Armchair
1901 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This armchair was designed by E.G. Punnett. It was made in 1901 by the furniture-manufacturing firm of William Birch Limited in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. E.G. Punnett’s name appears more than ten times in one of Birch’s cost and design books in October to November 1901. However, it is not clear whether Punnett designed the objects his name appears by or whether he simply estimated how much they would cost to make. Birch also supplied furniture to Liberty's and several of their pieces bear Punnett's signature.
This chair is an interesting example of the way in which Arts and Crafts ideas about design filtered through to commercially produced objects. Like much Arts and Crafts furniture the chair is made of oak to a sturdy, solid-looking design. It incorporates traditional craft techniques in its use of rushing on the seat and back panels but combines this with an inlaid floral motif in ebony, the design of which shows some influence of the emerging Art Nouveau taste.
This chair is an interesting example of the way in which Arts and Crafts ideas about design filtered through to commercially produced objects. Like much Arts and Crafts furniture the chair is made of oak to a sturdy, solid-looking design. It incorporates traditional craft techniques in its use of rushing on the seat and back panels but combines this with an inlaid floral motif in ebony, the design of which shows some influence of the emerging Art Nouveau taste.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Oak and walnut with rush panels and inlaid with ebony |
| Brief description | Oak and walnut armchair with rush seat, designed by E. G. Punnett, made by William Birch Ltd., Britain, 1901 |
| Physical description | Oak and walnut armchair with rush seat and back panels and inlaid with ebony. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Ian Hodgson |
| Object history | According to Elizabeth Aslin, who acquired this chair, the original design is dated June 1901 and the original cost price was £2 6s. The Birch records are in the Wycombe Museum. |
| Summary | This armchair was designed by E.G. Punnett. It was made in 1901 by the furniture-manufacturing firm of William Birch Limited in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. E.G. Punnett’s name appears more than ten times in one of Birch’s cost and design books in October to November 1901. However, it is not clear whether Punnett designed the objects his name appears by or whether he simply estimated how much they would cost to make. Birch also supplied furniture to Liberty's and several of their pieces bear Punnett's signature. This chair is an interesting example of the way in which Arts and Crafts ideas about design filtered through to commercially produced objects. Like much Arts and Crafts furniture the chair is made of oak to a sturdy, solid-looking design. It incorporates traditional craft techniques in its use of rushing on the seat and back panels but combines this with an inlaid floral motif in ebony, the design of which shows some influence of the emerging Art Nouveau taste. |
| Bibliographic references |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.400:1, 2-1959 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | November 22, 2005 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
