Liberty & Co., Early Aesthetic Movement Armchair

An early Liberty & Co. armchair that sits squarely within the Aesthetic Movement as it turns towards the 1890s. The architecture is spare and rhythmic. A shallow cresting rail tops a field of fine spindles, the uprights worked to simulate bamboo, nodding to the period’s Japoniste taste. The flared arms settle on ranks of short turned balusters, a disciplined colonnade that lightens the profile.

The seat frame is a lightly splayed trapezium, and each rail is gently curved at the front, back and sides. That plan form gives the chair an easy sit and a refined line above the legs. The frame stands on stout supports with plain side stretchers and a central H stretcher, an honest declaration of sound joinery and everyday utility.