mahogany, turned and joined; designed by E.W. Godwin, British 1867-85

Table of mahogany, with square top and lower square shelf fitted inside four legs of rounded section and with four stretchers between each leg. One vertical and two diagonal struts form a triangular motif between the bottom of the lower shelf and the stretcher, on all four sides of the table.

Given by Michael Whiteway

Godwin apparently designed the first example of this table for his own use in either 1866 or 1867, when he moved from Bristol to London. An ebonised mahogany table, with an ebonised deal top, may be one of the earliest surviving examples of this design. Godwin used ebonised deal for his early furniture and this table, now in Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, comes from the collection of Ellen Terry, with whom Godwin lived in the 1860s.

In William Watt's catalogue, Art Furniture, Godwin's table was available with an ebonised finish, or in oak or mahogany, like the example in the Museum. Although Godwin described his table as Old English or Jacobean in the Watt catalogue, the angled brackets and turned legs are similar to those shown in his sketches of ancient Egyptian chairs and tables in the British Museum (V&A E.278-1963, fol.1).

Godwin's small table with a square top and angled brackets was used by Watt's firm to advertise their furniture in trade and architectural periodicals in the 1870s and 1880s. The commercial success of the design is shown by the numerous examples which survive, some of which may have been made by other firms. In his preface to Watt's catalogue, Art Furniture, Godwin complained about the unauthorised copies of his design, including that illustrated by Rhoda and Agnes Garrett in their book, Suggestions for Household Decoration in Painting, Woodwork and Furniture, 1876. An ebonised version of his table, possibly sold by Cottier & Co., was illustrated by Clarence Cook in The House Beautiful, 1878, based on earlier articles published in Scribner's Monthly, indicating the interest in Godwin's design among American writers, retailers and consumers.

This table is an early example of the 'Aesthetic style'. This was a decorative style that was fashionable from the late 1860s until the 1890s. Designers borrowed decorative elements from a wide range of sources and often amalgamated them. Their sources included Japan and Eastern Asia, The pieces that they created pieces looked very different from the heavily decorated furniture produced in preceding decades.

E. W. Godwin was one of the leading designers of the Aesthetic style. When this table was designed, about 1867-8, it was said to be in the Anglo-Japanese style. But ancient Egyptian furniture inspired the angled spindles supporting the top. A number of tables of this type survive. Some are made of plain and others of ebonised mahogany.

W.71-1981