Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and became a leading architect and designer of the Glasgow School. This cabinet was designed as part of the furnishings for No. 78 Derngate, Northampton. It was commissioned by Mr W. J. Bassett-Lowke, a scale model manufacturer who was one of the founders of the Design and Industries Association and a pioneering patron of the modern movement. He employed Mackintosh to renovate his house for him and his prospective bride in 1916.
Constructed in wood painted to resemble ebony, the table is inlaid with a bright yellow plastic called erinoid. Plastic was still being developed during the early years of the twentieth century and Mackintosh was one of the first designers to use it as inlay in furniture instead of more traditional materials such as ivory or mother-of-pearl used elsewhere by him.
Physical description
Black painted square cabinet (with hexagonal top) supported on four legs and with two shelves. The top is inlaid with yellow plastic (erinoid) squares; four legs are inlaid with yellow plastic (erinoid) triangles.
Place of Origin
Isle of Wight, England (manufactured)
Date
1916 (made)
Artist/maker
Mackintosh, Charles Rennie, born 1868 - died 1928 (designer)
Materials and Techniques
Ebonised wood, lined with cedar and inlaid with Erinoid (plastic)
Dimensions
Height: 59 cm, Width: 33 cm, Depth: 58.4 cm
Descriptive line
Smoker's cabinet, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, for 78 Derngate, Northampton, 1916.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Billcliffe, Roger. Charles Rennie Mackintosh: The Complete Furniture, Furniture Drawings and Interior Designs. Guildford and London: Lutterworth, 1979. 256 p., ill. ISBN 0 7188 2376 1
1916.16, p.224; full page ill. (col.) pl.4
Ideal Home. August 1920
p.54
Pevsner, Nikolaus. 'Charles Rennie Mackintosh'. In: Studies in Art, Architecture and Design. London. vol. 2
pl.50
McLaren Young, Andrew. Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Architecture, Design and Painting'. Scotland (?): The Arrangers, 1968. 71 p., ill.
exh. no. 269
An exhibition sponsored by the Edinburgh Festival Society and arranged by the Scottish Arts Council, selected and catalogued by Andrew McLaren Young. The exhibition was afterwards shown at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and then a reduced version travelled to Vienna, Darmstadt and Zurich.
MacLeod, Robert. Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Feltham (Middlesex), 1968.
pl.107
Exhibition History
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1868-1928: Architecture, Design and Painting (Victoria and Albert Museum 30/10/1968-29/12/1968)
Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1868-1928: Architecture, Design and Painting (Royal Museum of Scotland 01/01/1968-31/12/1968)
50 Years of Modern Design (Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood 01/01/1966-31/12/1966)
V&A/RCA Conservation Students Degree Show (01/07/1998-31/08/1998)
Labels and date
SMOKER'S CABINET
Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh
(British, 1868-1928)
Probably made by interned German craftsmen on the Isle of Man, Great Britain, 1916
Ebonised wood, lined with cedarwood and inlaid with 'Erinoid' (plastic)
Circ.856-1956
The development of plastic early in the 20th century provided designers with a new material with immense potential. Mackintosh was one of the first to use it as inlay in furniture sometimes in place of ivory, a far more difficult material with which to work. [pre 1996]
Production Note
Probably made by interned German craftsmen on the Isle of Man, Great Britain.
Attribution note: Made for Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke, 78 Derngate, Northampton.
Reason For Production: Private
Materials
Plastic; Wood; Cedar
Techniques
Lining (process)
Production Type
Unique
Collection code
FWK
