An Arts & Crafts Cotswold School Walnut Sideboard by Oliver Morel [Ex-Edward Barnsley] 1969. A very pleasingly simple but elegant design of remarkably modern form, made to the exceptionally high standards expected of this former Edward Barnsley craftsman this leading Arts and Crafts maker. A real stand out item in any home, and providing practical storage. Featuring:

• Solid English Walnut with Mahogany and Cedar of Lebanon interior.

• Two 2 beautifully figured 2 plank flush panelled cupboards each containing a swept back adjustable shelf.

• Rectangular top made out of just two continuous pieces of very well figured walnut.

• Fielded panel back.

• Four tapering legs joined with arched rails.

• Very fine handmade walnut handles.

• Signature Oliver Morel Holly and Cuban mahogany border inlay.

• Central drawer with removable cutlery tray (made with hand-cut lap and through dovetails and fox wedges through tenons).

• Drop down centre cupboard with beautifully figured 2 plank flush panelled door containing a removable drinks tray (made with hand-cut lap and through dovetails and fox wedges through tenons).

Approximate dimensions are:

• Overall Length 1530mm (5 feet).

• Overall Height 840mm (2 feet 9 inches).

• Overall Depth 440mm (1 foot 5 1/4 inches).

1969.

Made for Arnold Brain with whom Morel attended rendcomb college in gloucestershire. Included copies of extensive paperwork consisting of copy letters containing discussions about design, types of wood and pricing.

Lovely condition with excellent rich colour and grain, original finish, snugly closing doors, smoothly sliding drawers and tight joints., A few very minor marks and dints discoverable upon close inspection, but far less than expected for an item that has been in use over 60 years. If you wish to have further specific photographs or talk to us for a more detailed condition report then please do not hesitate to contact us.

A maker of fine furniture in the Cotswold School Arts and Crafts tradition who trained and worked with Edward Barnsley at his famous workshop at Froxfield (from 1934 to 1941), before founding his own workshop in 1946. His furniture is always of exceptional quality with astonishing attention to detail, combined with elegant design. Hes was born in 1916 and died in 2003.

Walnut is truly special timber with a delicious range of brown and grey creamy colours. The amount of feature depends on where the tree was grown, the best being English with its decorative grain, deep colouring, lustre and durability. It is highly prized for high class furniture, although its high cost and scarcity mean that solid walnut is only found in the very best items.

The Cotswold School was a development of the Arts and Craft Movement started largely by Ernest Gimson and the brothers Sidney and Ernest Barnsley. The furniture is instantly recognisable with its simple lines, attention to the finest of details, and use of beautiful materials. Cotswold School designs were crafted from local materials using traditional tools and techniques and with decorative details derived largely from utilitarian elements: exposed joinery, unusual panels, interesting pulls and latches crafted either from wood or from metal using traditional smithing techniques, and close attention to form as well as to wood grain and pattern. Where decorative details were added they generally took the form of traditional embellishment such as exposed joints, chamfered edges and chip carved edge details. The style was embraced and developed by other designers and craftsmen including Gordon Russell, Stanley Webb Davies in Cumbria, Sid Barnsley's son Edward, Arthur Romney Green in Hampshire, Robin Nance in St Ives and Ambrose Heal are a handful of such men out of many. The best developed their own style within the established tradition.