Drawing
ca.1738-ca.1776 (designed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Thomas Chippendale was a fashionable designer and cabinet-maker in the eighteenth-century, providing furniture to such famous contemporary figures as David Garrick. His company produced high-quality furniture, including some key masterpieces, but Chippendale's outstanding skill was in design. His pattern-book The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director went through three editions in the 1750s and 60s and inspired trade catalogues and pattern-books from fellow designers. Usually produced by architects, a large, elegant pattern-book was an ambitious project for a craftsman at this time. The Director showed the full range of furniture available in the eighteenth century, and the range of styles that were fashionable. Chippendale created a trademark fusion of rococo style with Chinese and gothic elements, which was the basis of 'English' rococo. His style influenced furniture design in contemporary Europe and colonial America, and had a marked Victorian revival in England. The Director designs were the main source for Chippendale's high reputation until his furniture was first identified in 1906.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Pen and ink and wash on paper |
Brief description | A design for a four-poster bedstead in pen, ink and wash on paper, Chippendale. |
Physical description | An ornate design for a four-poster bedstead. The headboard is decorated with rococo ornament and tassels. The canopy has rococo ornament, a cusped edging hung with tassels, and drapery with an elaborate finial supporting a crown. The front posts differ in design, the right hand being hung with drapery, the left exposed to show a column in neo-classical style. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Production type | Design |
Historical context | This design is very similar, but not identical to Plate 43 in the third edition of Chippendale's pattern-book The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director. |
Subject depicted | |
Summary | Thomas Chippendale was a fashionable designer and cabinet-maker in the eighteenth-century, providing furniture to such famous contemporary figures as David Garrick. His company produced high-quality furniture, including some key masterpieces, but Chippendale's outstanding skill was in design. His pattern-book The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director went through three editions in the 1750s and 60s and inspired trade catalogues and pattern-books from fellow designers. Usually produced by architects, a large, elegant pattern-book was an ambitious project for a craftsman at this time. The Director showed the full range of furniture available in the eighteenth century, and the range of styles that were fashionable. Chippendale created a trademark fusion of rococo style with Chinese and gothic elements, which was the basis of 'English' rococo. His style influenced furniture design in contemporary Europe and colonial America, and had a marked Victorian revival in England. The Director designs were the main source for Chippendale's high reputation until his furniture was first identified in 1906. |
Bibliographic reference | The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director, 1762, pl.43 |
Collection | |
Accession number | D.711-1906 |
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Record created | June 30, 2009 |
Record URL |
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