Fireplace thumbnail 1
Fireplace thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 125, Edwin and Susan Davies Gallery

Fireplace

ca. 1904 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This fireplace with its white and blue tiled surround and attenuated wrought iron elements was part of the furnishings for the Billiard Room in the Willow Tea Rooms, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

Places
The best-known Mackintosh interiors were those created for Kate Cranston's four tea rooms in Glasgow: Buchanan Street (1896), Argyle Street (1897), Ingram Street (1900) and the Willow (1903), of which only the last-mentioned survives at 217 Sauchiehall Street. At this time tea rooms in the city were numerous and popular; when hung with paintings by the Glasgow Boys some of them became almost like art galleries. None could match the tea rooms of Kate Cranston with their startling decorations and the provision of such amenities as billiard rooms and ladies' rooms.

Design & Designing
In the Willow tea room Mackintosh had total control of the project both inside and outside; his wife contributed some of the decorative motifs. On the ground floor he set up an unpainted frieze of plaster panels, their angular outlines leading the eye deeper into the stems and branches of the willow wood. Above, in the Salon de Luxe, a leaded-glass frieze with pink and green insets was placed against white painted walls, and on the curved bay, leaf-shaped mirror glass shimmered like the stirring of willow leaves. The Billiard Room, from where this fireplace originated, is a floor above the Salon de Luxe and echoes its motifs.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Iron, with ceramic tile surround
Brief description
Fireplace for the Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, ca.1904
Physical description
The fireplace is made of iron with a blue and white tile surround
Dimensions
  • Including surround height: 173.5cm
  • Width: 163cm
  • Depth: 41cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 29/06/1999 by LH
Style
Gallery label
British Galleries: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret designed all the furnishings and decoration for these startlingly modern tea rooms. This fireplace in the exclusive 'Salon de Luxe' uses blocks of colour, stylised iron willow trees and white oval tiles, reflecting the theme of the room.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by Daly's of Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
Object history
The fireplace was designed by Mackintosh for the Willow Tea Rooms, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, commissioned by Kate Cranston (1849-1934). The Willow Tea Rooms were created for Mrs. Cranston between 1903 and 1904, and Mackintosh designed several different but connected rooms with different purposes - male and female tea rooms had a different style, feel and use of colour.
Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (born in Glasgow, 1868, died in London, 1928)
Made in Glasgow
Summary
Object Type
This fireplace with its white and blue tiled surround and attenuated wrought iron elements was part of the furnishings for the Billiard Room in the Willow Tea Rooms, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

Places
The best-known Mackintosh interiors were those created for Kate Cranston's four tea rooms in Glasgow: Buchanan Street (1896), Argyle Street (1897), Ingram Street (1900) and the Willow (1903), of which only the last-mentioned survives at 217 Sauchiehall Street. At this time tea rooms in the city were numerous and popular; when hung with paintings by the Glasgow Boys some of them became almost like art galleries. None could match the tea rooms of Kate Cranston with their startling decorations and the provision of such amenities as billiard rooms and ladies' rooms.

Design & Designing
In the Willow tea room Mackintosh had total control of the project both inside and outside; his wife contributed some of the decorative motifs. On the ground floor he set up an unpainted frieze of plaster panels, their angular outlines leading the eye deeper into the stems and branches of the willow wood. Above, in the Salon de Luxe, a leaded-glass frieze with pink and green insets was placed against white painted walls, and on the curved bay, leaf-shaped mirror glass shimmered like the stirring of willow leaves. The Billiard Room, from where this fireplace originated, is a floor above the Salon de Luxe and echoes its motifs.
Bibliographic references
  • Greenhalgh, Paul (Ed.), Art Nouveau: 1890-1914 . London: V&A Publications, 2000
  • Campbell, Marian, An Introduction to Modern Ironwork, London, HMSO, 1985. p..24 ill. ISBN. 0112904157
  • Eric Turner in British Art and Design 1900-1960, ed. Carol Hogben, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983, pp. 22-23. ill. ISBN. 0905209575
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.244-1963

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Record createdSeptember 6, 2001
Record URL
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