An Arts & Crafts Cotswold School English Oak Chest of Drawers by Gordon Russell c. 1935. A very clean elegant design from the early period of this leading Arts & Crafts maker when items were still handmade by and individual craftsman. Beautiful and practical storage. Featuring:

• Made in English Oak.

• 3 long drawers (made with single plank fronts solid drawer carcasses joined with hand-cut lap and through dovetails).

• Hand turned walnut knobs.

• Very well figured quarter-sawn English Oak (quarter-sawing is a way of sawing oak to produce boards with superior strength which also reveals decorative 'medullary rays' in its grain).

• Rectangular top made out of just three continuous pieces of very well figured quarter-sawn solid oak.

Approximate dimensions are:

• Overall Width 950mm (3 feet 1 1/4 inch).

• Overall Depth 530mm (1 foot 8 3/4 inches).

• Overall Height 740mm (2 feet 5 inches).

c. 1935.

"Gordon Russell Ltd" copper label to the underside (introduced in 1929 and phased out in about 1940)

Very nice condition with rich colour. A few light marks on the top. 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.

One of the most important names in British design and a leading maker of arts and crafts furniture. His early furniture was hand-made in small numbers to a very high standard, adopting the Cotswold School philosophy pioneered by Ernest Gimson and the Barnsleys of usefulness and truth to materials. Always passionate about high standards of craftsmanship, many of his 1930s designs evolved to bridge the gap from the early arts and crafts movement to modern, minimalist forms while retaining the quality of materials and construction expected of the best Arts & Crafts furniture.

The most British of woods, that can produce really special results. English oak has been used for hundreds of years to construct everything from sea-going vessels to fine furniture. Although oak grows widely across Europe and North America, craftsmen continue to cherish English oak which grows more slowly than its foreign counterparts giving it strength, durability. Quarter sawn boards are very straight grained and have distinctive growth rings and medullary rays that give a very beautiful effect as well as being renowned for their superior stability and strength.

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.