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Giraffe Cabinet
cupboard
Omega Workshop
Europe, United Kingdom, England, London, Stanhope Street (possibly)
1915 = 1916
1987.126
furniture
213.5 x 115.5 x 41 cm
Cabinet
Designed by Roger Fry, about 1915-1916
Made by John Joseph Kallenborn
Produced by the Omega Workshops
Pine with inlaid hard woods
The giraffes in these marquetry panels
are reduced to a series of geometric shapes,
given texture and tone by the use of different woods.
They were designed using coloured paper cut outs,
a technique influenced by Cubist collage.
Roger Fry founded the Omega Workshops in 1913,
to provide struggling artists with a steady income
designing modern interior furnishings.
Omega designs were characterised
by an expressive and free use of pattern and colour
inspired by developments in modern art.
The finished products, however, were often poorly made,
as few artists had the necessary technical skills.
Marquetry furniture was an exception,
as a skilled cabinet maker, John Kallenborn,
was employed to make up the artists' designs.
Purchased with the assistance of the MGC/V&A Purchase Grant Fund
and the National Art Collections Fund (Mrs Beatrice N Stuart Bequest) 1987.126
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