Leonard William Collmann, an Exhibition Quality Gothic Revival Oak Chaise Lounge
POA
Width: 78 in (198.12 cm)
Depth: 30 in (76.2 cm)
1860-1869
About this piece
Leonard William Collmann, stamped L. W. Collmann, was a rare exhibition quality Gothic Revival oak chaise lounge or daybed with incised and inlaid details throughout. It featured a wonderful original polychrome panel in the style of A WN Pugin at the back end, adorned with stylised florets and fleur de lis on white chevrons alongside gilt chevrons. The chaise retained its original silk fabric on the side arm, depicting stylised flowers with an A WN Pugin influence. It stood on incredibly detailed elongated brass castors.
Records show that Leonard William Collmann collaborated with Alfred Stevens on the entrance of the British Museum and exhibited an upright piano at the London 1862 Exhibition. Collmann, initially of Bouverie Street and later of George Street, Portman Square, was a pupil of Sydney Smirke, R. A., who designed and built the Carlton and the Conservative Clubs. Collmann himself was an excellent draughtsman and undertook the decoration and furnishing of numerous public buildings, London Clubs, and mansions of the nobility and gentry.
Collmann's designs were generally Classic, and although his Gothic Revival furniture designs, like the chaise lounge of exhibition quality described here, were a cut above, they were only produced for commissions and are extremely rare to find.
