Lot 76
EDWARD WILLIAM GODWIN (1833-1886) FOR WILLIAM WATT
RARE PAIR OF AESTHETIC MOVEMENT EBONISED SIDE CHAIRS, CIRCA 1880
Paul Reeves: An Eye for Design feat. Textiles as Art II | 548
Auction: 14 February 2019 at 11:00 GMT
Description
the ebonised mahogany frame with upholstered seat covered with 19th century Japanese silk fabric on square fluted legs linked by stretchers (2)
Dimensions
44cm wide, 85cm high, 47cm deep
Footnote
Literature: Watt, William 'Art Furniture from Designs by E.W. Godwin' F.S.A., London 1877, pl. 6
Soros, Susan 'The Secular Furniture of E.W. Godwin, Yale University Press 1999, p. 113 no. 137 and p. 122, no. 158
For a similar chair see Sotheby's London 'Paul Reeves The Best of British: Design from the 19th and 20th Centuries' 20th March 2008, lot 34
Note: This chair appears in an illustration in William Watt's 'Art Furniture' brochure under 'Dining Room Furniture'. It is a variation of his lattice-back chair (Soros no. 137) however in this example Godwin has curved the back uprights and corresponding seat upholstery. The asymmetrical lattice back is derived from Japanese architectural details which Godwin used frequently in his designs. Only one other of these chairs is known with the configuration seen in the Watt catalogue (see Sotheby's London, 'Paul Reeves: Best of British The Auction', 20 March 2008, Lot 34).