Box
1978 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
David Pye was a trained architect, furniture-maker and teacher, a theorist and accomplished wood-turner and carver. He taught furniture design at the Royal College of Art first as a tutor from 1948 and then as a Professor from 1963 until his retirement in 1974. His unsentimental writings on the nature of design and workmanship influenced a generation of designers and craft writers. Pye also made some of his own tools and by 1950 he had invented the ‘fluting engine’. This was used to create the smooth rhythmic flutes seen on the inner surface of some of his bowls. A smaller version of this tool was in use by the 1970s for engraving similar patterns on the lids of miniature boxes.
Pye produced turned objects for most of his working life, but it was only when he retired that he began to do this in earnest. Simple, elegant yet exquisitely worked, each of his pieces is unique. Pye was interested in the effects of light, shadow and reflection in helping to define the shape of an object. By using glossy and sometimes tropical woods and creating textured surfaces he made seemingly simple objects come alive with detail.
Pye produced turned objects for most of his working life, but it was only when he retired that he began to do this in earnest. Simple, elegant yet exquisitely worked, each of his pieces is unique. Pye was interested in the effects of light, shadow and reflection in helping to define the shape of an object. By using glossy and sometimes tropical woods and creating textured surfaces he made seemingly simple objects come alive with detail.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
Materials and techniques | Turned rosewood |
Brief description | Bowl-shaped box with lid with radial fluting on top, rosewood; English 1978 des. and man. David Pye |
Physical description | Bowl-shaped rosewood box with lid with radial fluting on top. |
Gallery label | THREE BOXES WITH LIDS
Designed and made by David Pye (British, born 1914), Great Britain, 1978
Turned woods
Given by the maker
W.131,132,133-1978
Pye was the first to express the notion of 'the workmanship of risk' in contrast to the 'workmanship of uncertainty', comparing the effects of unpredictable material or the slip of the hand with industry's uniform production line. The intricate precision of these handmade boxes is typical of his work.
[20th century gallery] |
Credit line | Given by the maker |
Summary | David Pye was a trained architect, furniture-maker and teacher, a theorist and accomplished wood-turner and carver. He taught furniture design at the Royal College of Art first as a tutor from 1948 and then as a Professor from 1963 until his retirement in 1974. His unsentimental writings on the nature of design and workmanship influenced a generation of designers and craft writers. Pye also made some of his own tools and by 1950 he had invented the ‘fluting engine’. This was used to create the smooth rhythmic flutes seen on the inner surface of some of his bowls. A smaller version of this tool was in use by the 1970s for engraving similar patterns on the lids of miniature boxes. Pye produced turned objects for most of his working life, but it was only when he retired that he began to do this in earnest. Simple, elegant yet exquisitely worked, each of his pieces is unique. Pye was interested in the effects of light, shadow and reflection in helping to define the shape of an object. By using glossy and sometimes tropical woods and creating textured surfaces he made seemingly simple objects come alive with detail. |
Collection | |
Accession number | W.131&A-1978 |
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Record created | February 8, 2008 |
Record URL |
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