Antique Arts & Crafts Walnut & Rush Two-Seater Settee, 1900

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Description

A beautifully understated English Arts & Crafts two-seater settee, dating to circa 1900 and constructed from solid walnut with a … Read more A beautifully understated English Arts & Crafts two-seater settee, dating to circa 1900 and constructed from solid walnut with a traditional hand-woven rush seat.

The settee has a wonderfully restrained design, with tall slender rear uprights framing two broad, gently shaped horizontal back rails. Particularly attractive are the elegantly sculpted arms, each formed with a subtle sweeping profile that gives the otherwise simple construction a distinctive architectural quality.

Traditional craftsmanship is evident throughout. The walnut frame is predominantly mortise-and-tenon constructed, with visible pegged joints, while the rush is woven directly around the seat rails to create a generous and surprisingly compact two-person seat.

The walnut has developed a lovely mellow colour and naturally aged surface, retaining the knocks, marks, variations in tone and softened edges accumulated through more than a century of use.

At just 95cm wide, this is an unusually useful size. It has the presence of an Arts & Crafts settle without the substantial proportions normally associated with one, making it particularly suited to a hallway, bedroom, fireside, landing or smaller living space.

A wonderfully honest piece of English Arts & Crafts furniture combining traditional construction, beautiful proportions and the simplicity of design for which the movement is so admired. See less