designed by C. R. Ashbee, 1903
Furniture was an important part of the Arts and Crafts movement. According to Alan Crawford ‘It seemed to express the mood and ideals of the movement so tellingly….the furniture spoke of a preoccupation with honesty and natural materials’1
One of the founder members of the Guild of Handicraft was a cabinet maker C.V Adams who was soon joined by three others. In 1894 it expanded to ten and was an important element of the Guild’s’ output with many of the pieces being designed by Ashbee and executed by the workshop.
During the first years of the 20th century Ashbee was in the process of developing his style and confidence as a furniture designer.
Writing cabinet by Ashbee 1898-9 The Wilson, Cheltenham
He started developing this chair design in about 1900, looking at early 18th-century examples for inspiration. He began with a sturdy four-square design which he softened by the addition of curves at the top corners and the front feet. The curved central splat is an attractive and comfortable element as well as providing a surface for the attractive inlay in mother of pearl.
In some ways their design can be related to some of the classic silver pieces also on display in the museum’s collection such as the loop-handled bowls and decanters where Ashbee has looked at 18th-century designs and adapted them to make them his own.
Silver dish with two loop handles
Similar chairs were included in the 1903 Arts and Crafts Exhibition in London and were highlighted in the influential German periodical,’ Der Moderne Stil’ (volume 5, 1903). This suggests that this pair of chairs was made after the Guild moved from London to Chipping Campden in 1902.
The chairs are currently on display in the museum.
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Arts and Crafts author and curator Mary Greensted discuss two twentieth century chairs by C. R. Ashbee with specialist Arts and Crafts dealer Paul Reeves
Purchased with assistance from the Art Fund, Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund.
