An armchair designed by C. A. Lion Cachet circa 1907

solid oak and ebony, elaborately carved with a stylised lions head, two water buffaloes' heads and grotesque masks, the base with a large stretcher, on sledge feet raised on (later) sledges, with spring filled seat and padded backrest and armrests upholstered in olive green velours

S. Van Ravesteyn, De sierkunst op de Nederlandsche passagiersschepen in: De toegepaste kunsten in Nederland (Rotterdam 1924) pp.22-30

M. de Bois ed., exh. cat. C. A. Lion Cachet 1864-1945 (Assen & Rotterdam 1994) pp. 127-129

H.P. Berlage, Mijn Indische reis (Rotterdam 1931), pp. 7-11.

The chair here offered for sale was presumably part of the interior of the music room of the ocean liner Grotius, from the fleet of Stoomvaartmaatschappij Nederland. After leaving the workshops of Van Wisselingh & Co, the decorating of the first class salons of the Grotius in 1907 was the first major commission for artisan Carl Adolph Lion Cachet (1864 - 1945), after which he would decorate a large number of luxury ship's interiors (see lot 56).

The monumental armchairs which Lion Cachet designed for the Grotius can be regarded as a first step towards his own distinctive style of decorating with precious materials and elaborate ornaments. The upholstery of the seat and the armrests was originally executed in brown leather with an embossed ornament in gold, the armrests were cushioned with leather batiks. However, the design of the chair had a functional purpose as well, the exceptionally heavy structure making sure that the furniture would remain still in rough weather, with a hole in the stretcher to secure the chair to the floor with an iron bolt if necessary. Berlage himself described the interior of the Gropius while travelling on the ship to the Dutch East Indies, stating that he was impressed by the rich style of the ship’s interior but that the level of decoration was a bit too much for his taste.