Card table, 1865
William Burgesexpand_more
Walnut, boxwood, ebonyexpand_more
Gift of funds from the Decorative Arts Councilexpand_more 99.89
Not on Viewexpand_more
William Burges’s name is indelibly linked with the Gothic Revival in the mid 19th century Britain. His design work for one of the richest men in the British Empire, the Third Marquess of Bute, along with major commissions executed at the Anglican Cathedral in Cork, Ireland, and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, earned Burges a truly international reputation.
Thomas Garnett, a prosperous cloth merchant, built in 1864 a Gothic country house called Oakwood outside of Bingley in Yorkshire. He hired William Morris and William Burges for the interior furnishings. Burges produced remarkably detailed presentation watercolors for this commission, a set of which survives in the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. The floor plan of the drawing room reveals the original location of this card table. Three separate additional drawings record the table’s overall form, carved details inspired by medieval bestiaries, and the marquetry inlay of birds derived from early tile decorations. The self-referential details of diamonds, clubs, spades, and hearts along the skirt, leave little doubt in the eye of the beholder as to the table’s intended function.
Explore
Audio
Details
- Title
- Card table
- Artist Life
- 1827 - 1881
- Role
- Designer
- Accession Number
- 99.89
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know
Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.