the
Cambridge winks. I lobbs Brockunier &
Company of Wheeling, West Virginia,
were licensed to manufacture pressed
Amberina by the New England Glass
Company in 1886. Sowerby’s Ellison Glass
Works Ltd., Gateshead-on-Tyne, Eng-
land, were also licensed to produce pressed
Amberina in 1883. A transparent, homo-
geneous glass shading from pale amber to
a delicate rose tint was press-moulded by
the firm of CristalletICS de Baccarat of
France from 1916. Known as ‘Rose Teinte’,
or to collectors as ‘Baccarat’s Amberina’,
it was reintroduced in 1940 as a popular
item. Its delicate colours were a result of
using less gold salts in the glass, but its
similarity to the American Amberina and
Rose Amber is undisputed.
‘Alexandrite’ glass, a single-layer glass of
three blended colours, first appeared about
1900, and is reputed to have been made by
the two English firms of Thomas Webb &
Sons and Stevens & Williams. 11 started off
as an amber glass; a portion would be re-
heated to rose, and reheated again to blue
on the outer rim, producing an exception-
ally beautiful effect. It is found in plain as
well as patterned surfaces. Stevens &
Williams used a differing technique to
produce the same effect. They cased a body
glass of transparent amber with rose and
blue glass. The outer casings of blue and
rose were then cut away, to reveal the
yellow glass beneath. Kolo Moser, a glass
designer of Bohemia of the early 1900’s,
produced an amethyst transparent glass
which carries the mark ‘Alexandria, but
this one-colour ware should not be con-
fused with the work attributed earlier to
Webb and Stevens & Williams.
PITCHER IN RUBY GLASS WITH DEVELOPED
OPALESCENT DESIGN
I hi i ijih century. I It. 279 mm (11 in.)
Opalescent Glass: In the late 19th century
glasses with raised opalescent white de-
signs became very popular. A coloured
gather of glass was heavily coated with a
sensitive, clear colourless glass containing
bone ash and arsenic. This was blown into
a patterned mould to give it the raised
design. It was then cooled slightly and
reheated, the raised parts striking an
opalescent white, while the background
retained the original colour. Inexpensive
glassware in this technique was produced
by Hobbs Brockunier & Company of
Wheeling, West Virginia; Alexander J.
Beatty & Sons of Steubenville, Ohio;
Phillip Arbogast of Pittsburgh, Pennsyl-
vania ; John Bryce & Company of Pitts-
burgh ; King & Company of Pittsburgh;
and Doyle & Company of Pittsburgh, and
others. Thomas Davidson of George
Davidson & Company Ltd. the Teams
Glass Works, Gateshead-on-Tyne, Eng-
land, patented in 1889 a process for making
a pressed, shaded version, in which the
opalescence was either white or of the
same shade as the body metal.
VASE IN BURMESE GLASS
Ml. Washington Glass Company, U.S.A., 1885
Ht. 305 mm (12 in.)
‘Burmese’ glass is a single-layered glass
shading from opaque greenish-yellow to
deep pink at the top. It was developed by
the Mt. Washington Glass Company,
New Bedford, Mass. Frederick S. Shirley
patented his formula for Burmese in 1885
for the firm. He produced the glass by
adding small amounts of fluorspar, feldspar
and oxide of uranium to essentially the
same ingredients as used by Joseph Locke
to make his Amberina glass. The fluorspar
and feldspar gave the glass its translucency,
and the uranium oxide made the ordin-
arily translucent white glass melt a pale-
yellow in colour; the gold made the glass
sensitive to thermal changes so that when
reheated at the ‘glory hole’ it struck a
salmon pink colour, which shaded down
to the original yellow. A second reheating
caused the pink glass to revert back to its
yellow colour, a feature quite often seen
on the rim of a piece of Burmese glass.
Frederick Shirley’s formula for Burmese-
glass was patented in England in 1886.
Thomas Webb 8i Sons of Stourbridge,
England, purchased a licence to copy-
Burmese products as well as to produce
their own shapes and designs. Most ol t he-
English Burmese ware is acid-finished,
though Mt. Washington produced both
glossy and acid-finished Burmese ware.
Thomas Webb & Sons called their glass
‘Queen’s Burmese Ware’. The glass was
much used for the patent ‘fairy lights’ or
small individual candle shades so popular
in England and America in the late
‘eighties. Queen Victoria ordered a tea-set
in Burmese glass from the Mt. Washington
Glass Company, enamelled with what was
to become known as the ‘Queen’s’ design.
The ornamentation of Burmese ware was
often of a highly decorative order. Verses
by well-known poets, Egyptian scenes, and
bird and animal portrayals were included
in enamelled motifs. Occasionally, finely
wrought applied decoration w ould be used.
Peach Blow: When a ‘Peach Bloom’
coloured Chinese porcelain vase was sold
for $18,000 in 1886, this caused such a
sensation that products labelled ‘Peach
Bloom’ or —slightly changed ‘Peach
Blow’ attracted many sales. ‘The glaze on
the vase was described as being the colour
of ‘crushed strawberries’. The magic of
the name attracted the attention of manu-
facturers of coloured art glasses, who tried
to devise new types suitable for this name.
Hobbs Brockunicr & Company of Wheel-
ing, West Virginia, produced such a glass
and called it ‘Wheeling Peach Blow’.
Replicas of the ‘Morgan’ vase were made,
like the example illustrated, in both glossy
and acid finishes. The moulded Stand with
its five-headed griffin is in an unimportant-
quality amber glass, hut the vase itself is
made of white opal glass plated with 1
transparent amber glass, made heat-sensi-
tive with gold salts. Reheating caused the
glass to strike a ruby colour, shading to
yellow or amber.
The Mt. Washington Glass Company
filed trade-name papers on the terms
‘Peach Blow’ and ‘Peach Skin’ through
Frederick S. Shirley in 1886. As a
colourant for their new products Shirley
substituted a small amount of cobalt or
copper oxide, instead of oxide of uranium
as in making Burmese. This produced a
homogeneous glass shaded pale grey-blue
to a delicate rose tint in the reheated
portions. When plunged in acid the surface
acquired an all-over slightly grey cast. As
it is a single-layered glass, the shading is
the same on the inside as on the exterior.
The Mt. Washington Peach Blow wares
were manufactured in similar shapes to
their Burmese ware. Moulded and applied
decoration were used, as well as gilding
and enamelling. The example illustrated
shows the ‘Queen’s’ design, as ordered by
Queen Victoria from the firm. The pattern
is of conventionalised flowers in raised
enamel, much of the decoration done in
pure gold reduced with acids.
The success of its Amberina glasses caused
the New England Glass Company to
experiment further with heat-sensitive
glasses. One of the resulting products was
patented by Edward D. Libbey in 1886
and called at first ‘Wild Rose’, later ‘Peach
Blow’. It is a single-layered glass shading
down from red to white in the lower part
of the piece. To produce it, an opal glass
was combined with a gold-ruby glass in
one pot. When a vessel had been formed,
reheating produced the rose colouring in
the required parts. Glasses made from this
metal were moulded, decorated with gild-
ing and enamelling and also acidized to a
satin finish. Occasionally, they would be
left in the original glossy state. The vase
illustrated was decorated by Joseph Locke
for his daughter Nora. The etched reliel
designs covering the surface of the glass
have been outlined and highlighted with
gold traceries and a dark brown mineral
stain.
At about the same time that the U.S.A.
glass-making firms were experimenting
with heat-sensitive glasses, both Thomas
Webb & Sons and Stevens & Williams of
England manufactured shaded wares
which they termed ‘Peach Glass’ or ‘Peach
Bloom’. Webb’s Peach Glass was cased,
the inner layer being creamy coloured with
a slight ly greenish cast in the upper portion.
It is similar in appearance to Hobbs
Brockunier & Company’s ‘Wheeling Peach
Blow’. Stevens & Williams of Stourbridge
produced a glass called ‘Peach Bloom’
which was also very much the same in
appearance. The English Peach glasses
were produced in both glossy and acid
finishes, and arc frequently found with
elaborate gold decoration on both finishes.
Occasionally, Webb’s Peach Glass will
have the Webb incised mark on the base;
Stevens & Williams ware also sometimes
bears a mark under the foot.
The Boston & Sandwich Glass Company,
Sandwich, Mass., manufactured a glass
known as ‘Sandwich Peach Blow’. This
was a single-layered glass, strawberry ice
cream pink in shading, often found in
moulded and twisted swirl decoration; see
the example above, which also has the
characteristic thorn handle of the period.
Overlay decorations in a camphor or
greyish colour are quite usual, the com-
plete piece having an acid finish. Many-
other types of glass are loosely termed
‘Peach Blow’, but basically, apart from a
slight variation in colour shading, the
products can be summarised as follows:
Webb and Wheeling Peach Blow are
always lined, but Mt. Washington, New-
England and Sandwich Peach Blow are
never lined. The Bohemian manufacturers
soon cashed in on the vogue of Peach Blow
wares, producing far cheaper glasses,
which forced the better products off the
markets, though their wares in no way-
resembled those made in America and in
England.

Arts and Crafts Furniture

 Although Arts and Crafts furniture cannot be identified by a single style, its designers and makers, who were based mainly in Britain and the USA, shared the same priorities of simplicity in design, modest use of ornament, honesty in construction, and emphasis on the importance of the role of the individual artisan. In practice these ideals were translated into extremely well-made,
functional furniture, characteristically based on traditional designs, in which the construction itself was the most important decorative feature. Thus, Arts and Crafts furniture typically incorporated many highly traditional elements, such as exposed mortise-and-tenon joints, dovetailing, faceting and chamfering, and metalwork strap hinges.
William Morris
Architect, designer, painter, printer, socialist, and poet, Morris was strongly influenced by the ideas of both Ruskin, the art and social critic, and Pugin, the architect who spearheaded the Gothic Revival movement. In 1861 Morris and a group of like-minded friends, including Ford Madox Brown (1821-93) and the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82), set up the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in London. Early furniture designs by Philip Webb (1831-1915), an architect and close friend of Morris’s, were Neo-Gothic in style and clearly influenced by the furniture designs of Pugin and other Gothic-Revival architects including William Burger (1827-81) and Charles Locke Eastlake (1836-1906). Their expensive, collectable pieces were made by the London-based companies of J.G. Crace and Howard & Sons, and the Lancaster firm of Gillow (est. c.1730). From the 1850s to the 1870s these companies also made their own ranges of plain, simply constructed oak furniture.
William Morris
Architect, designer, painter, printer, socialist, and poet, Morris was strongly influenced by the ideas of both Ruskin, the art and social critic, and Pugin, the architect who spearheaded the Gothic Revival movement. In 1861 Morris and a group of like-minded friends, including Ford Madox Brown (1821-93) and the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82), set up the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in London. Early furniture designs by Philip Webb (1831-1915), an architect and close friend of Morris’s, were Neo-Gothic in style and clearly influenced by the furniture designs of Pugin and other Gothic-Revival architects including William Burger (1827-81) and Charles Locke Eastlake (1836-1906). Their expensive, collectable pieces were made by the London-based companies of J.G. Crace and Howard & Sons, and the Lancaster firm of Gillow (est. c.1730). From the 1850s to the 1870s these companies also made their own ranges of plain, simply constructed oak furniture.
V Cabinet-on-stand by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.
The form and decoration of this mahogany, oak, and pine piece reflect the medieval influences that inspired the early practitioners of the Arts and Crafts. Designed by Webb, with panels depicting the legend of
St George painted by Morris, it was made for the London International Exhibition of 1862. Such fine pieces are rarely found outside museums.
(1861-2, ht 96cmI37′12in, value Q)
William Morris
Architect, designer, painter, printer, socialist, and poet, Morris was strongly influenced by the ideas of both Ruskin, the art and social critic, and Pugin, the architect who spearheaded the Gothic Revival movement. In 1861 Morris and a group of like-minded friends, including Ford Madox Brown (1821-93) and the painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82), set up the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. in London. Early furniture designs by Philip Webb (1831-1915), an architect and close friend of Morris’s, were Neo-Gothic in style and clearly influenced by the furniture designs of Pugin and other Gothic-Revival architects including William Burger (1827-81) and Charles Locke Eastlake (1836-1906). Their expensive, collectable pieces were made by the London-based companies of J.G. Crace and Howard & Sons, and the Lancaster firm of Gillow (est. c.1730). From the 1850s to the 1870s these companies also made their own ranges of plain, simply constructed oak furniture.
doors and pierced carving.
• MATERIALS early designs were typically pically in ebonized wood; later designs are mostly in woods traditionally associated with country furniture such as oak andsh,
a although some were also made in mahogany; rush
seating is common on dining-chairs
• DESIGNS these are handcrafted and based largely on traditional country designs; most pieces are very sturdily made
• DECORATION joints and hinges used in construction play an important part in the decoration of a piece; many armchairs feature fabrics inspired by medieval designs, also by Morris
• COLLECTING all furniture made by Morris & Co. will be valuable and highly collectable; the finest pieces are found only in museums
Marks
Although many ‘ copies of the “Sussex” chair have been produced, any originals will be clearly marked – usually with a “Morris & Co.” stamp

Other British makers
Inspired by Morris, a succession of major designers embraced the Arts and Crafts style in Britain. Their interpretations, although varied, all focused on the same fundamental principles of craftsmanship and quality. An early influential figure was Edward William Godwin (1833-86), whose elegant, striking furniture sparked a trend for Japanese design that was to continue into the 1930s. Also notable were the host of medieval-style guilds based mostly in the Cotswolds, and the angular, architectural work of the Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). The production of furniture by commercial firms also helped to increase the accessibility of work in the Arts and Crafts style.
THE AESTHETIC MOVEMENT
The Aesthetic Movement, influenced by stark,
unadorned Japanese designs in dark woods and elegant, minimally decorated forms, overlapped with Arts and Crafts both in the ebonized furniture produced by Morris & Co. and in the simple, elegant, Japanese-influenced furniture designed by Godwin. The latter, an architect and designer, was an early pioneer of the Arts and Crafts total design ethic, in which the building, interior decoration, and fittings would all reflect a single ideal. From 1865 he designed furniture for his own architectural practice but after 1870 he was far more Successful as a designer of furniture than of buildings. Simplicity, elegance, and refined proportions are the hallmarks of Godwin’s exclusive, ebonized wood furniture. Decoration is minimal: moulding and carving are virtually eliminated and are replaced with inset panels of embossed Japanese paper, or sometimes with painted or stencilled symmetrical decoration of stylized geometric designs. Godwin’s designs were produced by such notable London cabinet-makers as William Wyatt, John Gregory (.race (1809-89), and the firm of Collinson & Lock (est. 1870).
GUILDS AND WORKSHOPS
In the 1880s a large number of Arts and Crafts organizations sprang up in London, with the aims of breaking down the hierarchy between fine and applied art and fostering the ideal of the artist/ craftsman. The Century Guild (est. 1882), headed by Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851-1942), the Art Workers’ Guild (est. 1884), the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society v (est. 1888), and the Guild of Handicraft (est. 1888), set up in London’s East End by Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942), brought together the growing number of talented Arts and Crafts furniture designers.
Ernest Gimson (1864-1919), William Lethaby (1857-1931), and Sidney Barnsley (1865-1926) were among the founders of the short-lived
Kenton & Co. (1890-92), a London-based furniture company that used professional cabinet-makers to make mahogany and oak furniture. After the demise of Kenton & Co. in 1892, Gimson and Barnsley, along with Barnsley’s brother Ernest Barnsley ( 1863-1926), set up a new workshop in the Cotswolds, south-west England. Gimson’s designs, featuring exposed pins and joints, and exploiting the natural colour and markings of the wood, were finely executed by carefully trained craftsmen in such local woods as ash, oak, elm, and fruitwoods. Gimson’s pieces include rush-seated ladder-back chairs and plain oak furniture, as well as more elaborate cabinets featuring fruitwood, holly, mother-of-pearl, shell, and ivory inlay. After Gimson’s death,
his foreman Peter Waals still worked to Gimson’s designs and in 1920 set up his own workshop in Chalford.
The Guild of Handicraft moved to the Cotswolds in 1902, producing furniture to designs by Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (1857-1941) and Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott (1865-1945). The last in the line of the Cotswold School was Gordon Russell (1892-1980), whose work bridged the gap between the one-off, handmade pieces of Gimson and Barnsley and the need for functional, well-designed, affordable furniture for a mass market.
The Omega Workshops ( 1913-19), in Bloomsbury, London, established by Roger Fry ( 1866-1934), was the last of the Arts and Crafts groups. Superficially the group closely resembled the original Morris company, but it celebrated amateur craft skills and was more interested in aesthetics than social reform. Omega furniture to designs by Fry, Duncan Grant (1885-1978), and Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) was made by local cabinet-makers and then painted by Bell, Grant, and many others.
IMPORTANT DESIGNERS
Voysey, one of the most innovative Arts and Crafts furniture designers, never established his own workshop; his designs were produced not only by craftsmen such as William Hall, who had worked for Kenton & Co., but also by commercial cabinet-makers and such piano-makers as Bechstein. From 0.1895 Voysey produced designs that were simple, elegant, abstract, and stylized, relying heavily on the innate beauty of the wood. Stained oak, large metal strap hinges, and exaggerated, often tapering vertical supports were features popular with Voysey, among other designers, although they had originally been used by Mackmurdo. Other common features (by no means exclusive to Voysey) are heart-shaped decorative motifs and rush chair-seats.
The same stylish simplicity can be found in
the furniture of Baillie Scott, who was strongly influenced by Voysey. His simple, box-like furniture was mass-produced by the firm of J.P White, Bedford, while his other, more complex designs were produced by Ashbee’s Guild of Handicraft. Most of Baillie Scott’s furniture is in oak or inlaid mahogany, with the colour and grain of the wood providing the main decoration.
The two most famous Scottish interpreters of Arts and Crafts furniture were George Walton (1867-1933) and Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), both based in Glasgow. Walton set up a design and decorating business in 1888, and in 1896 was commissioned for the overall interior design of the Glasgow Buchanan Street Tea Room, for which Mackintosh provided some of the interior decoration. Walton’s highly collectable chairs for Buchanan Street were based on a traditional Scottish design, with a narrow back featuring a pierced heart-shaped motif, curving arms, and a rush seat. Other chair designs by Walton are more elegant and typically have narrow tapering, outwardly curving legs. Mackintosh designed
distinctive high-backed chairs with elliptical panels for the Dutch Kitchen extension that was added to the Argyle Street Tea Rooms (also in Glasgow) in 1906; for the Willow Street Tea Rooms he produced a side-chair in ebonized oak with a rush scat (1903).
COMMERCIAL FIRMS
Far less expensive than the exclusive pieces by the major Arts and Crafts designers was the furniture producedby
commercial companies. Liberty & Co., which opened in Regent Street, London, in May 1875, was a staunch supporter of the Aesthetic Movement and also produced and sold a wide range of Arts and Crafts furniture. Ambrose Heal (1872-1959) exhibited regularly at the Arts and Crafts exhibitions in London, and from 1897 his London-based firm of Heal & Son (est. 1800) sold furniture made to his designs, which were strongly influenced by the Cotswold School. Other well-known commercial manufacturers include Timms & Webb and Wylie & Lochhead, both in Glasgow, the firm of John Sollie Henry in London, and the Dryad Works (est. 1907) in Leicester, which specialized in the manufacture of cane and wicker furniture.
The Aesthetic Movement
• MATERIALS most pieces are in dark, ebonized woods
• DESIGNS elegant, simple forms with a strong Japanese influence are typical; many of Godwin’s designs feature a central cruciform block with radiating stretchers
• COLLECTING all pieces by Godwin are rare and highly sought after; the value of pieces in ebonizedwood will depend on the condition, as ebonized furniture is difficult to restore; an original finish in good condition is critical for maximum value
Marks
Godwin’s pieces arc never- marked; attribution is usually based on the style of his few surviving design sketches
Guilds and workshops
• MATERIALS oak is the most typical but other local woods such as elm, ash, and frunwoods were also used
• DESIGNS most pieces are plain in design; decoration is mainly limited to the effect of the wood’s natural grain and colour and the construction of joints
• COLLECTING the superb quality and workmanship of pieces by either Unison or Barnsley will be matched by correspondingly high prices
Important designers
• MATERIALS Voysey: oak is typical of his work
• DESIGNS Voysey: furniture is characteristically of traditional design, often with heart-shaped decoration, long tapering verticals, and rush seating; Baillie Scott: most of his pieces have simple, unadorned, boxy forms; Mackintosh: tall, geometric forms, reflecting his training as an architect, arc characteristic
• COLLECTING pieces by well-known makers will be sought after by collectors; all of Mackintosh’s work is extremely highly priced and valuable
Commercial firms
• -MATERIALS pieces by Liberty & Co. were usually in oak; most pieces by Heal & Son were in oak, with versions also available in mahogany and chestnut
• COLLECTING commercially produced furniture will be more affordable than pieces by leading designers
Marks
Liberty pieces arc marked simply “Liberty & Co.”
The majority of American Arts and Crafts furniture produced between the 1890s and the 1920s is of oak and made by or in the style of one of several members of the Stickley family. Such
furniture is commonly referred to as “Mission oak”, although this term, which suggests a
stylistic influence of the early mission churches of the American Southwest, is misleading.
THE STICKLEY FAMILY
Gustav Stickley (1857-1942) was the eldest of six brothers, most of whom worked in the furniture trade. He trained as an architect and designer and in 1898
established the Gustav Stickley Co. in Eastwood, New York State. In 1900 he introduced his “Craftsman” furniture range, the majority of which is of heavy, solid construction in American white oak.
Production of Craftsman furniture continued until 1915. From 1901 Stickley produced a magazine called The Craftsman, in which examples of his work were shown. Although many Stickley forms, including high-backed settles, stools, and trestle tables, show the influence of 17th-century colonial furniture in their style and use of traditional joinery, the most valuable examples of his work are those that are innovative and more modern in design. Typical forms include both horizontal and vertical slat-back chairs (including rocking-chairs and “Morris” chairs, which were based on the upholstered reclining chair by the British Arts and Crafts designer William Morris), benches, dining-, writing-, and library-tables, fall-front desks, sideboards, bookcases, magazine and umbrella stands, and mirrors. Spindle-sided and spindle-backed chairs in Modernist taste were produced from 1905, perhaps inspired by the furniture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1956) in 1904 for Darwin House, near Buffalo, New York State; this style of Stickley furniture is keenly sought after by collectors.
The oak that Stickley used for his furniture was fumed for preservation, a process that imparted a warm patination, which he described as a “friendly” finish. The subtlety and originality of colour and patina of his wood is important when assessing value, as is rarity of design. Upholstery is typically in green or brown leather and although original upholstery is preferable, pieces that have been well re-upholstered are still popular with
collectors. Most Stickley furniture is in very good condition owing to its sturdy construction and strong, well-reinforced joints.
Albert Stickley and John George Stickle), (1871-1921), operating as the Stickley Brothers Co. from (.1890 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, produced furniture in a style similar to that of their brother. Some of their work is marked “Quaint Furniture” but it is not greatly
appreciated by collectors. In 1900 Leopold Stickley (1869-1957) left Gustav’s Eastwood workshop to establish with John George the firm of L. & J.G. Stickle (known from (.1904 as the Onondaga Shops and from 1906 as Handcraft) in Fayetteville, New York State. Designs include settles, spindle chairs, serving-tables, and bookcases, and are typically produced in carefully finished oak. Upholstery is usually in leather, sometimes fastened with round-headed tacks. Hand-hammered copper hardware is characteristic on furniture in the “Handcraft” range. Better furniture by the brothers compares in quality to the less startling Craftsman pieces by Gustav and, being more widely available than these sought-after designs, has a strong following.
CHARLES ROHLFS, GREENE AND GREENE, AND THE ROYCROFT FURNITURE SHOP
Charles Rohlfs (1853-1936), a successful cabinet-maker in Buffalo, New York State, from (.1890 until the mid-1920s, employed a team of eight craftsmen to execute his furniture designs. Rohlfs participated in the 1902 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art in Turin, Italy, and the influence of Art Nouveau is evident in his use of carved or cut-out tendrils. Forms include desks, chairs, small tables, and storage pieces, some with carved Gothic lettering and a signature. The oak used for Rohlfs’s pieces is relatively pale compared to the wood used for most American Arts and Crafts furniture. Rohlfs’s work is less pure in design than that of Gustav Stickley, but its rarity and high standards of craftsmanship make it extremely popular with collectors.
The brothers Charles Sumner Greene (1868-1957) and Henry Mather Greene (1870-1954) operated to commission in Pasadena, California, in the early 20th century, and their furniture combined high-quality Arts and Crafts workmanship with simple, Chinese-inspired designs in mother-of-pearl or metal inlay. Hardwoods, including teak and ebony, often subtly carved with Oriental motifs, are characteristic. Joinery is usually by squared, ebony pegs. Some of the brothers’ work was produced by the furniture-maker John Hall; these pieces are very rare and considered the most finely executed of all American Arts and Crafts work.
The Roycrofters were an idealistic Arts and Crafts community founded in 1895 in East Aurora, New York State, by Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915). Hubbard, who has been called the “American William Morris”, produced furniture from c.1901 in the Roycroft Furniture Shop. Roycroft pieces are always in oak, of solid, heavy construction, and normally have a warm, nut-brown patina. Forms are extremely plain and simple and sometimes incorporate hammered copper hardware.
OTHER ARTS AND CRAFTS FURNITURE
It is widely agreed that the best work of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright was that produced during the first decade of the 20th century, when he worked principally as a residential architect in the Midwest. His furniture was produced mostly in oak in a style that blended American Arts and Crafts designs and ideals with European progressive Modernism. Most of Wright’s pieces were produced for architectural commissions and rarely come up for sale; prices are still among the highest of all American furniture from this period.
The architectural design firm of Purcell, Feick & Elmslie, near Chicago, produced furniture to commission in pale oak, mahogany, brass, and copper between c.1906 and 1922. After the work of Wright, the designs of George Grant Elmslie (1871-1952) and William Gray Purcell ( 1880-1965) are considered the most progressive of all American Arts and Crafts pieces. Tall, architectural forms with spindling, inlay, and carved details are typical and reflect the strong influence of the Glasgow School and the Vienna Secession. Purcell, Feick & Elmslie furniture is rare, particularly outside the Midwestern states, where it is most keenly collected.
The Furniture Shop was founded in San Francisco in 1906 by Arthur Mathews (1860-1945) and his wife Lucia Mathews (1867-1956). Unlike most American Arts and Crafts furniture, their work was painted in polychrome and gilded, or mounted with polychromed, embossed leather. Carved oak or mahogany is typical in forms evocative of medieval France and Germany. Images include troubadours or medieval saints, together with romantic Californian landscapes painted by Lucia. Output from the Furniture Shop was modest, but small
items sometimes appear on the
market. The style is referred to
as “California Decorative” and
objects are of lesser appeal to most
collectors than the purely designed
work of the East Coast craftsmen.
Charles P. Limbert (1902-44)
produced oak furniture in New
Holland, near Grand Rapids,
Michigan, in the early 20th century.
Forms can be compared to those
of Gustav Stickley, but many show
the direct influence of the Scottish
designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh
(1868-1928) and the Glasgow
School. Pieces are commonly
of pale oak and crafted to a high
standard and most are marked
with a large brand featuring a
craftsman at work. Prices are
comparable to those commanded
by Roycroft designs.
The Stickley Family
• FORMS designs are simple, geometric, and very solid; typically larger and bulkier than European counterparts
• WOOD white American oak, often quarter sawn, is typical, as is a reddish or grey tone achieved by fuming the wood in ammonia; some pieces may appear faded
• HARDWARE Most features a hand-hammered surface
• COLLECTING Gustav’s work is rare outside the USA; all forms are recorded in The Craftsman magazine; the work of L. & J.G. Stickley is most common
Marks
Gustav Stickley: pieces are usually inscribed “Als ik kan” (Flemish, “As I can”), after the Antwerp art society of that name, in a joiner’s compass, and signed beneath
Charles Rohlfs
• DECORATION carved or cut-out whiplashes are usual
• COLLECTING his fine-quality work is very sought after
Greene and Greene
• DECORATION Oriental designs in metal and mother-of pearl inlay are characteristic; visible dark pegs – often in ebony – may feature as decoration
• COLLECTING their work is extremely rare and very desirable; designs are unsigned but well documented
The Roycroft Furniture Shop
• FORMS most are rectilinear designs with strong proportions; many feature a distinctive tapered leg terminating in a bulbous foot
• DECORATION this is limited to hand-wrought iron or copper hardware
Frank Lloyd Wright
• FORMS most are rectilinear, with a vertical emphasis
• CONSTRUCTION complex and innovative; spindling is common on seat furniture and tables
The Furniture Shop
• DECORATION embellishment is mainly restricted to polychrome paintwork and embossed leather
• COLLECTING the output was relatively small; pieces are less desirable than the work of the East Coast designers
Charles R Limbert
• COLLECTING interest in his high-quality work is growing following an exhibition in New York in 1995

Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty (960-1279) is regarded as the classic period of Chinese ceramics, when simple, elegant wares decorated with attractive monochrome glazes were produced. The five “classic wares” – Ding, Jun, Ru, Guano, and Ge – were produced for imperial use, while other wares, notably Cizhou and some of the northern celadons, were made for a much wider market.
CELADONS
The most characteristic Song ceramics are the celadons, with their iron-derived, semi-translucent, usually greenish glaze. When the Song court was situated in northern China (960-1126), such centres of production as Yaozhou in Shaanxi Province became important for celadons; the most distinctive northern celadons are those with incised or moulded decoration of floral scrolls covered with an olive-green glaze. The later Longquan or southern celadon usually has a pale-grey body that shows the thick, opaque, bluish-green, slightly bubbly glaze to advantage. The best Longquan wares include archaic forms and items for the scholar’s desk, bowls, and vases. Jun wares made in Yu xian and Linru in Henan Province are thickly potted stonewares with a lavender-blue glaze often splashed with purple derived from copper oxide and, very rarely, green. Typical forms include chunky globular jars. Ru wares, the rarest and most coveted of all Song ceramics, are simple, elegant stonewares with a crackled blue-green glaze. Guan wares have light buff or dark stoneware bodies with a very thick, pale-greyish glaze that is usually strongly crackled and may be black, brown, or clear. The bodies show dark brown or black on the unglazed rims and feet.
OTHER WARES
Ding wares, made in Ding xian in Hebei Province, are fine porcellaneous stonewares with a warm ivory glaze, made in delicate shapes, including ewers and vases as well as small plates and bowls. Most flatware was fired upside down – the rims were left unglazed, and were bound with gold-coloured metal (now
patinated). Moulded decoration was introduced in the 11th cenrury; in this a reusable stoneware mould was impressed onto the hard clay, creating closely meshed designs; the earlier, more fluid, hand-carved ornament was also used. Qingbai (bluish white) wares from
Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province have a fine white porcelain body and a glassy blue glaze that tends to pool. These items are very delicate and elegant, and include thinly potted conical bowls and beautifully proportioned vases.
Fine black-glazed stonewares were produced during the Song period in Henan Province and at Jian in Jiangxi Province. Blackwares were sometimes decorated with red-brown floral designs. Cizhou wares, named after the kilns in Cizhou in Hebei Province, are sturdy stonewares with robust designs in black-and-white slip; often part of the black slip was scraped away to create a textured pattern (sgraffito), while on other wares the designs were sometimes painted on. Common shapes include “pillows” and meiping (an inverted-pear-shaped vase).
Marks
Song wares are generally unmarked, although a few stoneware moulds have survived with 12th- or 13th-century dates incised on the surface

• BODY most Song wares are stonewares, although Ding and Qinghai wares are porcellaneousSTYLE
• subtle and scholarly, in contrast to the flamboyance of the preceding Tang period and the subsequent Yuan period; from the 12th century there is a strong archaizing tendency, with a fashion for classic jade and bronze shapes
• DECORATION many Song wares are without ornament, relying for effect on the harmony between glaze and form; early Ding and northern celadons are decorated with restrained carved designs – some later wares have busier moulded floral and foliate decoration; Cizhou wares show the greatest variety of decorative techniques