Secretaire Cabinet
George Washington Jack (1855-1932)
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1906
Materials
Mahogany inlaid with sycamore, rosewood, tulipwood, ebony and other woods, and brass
Measurements
132 x 141 x 68 cm
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 850082
Summary
A marquetry-inlaid mahogany secretaire cabinet, incorporating a variety of specimen woods including sycamore, rosewood, tulipwood, and ebony, British, designed by George Washington Jack (1855-1931), manufactured and retailed by Morris & Co, circa 1906, the oblong cabinet with angular domed top inlaid with geometric stringing, the frieze with chequer-banding above a band of marquetry wheat-ears, the cabinet fall-front and flanking doors inlaid with a mirror-image foliate marquetry design incorporating acorns, oak leaves, ash leaves and vines, all within a decorative border, the sides and back inlaid with a diaper pattern, the stand's frieze inlaid with thistle flowers and leaves, banding to the lower edge, the legs and gently arched apron with chequer-banding to the rim, foliate and floral motifs inlaid to the square-section legs, the sides of the stand with deep shaped aprons with marquetry inlay, the legs joined by a H-stretcher with shaped central stretcher joined by two supports descending from the underside of the stand.
Full description
The angular domed top lifts up on brass quadrants to reveal a velvet lined tray, the front of the cabinet centred by a fall-front which drops down, supported two large brass quadrants, to reveal a green tooled-leather writing surface, the lip of the drop leaf stamped 'No. 1581 Morris and Co 4490 Oxford St.W.', a recess behind the drop-leaf containing an arrangement of pigeon-holes, the fall-front flanked on either side by a cupboard door, each hinged to the outer edge, the right cupboard door opening to reveal a column of four drawers, each drawer with a shaped inlaid border and ebonized knob handle, the left cupboard opening to reveal three shelves. An example of the cabinet is first known to have been shown at the Arts and Crafts exhibition of 1889 where it received mixed reviews, one critic even going so far as to describe it as an 'exaggerated inlaid tea-caddy on a clumsy stand.' Despite this initial rocky start the design proved to be popular and Morris & Co were still advertising it in the firm's catalogue, 'Specimens of Furniture and Interior Decoration', circa 1912. It was advertised at 98 Guineas 'with decorated inlay' or 60 Guineas 'plain, inlaid with lines'. George Jack was an American-born architect who also turned his hand to designing furniture and furnishings. He supplied designs for furniture to Morris & Co. from around 1880 and went on to succeed Philip Webb as chief designer for the firm from 1890. This cabinet represents a later development of the Arts and Crafts style with an emphasis on decoration utilizing skillful techniques, such as the marquetry which is used here. Other similar known examples of the secretaire cabinet are found in the V&A (CIRC.40:1 to 10-1953) stamped 1147; in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1986-128-1a,b) stamped 664; one acquired by Lawrence Hodson of Compton Hall; others were acquired by W.K.d'Arcy for Stanmore Hall and by the Christie family for Tapeley Hall, Devon. Exhibited: Louvre, Paris, 1909-1914; V & A, London, 1934 (216); 'The Treasure Houses of Britain: Five Hundred Years of Private Patronage and Art Collecting' at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, 3 Nov 1985 - 13 April 1986, (561). (Harriet Homfray 2017)
Provenance
Acquired by Theodora Wythes (1875–1957), later Marchioness of Bristol, directly from Morris & Co in 1906, for 98 guineas; By descent to Lady Marjorie Erskine (1898-1967) and thence to the Hon. David Erskine (1924-2004); Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust, August 2005.
Makers and roles
George Washington Jack (1855-1932), designer William Morris and Co., manufacturer
References
treasure houses of Britain : 1985., P. 629 - No. 561, Secretaire Cabinet, designed by George Washington Jack, 1855-1932, made by Morris and Co., mahogany with marquetry of sycamore and various other woods Specimens of Furniture and Interior Decoration: Morris and Company Decorators, LTD - 449 Oxford Street, London, W. and Merton Abbey, Surrey., P. 2 - No. 353 [illustrated] Mahogany Secretaire Cabinet. Designed by Mr. George Jack. Front view. With Decorated Inlay as shown, 98 Guineas. Plain, Inlaid with Lines, 60 Guineas.