Lot 126
CHARLES ROBERT ASHBEE (1863-1942)
PAIR OF ARTS & CRAFTS OAK SIDE CHAIRS, CIRCA 1900
Auction: 10 October 2018 at 11:00 BST
Description
each with heart-pierced splats above drop-in seats raised on shaped square legs linked by stretchers (2)
44.5cm wide, 98cm high, 43cm deep
Footnote
Provenance: Paul Reeves, London
Literature: Crawford, Alan, 'C.R. Ashbee: Architect, Designer & Romantic Socialist', Yale 1985, p. 287, pl. 141, where a chair of similar form is illustrated.
Note: Ashbee started designing his own chairs around 1900. His new designs were a version of early 18th century English dining chairs. The form is solid and square but softened with a curved splat on the back and curved moulding to the feet. The success of this development of a style from simple elements was something Ashbee had employed in his buildings and would employ again later in his career.