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Candle sconce
Ernest William Gimson, born 1864 - died 1919 - Enlarge image
Candle sconce
- Place of origin:
Gloucestershire, England (made)
- Date:
ca. 1910 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Ernest William Gimson, born 1864 - died 1919 (designer and maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Brass, pierced and engraved
- Museum number:
M.32A-1939
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 125g, case 4
Object Type
This sconce (wall light) was designed and made by the designer and furniture-maker Ernest Gimson (1864-1919). Gimson's metal sconces are related to his furniture designs through their use of decorative motifs such acorns and oak leaves and exposed technical features such as rivets.
People
Ernest Gimson was a designer and furniture maker closely associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. In 1881 he began training with a Leicester architect, Isaac Barradale. In 1886, on completion of his training and with the recommendation of the designer William Morris (1834-1896), he was recruited to the office of the architect J.D. Sedding (1838-1891). It was there that he met Ernest Barnsley (1863-1926). In 1895 he set up a furniture workshop in the Cotswolds with Barnsley and the latter's brother Sidney (1865-1926). He also integrated his work into the life of the local community by training villagers to become fine craftsmen.
Materials & Making
Gimson's typically 'Arts and Crafts' attitude towards his work involved using local woods. He often highlighted their colour and natural markings by incorporating them prominently into the design, and exposing technical features such as pins and dovetail joints. From about 1902 he began to design a series of sconces, firedogs (decorated iron bars for supporting logs and coal in a fireplace), hinges, etc., in iron or brass which were vaguely reminiscent of a 17th-century style.
