This item has been sold, and the description, image and price ($US) are for reference purposes only.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh for Cassina, length S.5 stained black sideboard, the back central section inset with enamelled glass mosaic rose, enclosed with inlaid Mother-of-pearl squares, the base with six cube drawers above three cupboard doors, on block feet, 59.84 in. x 63.78 in. x 22.44 in. provenance: Estate of John Wilson

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  • Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.

    In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.

    Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries.
  • Block Feet - Block feet are usually found on square or sometimes tapered legs. Although the basic block foot is square on all sides, there are variations including a tapered block foot, moulded block foot and carved block foot.
  • Mackintosh, Charles Rennie - Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 - 1928) was an important Scottish architect, water colourist and designer duing the Arts & Crafts period.

    Born in Glasgow, and at age 15 he began evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art. It was here he met his future wife Margaret Macdonald, who he married in 1900. Together with his wife, his wife's sister and her husband, they exhibited furniture and posters and became known as the 'Glasgow Four".

    Mackintosh originally produced graphic work and repousse metalwork in conventional Art Nouveau style, but from the 1890s developed a distinctive simplified style highly influential on Viennese furniture and architecture.
  • Provenance - A term used to describe the provable history of an antique or work of art, and thus an additional aid to verifying its authenticity. Provenance can have an inflating effect on the price of an item, particularly if the provenance relates to the early settlement of Australia, a famous person, or royalty. Less significant are previous sales of the item through an auction house or dealer.
  • Inlay - Decorative patterns inserted into the main body of a piece of furniture, generally in wood of contrasting colour and grain, though brass, ivory, ebony, shell and sometimes horn have been used. Inlay may consist of a panel of well figured timber inset into a cabinet door front, geometric patterns, or complex and stylized designs of flowers, swags of foliage, fruits and other motifs. As a general rule, in pieces where the carcase is constructed in the solid, the inlay is relatively simple such as stringing, cross banding and herringbone banding. Where more elaborate and decorative work was required veneer was used. Inlay has been fashionable from at least the latter half of the 17th century, when a variety of elaborate forms were developed

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Charles Rennie Mackintosh for Cassina, length S.5 stained black…