Cabinets were lavishly decorated, as they were the most prestigious pieces of storage furniture during the 16th century. Spanish examples were often decorated with Islamic motifs, but this early example is Italian and looks to classical motifs for inspiration. It is also decorated with the Pillars of Hercules, the personal emblem of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, on the inside of the lid. The cabinet is thought to have been made for the emperor's apartments in the Castello di Gonzaga when he visited Mantua in northern Italy in 1532, which would make this the earliest known European cabinet to survive. This beautiful cabinet will be the subject of our first podcast episode, a series produced by Victoria Jenner, in celebration of our Early Career Symposium. 

Episode one will welcome Lorenzo Mascheretti, a PhD student in Humanistic Studies Catholic University in History of Modern Art and History of Architecture in Milan.

Episode 1: 'Plus Oultra Cabinet'

From the late eighteenth century, Prussia sought to build up its cast-iron industry and by the 1820s was producing a wide range of objects, from columns and railings to small-scale ornaments. Royal architect, Schinkel, was particularly interested in the material and in about 1825, he produced his first designs for cast-iron garden furniture for the gardens of the Prussian royal palaces. This chair is based on a design of about 1835 for the Römischen Bäder (a garden pavilion known as the Roman Baths) in the gardens at Potsdam. The design was produced for about thirty years by foundries all over Europe, with slight variations in the detail of the back, arms and feet. 

Serena Newmark will be our second speaker on our upcoming podcast series produced by Victoria Jenner in celebration of our Early Career Symposium. 

Episode two will thus discuss the materiality of this cast iron garden chair, with the support of Serena, a PhD student in Art History at the Freie Universität Berlin working on the Prussian design diaspora of the 19th century.

Episode 2: 'Cast Iron Garden Chair'

Alexander Fisher was one of the most celebrated silversmiths working in the Arts and Crafts tradition. He studied enamelling in Paris where he mastered a number of historical techniques which he adapted for jewellery and other decorative objects. This sconce is a 'tour de force' of the silversmith's skills and illustrates Fisher's confidence in using different metals with a variety of techniques. This delicate wall light incorporates a peacock within its design, a favourite motif in the decorative arts of the late 19th century and is the subject of our third podcast episode. 

In celebration of our Early Career Symposium, Victoria Jenner welcomes Eloise Donnelly, the Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the V&A Museum in London.

Episode 3: 'The Peacock Sconce'

French designer, René Herbst designed this model of chair around 1929, shortly after his research on the creation of metal furniture, which began in 1926 at the Salon d'Automne. This new model became testament to a new industrial style that stood apart from the traditional formulas of office furniture, showing how metal could intervene as a sustainable material. Following on from this, Herbst also developed models of metal seats made with angles and tubes. 

This chair is one of the creator's first models to have reached a certain degree of success and will also subsequently be the subject of our fourth podcast episode, where Victoria Jenner interviews Kiersten Thamm, a doctoral candidate in art history at the University of Delaware.

Episode 4: 'Nickel-Plated Metal Chair'

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld became affiliated with functionalist architecture and from the late 1920s, concentrated on designing mass-produced furniture and architecture. He executed a number of shop renovations for the Dutch company Metz & Co., who between 1930 and 1955 produced his furniture, including various models of the ‘Zig-zag’ chair and the so-called ‘Crate’ furniture range. This chair is part of a line of inexpensive furniture made from low quality wood such as that used in packing cases. In order to keep the price down the wood was simply cut and assembled with screws rather than any joints. 

This lounge chair model will occupy our fifth and final podcast episode, where Victoria Jenner talks to Maude Willaerts, Assistant Curator in the Performance, Furniture, Textiles and Fashion Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Episode 5: 'Crate Chair'

The Furniture History Society (FHS) was founded to study furniture of all periods, places and kinds, to increase knowledge and appreciation of it, and to assist in the preservation of furniture and its records.

Episode 2: 'Cast Iron Garden Chair'

The Furniture History Society

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