Syrian Mother of Pearl Inlaid Bench

Syrian mother of pearl inlaid wooden wedding or dowry chest. The trunk is profusely inlaid with intricate geometric and floral designs in...

Syrian mother of pearl inlaid wooden chest of drawers. With five drawers. The wood is profusely decorated throughout with mother of pearl and shell in intricate floral and geometric ...

Pair of Syrian mother-of-pearl inlaid armchairs. Exceptional early C20th hardwood chairs with intricately carved details and turned spindle and ball panels. In excellent, sturdy co...

The rectangular padded seat covered in brown leather, opening to reveal a set of library steps, over a solid inlaid seat-rail and ring-turned tapering legs ending in castors. 18in. high, 34 1/2in. wide and 16 1/2in. deep. Opened, 36in. high and 49in. wide. Rooms organized during the Regency period as libraries often had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The upper shelves were difficult to reach, so movable library stairs were invaluable. Further, libraries were one of the most important rooms in a stately house, symbol of its owner's wealth, culture and status. As a consequence, designers, architects and cabinet or chair makers devoted much attention to its architecture and decoration. Hence, the emrgence of innovative ideas such as our bench. Enter the Regency era metamorphic library chair/bench (chairs are more common than benches)! The tables, chairs and stools containing library steps were patented in Great Britain by Robert Campbell in 1774 but this innovative chair-based design did not become immediately popular. Once the Regency was established, a neo-classical interpretation of Campbell’s Metamorphic Library Chair concept started to become popular in London. Any early attributions rely heavily on two contemporary sketches...