Easy Chair and Standard Lamp

Among the greatest and most complete achievements of architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh is the Hill House, a home he designed for the publisher Walter Blackie at Helensburgh, near Glasgow, in 1902. As well as the house itself, Mackintosh and his wife, Margaret Macdonald, designed all of the decoration, furniture and fittings, making it a celebrated Gesamtkunstwerk. This armchair and an accompanying standard lamp formed part of the original furnishings of the house and display MackintoshÂ’s distinctive approach to the Art Nouveau style. The lamp stand is a cube-form in sycamore, inlaid in geometric patterns with mother-of-pearl. Following the disintegration of the original shade, a faithful reproduction has been made depicting pink roses and green leaves on a white silk background. The armchair, in striking ebonised wood, picks up the paired rails and mother of-pearl details from the lamp. These precious items have passed down through the Blackie family and are now being sold to the National Trust for Scotland by Ruth Currie, granddaughter of the original owner.