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Side cabinet: M.15-1980

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Object information

Current Location: Gallery 5

Maker(s)

Manufacturer: Jackson and Graham (Attributed to)
Designer: Jones, Owen (Attributed to)
Locksmith: Chubb

Entities

Categories

Description

Side cabinet veneered with macassar ebony inlaid with marquetry of various woods and ivory, with central cupboard monogrammed HAB with B doubled, two narrow cupboards, and bow fronted glazed cupboards at either end containing display shelves.

Notes

History note: Sold Sotheby's, Belgravia, 12 March 1980, English Furniture and Works of Art . . ., p. 30, lot 225; sold for £4,000 to Phillips and Harris, 54 Kensington Church Street, London, W.8, from whom purchased.

Legal notes

Purchased with the Cunliffe Fund, with Grant-in-Aid from the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a contribution from the Pilgrim Trust.

Measurements and weight

Depth: 57.2 cm
Height: 103 cm
Length: 240 cm

Place(s) associated

  • London ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bought (1980-07-01) by Phillips and Harris

Dating

Victorian
Circa 1870 CE - Circa 1875 CE

Note

The designer, writer and architect Owen Jones was an early advocate of flat, stylised ornament instead of naturalistic flowers and foliage. Travelling in Spain and the Middle East he developed a love of Hispano-Mooresque decorative motifs, which he popularised in his patternbook, The Grammar of Ornament (1856). He was a prolific designer of wallpaper, carpets, textiles, metalwork and tiles for a number of commercial firms. From the 1850s Jones designed furniture for the luxury cabinetmakers Jackson and Graham, often with an elaborate inlaid ornament in the Grecian style like the symmetrical palmettes seen here. The monogram on the door is probably that of Henry Arthur Brassey, with the B doubled for symmetry. Jones did work for him, both in his town house in Park Lane, now demolished, and his new country house, Preston Hall, in Aylesford, Kent. Brassey (1840-1891) was a great benefactor of Aylesford, restoring the church and bell tower there, and building a school.

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Veneer composed of macassar ebony
Inlay composed of thuya palmwood purpleheart ivory
Exterior

Materials used in production

Glaze

Techniques used in production

Inlay
Glazing

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: HAB with the B doubled
  • Location: Door of central cupboard
  • Method of creation: Inlay
  • Type: Monogram
  • Location: Locks
  • Type: Serial number

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.15-1980
Primary reference Number: 95831
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 6 December 2023 Last processed: Wednesday 13 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Side cabinet" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/95831 Accessed: 2024-11-02 18:33:14

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/95831 |title=Side cabinet |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-02 18:33:14|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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