Victorian Mahogany Camel-Back Sofa in William Morris Style Fabric

• Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.
  
  The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 ? 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910.
• Morris, William - William Morris (1834 - 1896) an architect designer, artist, writer, poet and social activist is regarded as a leader of the Arts & Crafts movement in England.
  
  After studying theology, ecclesiastical history, medieval poetry and art at Oxford University, Morris began work with a firm of architects for a short period.
  
  In 1861 he formed a company Morris Marshall, Faulkner & Co. was formed to design and produce wallpaper, carpets, tapestries and stained glass, and they initially secured ecclesiastical works, later extending to domestic assignments.
  
  In 1874 he took sole control of the company, buying out the other partners, and renaming it Morris & Co.
  
  The origins of his designs can be traced to medieval Gothic styles but his organic flower and bird motifs encouraged later artists to seek inspiration for their designs in nature.
• Mahogany - Mahogany is a dense, close grained red-coloured timber from the West Indies and Central America. It was first imported into Europe in the the early 18th century and its use continued through the 19th century. It was popular for furniture making because of its strength, the wide boards available, the distinctive grain on some boards, termed flame mahogany and the rich warm colour of the timber when it was polished.. The "flame" was produced where a limb grew out from the trunk of the tree, and this timber was usually sliced into veneers for feature panels on doors, backs and cornices.
  
  Some terms used to describe mahogany relate to the country from which it originally came, such as "Cuban" mahogany, "Honduras" mahogany etc. However unless the wood has been tested the names assigned are more a selling feature, rather than a true indication of the timber's origin.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Morris, William (Morris & Co.) (England) - furniture, designers and makers 26
• settees and sofas - Victorian 206