Oak was a popular wood during the Art Nouveau era. It has a dark appearance and is of a robust nature. As well as being used for furniture, it was also often used for smaller items such as the backings of photograph frames and mirrors.
Below are some examples and price guides of Art Nouveau oak items including an armchair designed by E G Punnett and a French early 20th century mirror.
Armchair Designed by: E. G. Punnett Manufactured by: William Birch & Company (High Wycombe, England, founded in 1840)
The lofty ideals espoused by William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement occasionally filtered through to the commercial production of furniture. They are evident here in the conscious simplicity and vernacular style of the chair’s design and in the use of such humble materials as oak and rush. The stylized floral decoration, however, is an example of the significant influence of the current Art Nouveau style.
Reference: Museum of Fine Arts Boston
An Art Nouveau silver and enamel frame, Archibald Knox for Liberty & Co, Birmingham, 1910 the border with blue and green enamel amdist foliage and berries, oak easel back 19cm, 7 1/2 in high
Sold for 25,000 GBP at Sotheby’s in 2013
EUROPEAN, POSSIBLY LIBERTY (BRITISH) A Secessionist-Style Arts and Crafts Armchair, circa 1905 oak, cane, rush and ceramic; the seat, back and side panels of the stained oak frame of square form upholstered with interwoven squares of rush and coloured cane, the sides with fretwork supports, and the front supports of the arms mounted with pale blue and pink square tiles
Sold for £ 1,275 inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2020
A FRENCH ART NOUVEAU OAK MIRROR, EARLY 20TH CENTURY
Sold for USD 375 at Christie’s in 2010
Louis Majorelle Art Nouveau Oak and Marquetry Tea Table Circa 1900 The rectangular top above four folding shelves decorated with chestnut leaves and mice, the top signed L. Majorelle. Height 28 1/2 inches, width 26 inches, depth 17 inches.
Sold for $937 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle in 2020
An antique Art Nouveau bookcase offers oak construction with crest having carved Alphonse Mucha style female mask of Sarah Bernhardt with flanking floral elements surmounting case with central cabinet having leaded slag glass door with lily pads opening to shelved interior and surmounting stacked double drawers, flanking displays and cabinets, carved stylized fan, foliate and floral elements throughout, circa 1900
Sold for $5,000 at Winfield Auction Gallery in 2021
