Stock ref: DS1085
Circa 1910 – 1920
A rare Arthur Romney Green find, in the finest Cotswold School Arts and Crafts traditions of Ernest Gimson and Sidney Barnsley, bearing his distinctive diamond shaped motif which is carved to the front middle of each shelf. The free standing three tier
shelving unit is of modest overall proportions, making it ideal for modern home interiors, but the detailed chamfered leg design and exposed jointing is what makes it so special. There are no screw fixings used in the construction of this
piece at all, yet it remains solid and sturdy with no loose joints. All the jointing is exposed and through tennons are wedged, in the manner typical of those working in the Cotswold School traditions of the Arts and Crafts movement. The leg sections
feature typically long chamfers created with a spoke-shave or draw knife. Most interestingly the craftsman’s scribed measuring and punch marks remain visible in the wood around the jointed sections (see the images below).
It remains eminently useable for its original purpose as a display unit or small bookcase, and is in wonderful solid condition. The oak looks to have been finished originally with linseed oil before waxing and now presents with a lovely aged mellow colour
with superb graining and patina. I have recently re-waxed the piece. The only evidence of old repair i have found relates to a small inlay of wood into the centre of the top shelf and a small use of wood filler around the edges of a
couple of the joints.
Size: 60(w) x 25.5(d) x 74(h)cm
Arthur Romney Green (1872 – 1945) led a varied and interesting life decribing himself as ” craftsman woodworker, boat builder and sailor, mathematician, poet, chess player, social reformer, rebel, freiend and lover.” His furniture making career began in Haslemere, Surrey in 1904 following a visit to E. Gimson’s Sapperton workshops. He later moved to Christchurch, Hampshire where his ouput is acknowledged to be creatively and philosophically linked to the Cotswold School of Gimson and the Barnsley’s. He was joined by three other young craftsmen and designers, Stanley Webb Davies, Eric Sharpe and Robin Nance, all of whom went on to have successful careers of their own and were influential in the Arts and Crafts movement in later years.
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{gallery}DS1085{/gallery}