Charles Rennie Mackintosh Table from Hill House

The Square Table, designed in 1908 by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, now recognised as one of the geniuses of the early 20th century, is one of the most elegant and complex of his designs of this period. Since his original work at The Hill House (1903-05), the square had come to dominate Mackintosh's work. In earlier pieces, the square appeared often as a cut-out decoration, but in reality it provides both structure and ornament. The top is square and in the centre are four inlaid panels of mother-of-pearl. Each panel is square and comprises nine smaller squares, each set with its 'grain' against that of its neighbours to reflet the light in a different way. The legs take the form of a labyrinthe lattice - an open cube of intersecting square rails. Small square shelves are placed in the upper tier at the corners and, at the intersection of the veritcal and upper horizontal rails, Mackintosh introduced another inlaid square of mother-of-pearl.