Chest of carved walnut, the chest on low stand with drawers; designed by George Washington Henry Jack; Great Britain, 1892

Carved walnut chest. The lower and two side panels are carved with flowers and foliage, with a gnome in the centre of the lower panel. The central panel has a bird carved within a geometric design

Given by Miss Margery Jack, daughter of the designer

The chest was shown in the fourth Exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society at the New Gallery, London, in 1893. The Cabinet Maker & Art Furnisher reviewed the exhibition and praised Jack's cabinet which was also illustrated, "Mr George Jack, whose name in earlier exhibitions generally appeared in conjunction with that of Mr. William Morris, has done not a little to put good furniture in evidence at the New Gallery. No. 93, a cabinet in Italian walnut (Fig, 9 in these sketches) is thoroughly commendable both as regards design, carving, and workmanship. The two first are Mr. Jack's own work, and the credit of the latter belongs to Mr. W. Thatcher."The Cabinet Maker & Art Furnisher, No. 161, Vol. XIV, November 1893, "Pen and Ink Notes - Oddments from the Arts and Crafts", p. 117. Jack's cabinet was also praised in The Studio, " At the opposite end of the pole stands Mr. Jack's chest, which in more conventional fashion relies upon its carven richness for its beauty, nor would it be easy to find an example of modern work which has more truely and less servilely caught the spirit of dead and gone craftsmen." (Vol. II, page 18, illustrated page 13).

This chest was exhibited in the Arts and Crafts Exhibition at the New Gallery, London, in 1893. The Cabinet Maker & Art Furnisher reviewed the exhibition and praised George Jack's cabinet which was also illustrated in the journal, 'a cabinet in Italian walnut is thoroughly commendable both as regards design, carving, and workmanship.'

The panels were carved separately and later combined by cabinet-maker, William Thatcher, to form a piece of furniture, which explains their disparate subject matter. The inscription along the top and bottom edges of the central panel reads 'Hunting and slaying is my praying, my life is the dove's betraying G. J. 1892'. Birds of all kinds recur in Jack's carving, while the flowers and foliage of the side panels and the gnome in the centre of the lower panels are reminiscent of his textile designs.

W.33:1 to 5-1972