Daniel Cottier, Anglo-Japanese Ebonised Two Tier Side Table with Thebes Style
Price on Application
This item is price on application due to its rarity and importance.
Width: 17.91 in (45.5 cm)
Depth: 17.72 in (45 cm)
1880-1889
About this piece
By Daniel Cottier, this ebonised walnut two tier side table aligned to the Aesthetic Movement (circa 1860 to circa 1890) and Anglo-Japanese taste, c.1880. The table has a moulded upper tier with a shallow raised edge, set above chamfered and incised vertical supports which continue visually through the second tier to the legs.
The lower structure is especially important. The legs are united by Egyptian Thebes style triangular supports, The upper supports, lower shelf and geometric stretcher system create the severe linear quality associated with Anglo-Japanese furniture of the period, while the black ebonised surface gives the form its strong graphic presence.
This table is a variation of a Godwin design bordering on plagiarism, particularly in its tiered structure, open lower frame and disciplined use of line. Cottier knew Godwin and bought and is known to have bought Godwin furniture probably from William Watt which he sold to clients in the US and Australia. The design also relates to Godwin’s well known coffee table designs made by William Watt, where simple geometry, tiered planes and carefully calculated proportions carry the visual effect.**
The table is illustrated in Clarence Cook’s The House Beautiful beside an armchair designed by Rhoda and Agnes Garrett.* That comparison is particularly valuable, as Puritan Values also holds the related Garrett cane seated armchair. This gives the table a strong documentary link between Cottier, Godwin, William Watt and the wider Anglo-Japanese furnishing culture of the late nineteenth century.***
References / Provenance
* Clarence Cook, The House Beautiful: Essays on Beds and Tables, Stools and Candlesticks, Scribner, Armstrong, 1878. The Metropolitan Museum records the book as an 1878 publication by Clarence Cook, with design involvement by Daniel Cottier. See last image
** William Watt, Art Furniture from Designs by E. W. Godwin and Others, 1877. Cooper Hewitt records the 1877 collaboration between E. W. Godwin and William Watt, and BIFMO records Watt’s close association with Godwin furniture.
*** Rhoda and Agnes Garrett comparative armchair, See 2nd last image. BIFMO records Rhoda and Agnes Garrett as designers and sellers of furniture, wallpaper, textiles and accessories, while the National Trust records c.1880 armchairs designed by Rhoda and Agnes Garrett.
