A superb set of eight antique Art Deco burr walnut and coromandel dining chairs attributed to the world renowned cabinet makers Harry & Lou Epstein, Circa 1920 in date.
The set of eight chairs are the highly desirable cloud back model and comprises two armchairs and six side chairs, all with curved backs in burr walnut with coromandel banding. They have all been reupholstered in a sumptuous cream leather.
This set is a fabulous example of the Art Deco period and will enhance any room in which it is placed.
Condition:
In excellent condition having been beautifully cleand, waxed and reupholstered, in cream leather, in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 93 cm x Width 57 cm x Depth 52 cm - Armchairs
Height 93 cm x Width 51 cm x Depth 48 cm - Side Chairs
Height 47 cm - Seat Height
Dimensions in inches:
Height 3 feet, 1 inch x Width 1 foot, 10 inches x Depth 1 foot, 8 inches - Armchairs
Height 3 feet, 1 inch x Widt
...h 1 foot, 8 inches x Depth 1 foot, 7 inches - Side Chairs
Height 1 foot, 6 inches - Seat Height
Epstein furniture
was originally founded in East London by Polish immigrants in the 1890s. The firm passed to brothers Harry and Lou Epstein and the pair turned their attention to the production of Art Deco forms from the 1930s until the 1950s.
Finished to high standards, most pieces were custom-made in veneers of burr maple, sycamore or walnut. The design of the famous ‘cloud’ seat furniture is credited to Epstein and the company also popularized the uniquely British taste in suite furniture.
Following World War II, Epstein had showrooms in London, Manchester and Glasgow. A conservative Art Deco style became the company`s trademark after the war and most pieces were made from bleached walnut. Art Deco pieces are not signed.
From the 1960s, some pieces were labelled ‘H. & L. Epstein’ or ‘Epstein & Goldman’.
Art Deco or Deco,
is an influential visual arts design style which first appeared in France during the 1920s, flourished internationally during the 30s and 40s.
It is an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Ageimagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colours, bold geometric shapes, and lavish ornamentation.
Deco emerged from the Interwar period when rapid industrialization was transforming culture. One of its major attributes is an embrace of technology. This distinguishes Deco from the organic motifs favored by its predecessor Art Nouveau.
Historian Bevis Hillier defined Art Deco as ''an assertively modern style...[that] ran to symmetry rather than asymmetry, and to the rectilinear rather than the curvilinear; it responded to the demands of the machine and of new material...[and] the requirements of mass production''.
During its heyday Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress.
Coromandel wood or Calamander wood
is a valuable wood from India, Sri Lanka and South East Asia. It is of a hazel-brown color, with black stripes (or the other way about), very heavy and hard. It is also known as Macassar Ebony or variegated ebony and is closely related to genuine ebony, but is obtained from different species in the same genus; one of these is Diospyros quaesita Thwaites, from Sri Lanka. The name Calamander comes from the local sinhalese name, ''kalu-medhiriya'', which means dark chamber; referring to the characteristic ebony black wood.
Coromandel wood has been logged to extinction over the last 2 to 3 hundred years and is no longer available for new work in any quantity. Furniture in coromandel is so expensive and so well looked after that even recycling it is an unlikely source. A substitute, Macassar Ebony, has similar characteristics and to the untrained eye is nearly the same but it lacks the depth of colour seen in genuin
Internal Reference: A4852a
Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA1186060
Dateline of this antique is 1920
Height is 93cm (36.6inches)Width is 57cm (22.4inches)Depth is 52cm (20.5inches)
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