Tortoiseman Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School English Oak Cabinet c. 1980

  

Tortoiseman Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School English Oak Cabinet c. Fitness for Purpose and Pleasure in Use. An Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School English Oak Cabinet by Tortoiseman c. A lovely cabinet providing a substantial amount of flexible storage and display space with some classic arts and crafts decorative touches such as exposed fox wedged tenons. 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).

Two lower doors with fielded panels surrounded by rails and stiles joined by blind tenons enclosing 2 adjustable shelves. Two upper doors with astra glazed windows surrounded by rails and stiles joined by blind tenons enclosing 2 adjustable shelves. Sides with fielded panels surrounded by rails and stiles joined by blind tenons. Exposed fox wedged tenons on the sides. Overall Height 1950mm (6 feet 4 3/4 inches).

Overall Depth 450mm (1 foot 5 1/2 inches). Overall Width 910mm (2 feet 11 3/4 inches). Carved snail motif on the top of the gallery. Very good condition with excellent rich colour and grain, snugly closing doors, original keys present and locks working.

A few very minor marks and dints discoverable upon close inspection. 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. About Arts & Crafts Yorkshire School. The Yorkshire School of the Arts & Crafts movement started with Robert'Mouseman' Thompson's transformation from jobbing carpenter to master craftsmen. Other craftsmen, unconnected to the Mouseman workshop, have also chosen the classic Yorkshire Oak style as their own.

Typical Yorkshire school items are in English Oak, with traditional pegged joints and adzed surfaces. Handicraft Antiques specialises in high quality Arts & Crafts Movement and Yorkshire School furniture from about 1900 onwards. Central to our philosophy is to sell furniture and furnishings that exhibit great design, outstanding quality of workmanship, are made with beautiful materials and are functionally useful and useable.

Many of our items will be of a similar cost to a modern mass produced equivalent, yet are likely to hold their financial value, or even appreciate over time, whereas inferior mass produced new items are very likely to quickly lose value. Our stock typically reflects some of the best designers and makers of their period including, Ernest Gimson, Peter Waals, Arthur Simpson, Stanley Webb Davies, Gordon Russell, Edward Barnsley, Liberty, Ambrose Heal, Robert Mouseman Thompson, Alan Grainger, Peter Hall of Staveley and numerous other craftsmen from the Arts and Crafts Movement, but also selected other items by less well known makers that are just beautifully designed and made. There is of course a subjective element to describing the condition of items, so if something is not as clear as it should, be please ask for clarification. It's not normally possible or desirable to restore items to perfect as new condition, so unless otherwise stated you should expect items to have some character - small amounts of age related wear and tear, such as light scratches, tiny chips/dings, minor marks and slight colour variations. These won't detract from the overall appearance and are generally only noticeable on close inspection.