E. W. Godwin Attributed, Probably by Collinson & Lock, Ebonised Chaise

Attributed to E. W. Godwin and probably made by Collinson and Lock, this ebonised walnut chaise lounge aligned to the Aesthetic Movement (circa 1860 to circa 1890) and Anglo-Japanese taste, c.1870. The chaise has a long upholstered seat and curved roll over backrest, set above an architectural ebonised frame raised on eight square shaped legs.

Below the armrest are two carved and fretted Japanese lattice panels inset into rectangular frames. The same Japanese style lattice work is carried through the sides below the roll over backrest, giving the chaise a strong graphic rhythm against the pale upholstery. The legs are united by square straight stretchers, forming a disciplined open base, and the chaise retains its original “Cope and Collinson” brass castors.

The design shares identical lattice work under the roll over backrest with a sofa attributed to Godwin and made by Collinson and Lock, illustrated by Susan Weber Soros.* The overall armrest form, upright supports and spacing are also identical, although the related sofa uses inset sunburst motifs instead of the lattice panels seen here. The eight square legs united by square stretchers also follow the same overall form, albeit without the lower fretwork of the sofa.

Another similar design can be seen in a rosewood chaise lounge, particularly in the roll over backrest and eight leg construction.** A related rosewood chaise lounge is also held in the Puritan Values archive and was included in the Bröhan exhibition material.*** These comparisons place the present chaise firmly within the Anglo-Japanese furnishing language associated with Godwin and Collinson and Lock in the later nineteenth century.

References / Provenance

* Susan Weber Soros, The Secular Furniture of E. W. Godwin, page 109, illustration 130.i, for a sofa attributed to E. W. Godwin and made by Collinson and Lock, with related lattice work below the roll over backrest.

** Susan Weber Soros, The Secular Furniture of E. W. Godwin, page 106, illustration 127, for a related rosewood chaise lounge, particularly comparable in the roll over backrest and eight leg construction.

*** Rosewood chaise lounge included in the Bröhan exhibition material, for comparison with the roll over backrest and chaise form. See last image