Cabinet on Stand thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Cabinet on Stand

1891 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Kenton & Co. was founded in 1890 by a group of architects and designers including Ernest Gimson, the designer of this cabinet on stand. The furniture was made by a group of professional cabinet makers. The firm had a successful exhibition in London in 1891 but closed in 1892 because of financial difficulties and because the partners wanted to concentrate on other projects. This cabinet was bought at the exhibition by the architect and designer, Allan F. Vigers, and purchased by the Museum from his daughter.

Following Arts and Crafts principles, the names of those individuals involved in each piece of furniture by Kenton & Co. were stamped in appropriate places. Gimson's initials and the name of the maker, A. Bowen, are stamped inside the cabinet with the firm's name. Many of the pieces by Kenton & Co. show the influence of earlier styles both in the design and in the decoration. Gimson used seventeenth-century furniture designs as sources for the cabinet and for the marquetry decoration.


Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 5 parts.

  • Cabinet on Stand
  • Stand
  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Keys
Materials and techniques
Mahogany with marquetry of various woods
Brief description
Mahogany cabinet on stand, designed by Ernest Gimson and made by A. Bowen for Kenton & Co., English, 1891
Physical description
Mahogany cabinet, with table-shaped stand with four square section legs, connected by square section stretchers. The stand has two drawers with single circular steel handles. The cabinet forms a rectangular chest with a drop front supported on chains. The front edges around the drop front are inlaid with a diagonal band of alternating mahogany and ebony; the drop front itself is inlaid with a large floral motif including three stylized roses, in various woods.
Dimensions
  • Height: 119cm
  • Width: 83cm
  • Depth: 39cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • KENTON & Co. Ld BOWEN EWG (Stamped on top of left loper)
  • KENTON & Co Ld BOWEN (Stamped on top of left drawer)
Gallery label
  • WRITING CABINET ON STAND ENGLISH; 1891 Mahogany, Indian laurel and cedarwood Designed by Ernest Gimson for Kenton & Co., Ltd., the firm founded in 1890 by Gimson, Barnsley, Lethaby and others.(pre October 2000)
  • Kenton & Co was founded by gimson, W.R. Lethaby, Marvyn Macartney, Reginald Blomfield and Sidney Barnsley in 1890 to supply furniture designs for professional cabinet-makers and disbanded in 1892. this cabinet is stampted with the name of the firm and the craftsmen.(1993)
Object history
The cabinet was acquired from Miss M. Vigers, whose father, Allan F. Vigers, an architect and designer, purchased it from the Kenton & Company Exhibition, Barnard's Inn, London, 1891.

Object sampling carried out by Jo Darrah, V&A Science; drawer/slide reference 5/19.
Summary
Kenton & Co. was founded in 1890 by a group of architects and designers including Ernest Gimson, the designer of this cabinet on stand. The furniture was made by a group of professional cabinet makers. The firm had a successful exhibition in London in 1891 but closed in 1892 because of financial difficulties and because the partners wanted to concentrate on other projects. This cabinet was bought at the exhibition by the architect and designer, Allan F. Vigers, and purchased by the Museum from his daughter.

Following Arts and Crafts principles, the names of those individuals involved in each piece of furniture by Kenton & Co. were stamped in appropriate places. Gimson's initials and the name of the maker, A. Bowen, are stamped inside the cabinet with the firm's name. Many of the pieces by Kenton & Co. show the influence of earlier styles both in the design and in the decoration. Gimson used seventeenth-century furniture designs as sources for the cabinet and for the marquetry decoration.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.404:1 to 4-1964

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Record createdJanuary 29, 2001
Record URL
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