Mackintosh footstool from Glasgow tearoom sells for staggering figure
A wooden footstool from a Glasgow tearoom and designed by Glasgow's Charles Rennie Mackintosh has sold at auction for £81,450 – more than ten times the original estimate.
The footstool was designed for Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms in 1898, and was part of the billiard and smoking rooms above the Tea Rooms on Argyle Street. Cranston was a patron of Mackintosh, who also designed rooms at Miss Cranston's Buchanan Street Tea Rooms.
The stained oak stool, standing 38.5cm high and 44.5cm wide, attracted international interest at Lyon & Turnbull’s Design Since 1860 sale in Edinburgh on Thursday. John Mackie, director of decorative arts & design with Lyon & Turnbull, said: “The work at Argyle Street followed on from his previous work at Miss Cranston’s new Buchanan Street Tea Rooms, which had been conceived two years earlier in 1896.
READ MORE: Marti Pellow performs at Glasgow Queen Street station as surprised commuters watch on
READ MORE: Glasgow's King's Theatre worker celebrates 50 years of service at stage door
“In this commission, Mackintosh was in charge of furnishings and his designs for these new rooms exhibited a new, more robust evolution of his repertoire and established a style for much of his work up to 1900.
“The bold and simple aesthetic of the designs marked him out from his contemporaries. It’s indicative of the interest in the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh that we received bids from across the world for this footstool.”
Join Glasgow Live's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
Sign up to our daily Glasgow Live newsletter here to receive news and features direct to your inbox