A rush seated ash three-chair back settee

DESIGNED BY ERNEST GIMSON, 1890S

Details
A rush seated ash three-chair back settee
Designed by Ernest Gimson, 1890s
Stained black with turned bobbin supports, spindle backs and elbow ends; and a stained black Armchair ensuite with the above
66½in. (169cm.) wide (settee) (2)
Provenance
Robert Weir Schultz.

Lot Essay

Robert Weir Schultz was a Scottish architect and lifelong proponent of Arts and Crafts ideals. He trained in the offices of Norman Shaw where he met William Lethaby who was to become his firm friend and a major influence on his work. He travelled with Sydney Barnsley to study Byzantine work and while Master of the Art Workers Guild was responsible for collaborating with artist-craftworkers such as Ernest Gimson, on major commissions such as that at Westminster Cathedral in 1910.
This project combined architectural practice, his Eastern interests and Arts and Crafts ideals under the patronage of his main sponsor the 3rd Marquess of Bute.
A prototype seat for this project, designed by Gimson and kept in Weir Shultz's barn at Hartley Wintney (see illustration) was used by Edward Barnsley's bride at their wedding breakfast.

Cf: Ernest Benn, Ernest Gimson. His Life and Work, 1924, pl. 38

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