Arts & Crafts Sussex Chair attributed to William Birch & E G Punnett for Liberty, 1900s

Description

An outstanding and extremely rare william morris style arts & crafts sussex chair in wonderful antique condition. Attributed to e. … more An outstanding and extremely rare william morris style arts & crafts sussex chair in wonderful antique condition. Attributed to e. G. Punnett and william birch and almost certainly sold by liberty of london around 1900-1910, this stunning armchair will add exemplary quality, gorgeous colouring and a timeless arts & crafts aesthetic of rustic elegance to any interior.

e. G. Punnett and william birch were much-heralded designer-producers of arts & crafts furniture around the turn of the 20th century. They worked together from 1901, producing some of liberty’s most iconic pieces, and this marvellous armchair bears all the hallmarks of their quality and craftsmanship.

at first glance this looks like a very lovely and decorative sussex armchair but look closer and we can begin to appreciate the incredible workmanship that really sets this fine piece apart. Made of beautifully grained ash wood, now displaying lovely rich, aged toning, this chair features the original rush seat in excellent condition and has several delightful design features, marking it out not only as a punnett & birch collaboration but also as an exceptional and extremely rare example of the arts & crafts movement.

the most astounding feature of this enchanting armchair are the splendidly intricate and possibly unique complete set of spindles to the back and sides which almost resemble the bails on cricket stumps. Beautifully turned and crafted, they’re a joy to behold and perfectly display punnett & birch’s attention to detail and standing as exceptional master-craftsmen – we’ve never seen any spindles even remotely similar and the fact that they’re a complete-and-in-tact set makes them even more remarkable!

there are three punnett & birch attributing factors to this chair: the unmistakable pair of elongated-egg-shaped finials atop the back and the rare shape of the curving arms – both of which are displayed on other william birch chairs – and the delightful, rounded feet on the front legs – a notable e. G. Punnett design.

as well as these attributing indicators, the sheer quality of the craftsmanship points to a top liberty arts & crafts producer such as punnett or birch, and there are plenty more signs of outstanding craftsmanship throughout.

to the rear, the gently arcing legs are square-carved at the bottom, before merging into beautifully rounded, tapering back posts and then rising to the shapely, spherical birch finials above carved detailing. The delightfully turned front-legs, which become the arm-supports, are tapered to both ends, have three sections of notched carvings and terminate in the shapely tell-tale punnett feet. Especially notable is the back design, with two sets of fabulous and possibly unique spindles, and flanking all four sets are gently curving and beautifully grained ash rails, which go together to create a fabulous triptych of silhouettes, viewable from any angle.

three sets of double stretches – with lovely, notched detailing to the front set – and a single rear stretcher also enhance the silhouette casted by this superb chair, whilst the substantial carved birch arms are delightfully curving, and the seat is of the original hand-woven rush, adorned by a protective and understated arts & crafts wooden border.

all in all this is an outstanding example of arts & crafts design by two masters, which won’t fail to bring an exemplary arts & crafts quality and a fabulous bygone aesthetic of traditional rustic elegance to any setting.

condition
this is in very-good-to-excellent antique condition. Beautifully crafted and structurally sound, the original rush seat is in remarkably in-tact condition and the chair has clearly been very well looked after and appears, quite remarkably, to be without alteration or restoration. Overall this is an incredible piece in wonderful antique condition. Still highly usable, it should be treated with care to ensure its longevity and if well looked after, it should be just as breath-taking for generations to come – please see the photos.

measurements
height – 99.5cm, width – 57cm, depth – 51cm, seat height – 38.5cm, seat width – 51cm, seat depth – 43.5cm, weight – 5.5kg. this piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



issues arising from misattribution less