Attr. Charles Bevan
Side cabinet, c.1865
for Marsh & Jones, Leeds (attr.; partnership 1864–70) (maker)
satinwood, inlaid with harewood, purpleheart, ebony and boxwood; giltwood mouldings and mirror glass
54 x 54 x 15 inches
Charles Bevan was a talented and influential furniture designer, working in the Modern Gothic style. However, little is known about him. He was probably active by circa 1860 until circa...
Charles Bevan was a talented and influential furniture designer, working in the Modern Gothic style. However, little is known about him. He was probably active by circa 1860 until circa 1882. He was born around 1815 and surfaced in 1865 as a furniture designer and manufacturer.
The design of the Geometric Gothic furniture manufactured by Marsh and Jones is usually ascribed to Charles Bevan on the basis of the renowned bedroom suite (now at Lotherton Hall) supplied by the firm to Titus Salt Jnr. in 1865. The design of the present cabinet has many features in common with two, somewhat grander cabinets designed by Bevan and supplied by Marsh & Jones to Titus Salt, around 1865–70.
Bevan’s furniture appears in many catalogues and periodicals, in which they are discussed with appreciation. He made designs for Marsh & Jones, Lamb of Manchester, Holland & Sons and Gillows. Stylistically, Bevan’s furniture is close to that of John Pollard Seddon (1827-1906) and it is widely believed that Bevan was Seddon’s pupil, and then assistant, before establishing his own firm.
(FAS Spring catalogue, 2025)
The design of the present cabinet has many features in common with two, somewhat grander cabinets designed by Bevan and supplied by Marsh & Jones to Titus Salt, around 1865–70. The first, with a tall, arched mirror above, is at Lotherton Hall; see Christopher Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, III, Leeds, 1998, no. 685. The second, with a low back, is in the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum; see Mary Ann Steiner (ed.), The Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection, Saint Louis, 1991, p. 118.
Other related cabinets include a satinwood two-door cabinet in an English private collection and another, in walnut, in an American private collection; see H. Blairman & Sons, Furniture and Works of Art (2005), no. 9. A cabinet, identical to the present example, is in an English private collection.
For more on Charles Bevan see H. Blairman & Sons, Gothic-Revival Furniture by Charles Bevan, London, n.d. [2006].
(Blairmans website)
The design of the Geometric Gothic furniture manufactured by Marsh and Jones is usually ascribed to Charles Bevan on the basis of the renowned bedroom suite (now at Lotherton Hall) supplied by the firm to Titus Salt Jnr. in 1865. The design of the present cabinet has many features in common with two, somewhat grander cabinets designed by Bevan and supplied by Marsh & Jones to Titus Salt, around 1865–70.
Bevan’s furniture appears in many catalogues and periodicals, in which they are discussed with appreciation. He made designs for Marsh & Jones, Lamb of Manchester, Holland & Sons and Gillows. Stylistically, Bevan’s furniture is close to that of John Pollard Seddon (1827-1906) and it is widely believed that Bevan was Seddon’s pupil, and then assistant, before establishing his own firm.
(FAS Spring catalogue, 2025)
The design of the present cabinet has many features in common with two, somewhat grander cabinets designed by Bevan and supplied by Marsh & Jones to Titus Salt, around 1865–70. The first, with a tall, arched mirror above, is at Lotherton Hall; see Christopher Gilbert, Furniture at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, III, Leeds, 1998, no. 685. The second, with a low back, is in the collection of the Saint Louis Art Museum; see Mary Ann Steiner (ed.), The Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection, Saint Louis, 1991, p. 118.
Other related cabinets include a satinwood two-door cabinet in an English private collection and another, in walnut, in an American private collection; see H. Blairman & Sons, Furniture and Works of Art (2005), no. 9. A cabinet, identical to the present example, is in an English private collection.
For more on Charles Bevan see H. Blairman & Sons, Gothic-Revival Furniture by Charles Bevan, London, n.d. [2006].
(Blairmans website)
Provenance
H. Blairman & Sons, London; private collectionLiterature
H. Blairman & Sons, Furniture and Works of Art (London, 2010) no. 10
