Mackintosh Ladder Back Chair, Stained Elm with Rush Seat

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, attrib, ladder back chair, circa…
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Charles Rennie Mackintosh, attrib, ladder back chair, circa 1895. Stained elm with rush seat, height 115 cm. Literature: Billcliffe, R. 'Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the complete furniture, furniture drawings & interior Designs', New York, 1979, p.31, illustrated).

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  • Rush Seating - Associated with country style chairs, stools and settees, rush seats are woven from rushes, with the pattern of the weaving often dividing the the chair seat diagonally into four triangles.

    The weaving of rushes has been practiced for centuries, and it is believed that some early rush seats of the 18th and 19th century were painted, although common practice now is to leave the rush in its natural state. As the rush ages the colour

    Rushes of the type used in Europe for seating are not available in Australia, and instead fibre rush, a man-made product from one-ply twisted paper, is used. Another substitute material is twisted natural sea grass.

    Seats in Danish furniture of the 1950s were often finished with Danish cord, a three ply twisted paper cord, which has a similar appearance to rush.
  • Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
  • 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.

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