William Burges's washstand
Video contains no sound.
William Burges designed this washstand in 1880. He designed it for his guest bedroom.
The cistern was filled with water. The lower tap was designed as a mythical beast. Several silver carp were inlaid into the marble bowl. Burges based the carp on a Japanese print.
The upper tap may have been used for rinsing. The bowl was emptied into a container underneath.
The middle section is covered with animals and birds. The top section has butterflies and plant life.
Burges took ideas from medieval churches. This is his watercolour of columns at Beauvais Cathedral in France. The washstand reflects Burges's characteristic mix of scholarly sources and playful humour
Related content
- Installing the Leistler bookcase
- Rococo writing table
- A Morris and De Morgan tile-panel
- A day at the Great Exhibition
- A day at The Great Exhibition
- History of jewellery
- Regional knitting in the British Isles & Ireland
- Victorian furniture styles
- The Hereford Screen, by Sir George Gilbert Scott, 1862
- Sir George Gilbert Scott
- Gothic architecture
- Audio: St George cabinet by William Morris
- The Resurrection of the Hereford Screen
- Architectural wallpapers
- More
