19th Century Arts & Crafts Oak Library Steps With Hand Carved Sides

19th Century Arts & Crafts Oak library steps. Highly carved sides with two steps and turned stretcher. Each side is unique and covered in repeating wheel style motifs inspired by medieval designs.

A rare and super stylish piece of Arts & Crafts design. The shape of the sides is simple and elegant with sweeping lines and little flourishes like the upturned curl at the highest point. But it is the carved sides that grab your attention. You are unlikely to ever see another one like this.

The term Arts and Crafts was first used by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson at a meeting of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in 1887, although the principles and style on which it was based had been developing in England for at least 20 years. It was inspired by the ideas of architect Augustus Pugin, writer John Ruskin, and designer William Morris. It was a reaction against a perceived decline in standards that the reformers associated with machinery and factory production. True to the arts & crafts ethos, these steps are hand carved and made using traditional construction techniques with dowels.