Oak table, G. E. Street

Oak table, G. E. Street, England, 1853-1854. Museum no. W.88-1975

Table
George Edmund Street (1824 - 1881)
Made by George Myers for Cuddesdon College, Oxford
England
1853 - 1854
Oak
Museum no. W.88-1975

G. E. Street  was influenced by medieval work when he designed this table in 1852. The craftsmanship in this simple design is shown in the pegged mortice and tenon joints. The design disguises nothing, and makes a feature of the grain of the oak from which it is made.

Wells Antiquarian Chair, Mr. Kensett

Wells Antiquarian Chair, Mr. Kensett, England, 1830-1840. Museum no. W.24-1913

Wells Antiquarian Chair
Mr. Kensett of Mortimer Street
London, England
1830-1840
Oak and ash
Museum no. W.24-1913

This chair, made before 1840 at the beginning of Victoria's reign, is an example of pure and very clever reproductive craftsmanship. Mr. Kensett of Mortimer Street in London made this and many other pieces with such loving care and attention to accurate historical detail that, bought by the Museum in 1019, it was at first shown in the Tudor galleries as the chair of the last Abbot of Glastonbury.

St. George Cabinet, William Morris

St. George Cabinet, William Morris, England, 1861 - 1862. Museum no. 341-1906

St. George Cabinet
William Morris (1834 - 1896)
Made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.
London, England
1861 - 1862
Mahogany, pine and oak, with copper mounts
Museum no. 341-1906

The highly decorated St. George's Cabinet demonstrates Morris' love of romance. It was painted by Morris for the 1862 International Exhibition in London, to show the products of his new interior design company, Morris & Co. Althought the press praised its 'true medieval spirit', the decoration of St. George and the Dragon is a piece of pure Victorian romantic narrative.

Vita Nova Washstand, William Burges

Vita Nova Washstand, William Burges, England, 1880. Museum no. W. 4-1953

Vita Nova Washstand
William Burges (1827-1881)
England
1880
Carved, painted and gilded wood, marble top and bowl inset with silver, tap and fittings of bronze
Museum no. 217-1961

Carved, painted  and gilded wood washstand wit a marble top and bowl inset with silver. The tap and fittings are of bronze. The side of the cabinet is carved  with a Tudor rose motif, with wrought iron-hinged doors  on four legs topped with a cream and green marble surface inset. The inset bowl is made from red and white marble inlaid with silver fish, with a tap fitting in the shape of a goat.

This washstand was made for the guest chamber of Tower House, Melbury Road, London, the home of William Burges. His love of jokes is reflected in the design - the battlemented washstand has a tank in the upper part which supplied water trough the goat tap into a marble basin inlaid with silver fish.

A companion piece to the bed designed by Burges (Museum no. W.5-1953)

Bed, William Burges

Bed, William Burges, England, 1879. Museum no. W. 5-1953

Bed
William Burges (1827-1881)
England
1879
Painted wood, inset mirrors
Museum no. 217-1961

Carved and painted bed with inset mirrors and a depiction of a medieval version of The Judgement of  Paris, with side-boards inset with illuminated vellum and  textiles under glass. The inscription on the front of the bed  reads VITA NOVA and bed posts - and on the right and left - WILLIAM  BURGES ME FIUERI FECIT and ANNO DOMINI  MDCCCLXXIX.

This bed was made for the guest chamber of Tower House, Melbury Road, London, the home of William Burges. Through the hares, hearts and arrows carved and painted on the foot of the bed, Burges surrounded his guests with the symols of love and dreams.

A companion piece to the wash stand designed by Burges (Museum no. W.4-1953)

The Yatman Cabinet, William Burges

The Yatman Cabinet, William Burges, England, 1858. Museum no. 217-1961

The Yatman Cabinet
William Burges (1827-1881)
Made by Harland & Fisher for H.G. Yatman
Painted by Edward John Poynter (1836 - 1919)
England
1858
Painted wood
Museum no. 217-1961

Secretaire designed to resemble a house with  four painted panels of classical scenes across the  middle, three at the bottom, and ornate designs containing columns, porcupines, profile portraits etc.

Everything Burges did was painted, not carved, to more closely match the medieval spirit. Unlike Morris' painted furniture, which used furniture merely as a vehicle for the painted subject, Burges always applied the decoration so that it had an integrity with the structure of the piece.

The design of the desk is taken from a medieval cabinet then in Noyon Cathedral in France. Much of this piece is decorated with stencilling, a technique that Burges took directly from medieval sources, but these are not the only inspiration. The top cupboards illustrate the Greek legend of Cadmus and the Dragon's teeth. The lower doors have three very different paintings and it is these that give the most obvious clue to the cabinet's use. The Assyrian mason lettering his monument, Dante writing in the monastery and Caxton with his press, indicate that this object serves words and communication. Another clue is in the roof dormers, which act as a perpetual calendar.

Medieval style table in oak, A. W. N. Pugin

Medieval style table in oak, A. W. N. Pugin, England, c.1852. Museum no. W.26-1972

Table
A. W. N. Pugin (1812 - 1852)
Made by John Webb
England
c.1852
Oak
Museum no. W-26-1972

Oak table of a simple braced and pegged construction in  the manner of a Medieval design.  Two curved X- frame supports on either side with a trident support  and large stretcher along the bottom attached to two stretcher legs.

Pugin was the leading proponent of the Victorian Gothic style. He owned a large collection of original medieval carvings which were a source of inspiration for his work.