Furniture is a unique witness to the transformations of private and public experience amidst the upheavals of the 20th century. How we work, rest and play are determined by the embodied encounter with furniture, defining and projecting a sense of identity and status, responding to and exemplifying contrasting social conditions, political and economic motivations, aesthetic predilections and debates.
Assessing physical and archival evidence drawn from a spectrum of iconic and under-represented case studies, an international team of design historians collaborate in this volume to explore key methodological questions about how the production, consumption and mediation of furniture reveal shifting cultural habits and histories across diverse contexts amidst modernity.
Drawing upon a wealth of visual and textual sources, this volume
presents
essays that examine key characteristics of the furniture of
the period
on the themes of Design and Motifs; Makers, Making, and
Materials; Types
and Uses; The
Domestic Setting; The Public Setting;
Exhibition and
Display; Furniture
and Architecture; Visual
Representations; and Verbal
Representations.
List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Series Preface Introduction, Claire I. R. O’Mahony 1. Design and Motifs, Trevor Keeble 2. Makers, Making, and Materials, Antony Buxton 3. Types and Uses, Marjan Groot 4. The Domestic Setting, Penny Sparke 5. The Public Setting, Helena Chance 6. Exhibition and Display, Claire I. R. O’Mahony 7. Furniture and Architecture, Gregory Votolato 8. Visual Representations, Clive Edwards 9. Verbal Representations, Anja Baumhoff Notes Bibliography Index
Claire I.R. O'Mahony is Associate Professor of History of Art and Design in the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford, UK.
