Week 50: Dec. 15, 2024

Chair, Christopher Dresser and John Moyr Smith, English and Scottish, designers, about 1870, Iron and wood 

Coalbrookdale Company, manufacturer, England

Form over function…

I love this chair. It is every contrast I enjoy about art and design. It is absolutely gorgeous - yet looks hideously uncomfortable; almost like a torture device. I have always been drawn to items that have either outlived their usefulness or were designed with a focus on form rather than function. It amuses me in some way. But it can make for a very uncomfortable home!

I also enjoyed photographing this, with the delicate glass vase in the background. Such a contrast to the wood and iron.