Rossetti chair
Armchair
1870-1890 (made)
1870-1890 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
A chair of this type were traditionally called a 'Rossetti' chair, after the poet and artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, friend of William Morris. Similar French country chairs can be seen in the home of the artist, Claude Monet (1840-1926), at Giverny, in Normandy, France.
People
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was an enthusiastic collector of antiques and owned a very similar chair to this example, shown with him in a photograph of 1863. He may have suggested the idea of using his chair as a model for the firm to copy so that they could add a new design to their range of furniture. Some of Rossetti's Regency furniture can still be seen at Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire, the house that he and William Morris used for holidays.
Trading
The firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. showed their first products at the London International Exhibition of 1862. They were originally established in Red Lion Square, London and subsequently moved to Queen Square and opened a shop in Oxford Street in 1877.By then, the firm was called Morris & Co. and published an illustrated catalogue of their products in about 1912. It included illustrations of all the furniture available, including this chair which cost 16/6 (82p).
A chair of this type were traditionally called a 'Rossetti' chair, after the poet and artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, friend of William Morris. Similar French country chairs can be seen in the home of the artist, Claude Monet (1840-1926), at Giverny, in Normandy, France.
People
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was an enthusiastic collector of antiques and owned a very similar chair to this example, shown with him in a photograph of 1863. He may have suggested the idea of using his chair as a model for the firm to copy so that they could add a new design to their range of furniture. Some of Rossetti's Regency furniture can still be seen at Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire, the house that he and William Morris used for holidays.
Trading
The firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. showed their first products at the London International Exhibition of 1862. They were originally established in Red Lion Square, London and subsequently moved to Queen Square and opened a shop in Oxford Street in 1877.By then, the firm was called Morris & Co. and published an illustrated catalogue of their products in about 1912. It included illustrations of all the furniture available, including this chair which cost 16/6 (82p).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Ebonised beech, with red painted decoration and rush seat |
| Brief description | 'Rossetti' Armchair, Morris & Co., London, 1870-90 |
| Physical description | Armchair of painted and stained beech with a circular rush seat. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Possibly designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (born in London, 1828, died in Birchington on Sea, Kent, 1882); manufactured by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., and Morris & Co., London This chair is based on a traditional French design. A single chair of this pattern appears in the engraving of Louis-Leopold Boilly's drawing 'La Paresseuse', which was published in 1820. |
| Historical context | Rush-seated chairs were a staple production of Morris & Co. from the firm's early years. Morris's colleague, the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti, owned an early nineteenth century chair of this form, probably from rural France, which provided the model for Morris & Co. Similar chairs are depicted in 'Londoners Gipsying', a painting of 1820 by C.R. Leslie. While most early Morris & Co. furniture is inspired by the middle-ages, this chair has origins in the light-weight furniture of the Regency period. That the chair is essentially a reproduction is not unusual for furniture of this period. For Morris & Co. it represented an ideal form which could not be improved - an early design classic. Although a traditional country chair, it was sold to the urban middle classes aspiring towards a contrived simplicity of life. [Gareth Williams, 'British Design at Home', p.72] |
| Production | In production from about 1863 |
| Summary | Object Type A chair of this type were traditionally called a 'Rossetti' chair, after the poet and artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, friend of William Morris. Similar French country chairs can be seen in the home of the artist, Claude Monet (1840-1926), at Giverny, in Normandy, France. People Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was an enthusiastic collector of antiques and owned a very similar chair to this example, shown with him in a photograph of 1863. He may have suggested the idea of using his chair as a model for the firm to copy so that they could add a new design to their range of furniture. Some of Rossetti's Regency furniture can still be seen at Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire, the house that he and William Morris used for holidays. Trading The firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. showed their first products at the London International Exhibition of 1862. They were originally established in Red Lion Square, London and subsequently moved to Queen Square and opened a shop in Oxford Street in 1877.By then, the firm was called Morris & Co. and published an illustrated catalogue of their products in about 1912. It included illustrations of all the furniture available, including this chair which cost 16/6 (82p). |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.304-1961 |
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| Record created | March 10, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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