Relevant categories: Tables,Cabinets and Chests,Desks,Bookcases
At Canonbury Antiques we carry a range of Arts & Crafts furniture which is characterised by a clean and simple design aesthetic and is hence great for contemporary interiors. The Arts & Crafts movement first emerged in Britain in the 1880s and its main principles were hand crafting using traditional forms alongside romantic, folk or medieval deocoration. It also adhered to principles of economic and social reform and stood for being anti-industrial. One of the biggest influences on the thinking of Arts & Crafts was furniture and interior designer William Morris. In fact, William Morris' former house - now a museum - is well worth a visit and is located in Walthamstow North East London, not too far from the Canonbury Antiques showroom. Â
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Much of the aesthetic of the Arts and Crafts movement can be seen as a counter to the increasing industrialisation of both society and design. Morris looked back to the Middle Ages as a halycon time when things were made by hand by skilled craftsmen who had played an important role in society. Â
"Because craftsmen took pleasure in their work", he wrote, "the Middle Ages was a period of greatness the art of the common people. ... The treasures in our museums now are only the common utensils used in households of that age, when hundreds of medieval churches—each one a masterpiece—were built by unsophisticated peasants." Â
There was even an Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society formed in 1887 which held important exhibitions of decorative works. The whole movement inspired all creative fields including architecture, graphics, book making, furniture, woodwork, stained glass and textiles. William Morris - after exhibiting at the 1862 International Exhibition in London - won commissions to design the interiors at St Jame's Palace and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Another great influence on the aesthetic was Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh who designed and built the famous Glasgow School of Art. Â
Much of our Arts and Crafts furniture can be viewed in the Canonbury Antiques Hertforshire showroom which is located just 25 minutes north of London in the Herts countryside. Please get in touch if you'd like to make an appointment. We can ship these Arts and Crafts furniture pieces to anywhere in the world so please get in touch for a shipping quote.
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