Core Record CSM - VADS: the online resource for visual arts

Core Record
Title	[Low Bentham Font: Designs for water supply]
Collection	Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Collection
Maker	Lethaby;William Richard;
Date	1889
Extended Description	Designs of lamp, font cover and pomegranate ornamentation.
Id Number Current Accession	F.68.1
Id Number Current Repository	1253
Inscription	A number of rough notes, specifications etc in Lethaby�s hand (in ink)
Subject	Lethaby;William Richard;
Material	Pencil, red and blue pencils, pen and black ink on paper.
Notes	The commission for designing a font at St. John the Baptist Church, Low Bentham was probably handed to Lethaby by his mentor, Norman Shaw. Shaw had renovated the church during the previous year. See also F.68.2 and .3. The final design was executed by Farmer and Brindley.
Object Notes	Designs for the water supply to the Font at St. John the Baptist Church, Low Bentham, Lancaster. This sheet shows a number of varying views and sketches detailing a rather complex mechanism for drawing water into the Font through a "simple pipe" into a "glass globe" which would be "nearly a sphere". These designs (see also F.68.1 and .3) were largely influenced by an Italian book made during the late Renaissance, the "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili". It was a book which Lethaby described as "a collection of all the architectural wonders of the world".
Relation Exhibition	W R Lethaby 1857-1931: architecture, design and education, London, Central School of Arts and Crafts
Relation References	Book: Rubens;Godfrey;, William Richard Lethaby: his life and work 1857-1931, Architectural Press. 1986. Sale catalogue: Christies. 29 October 1991. Exhibition: Rubens;Godfrey;, The Practice and Theory of Architecture, W R Lethaby 1857-1931: ar
Rights	University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Collection
Source	Christie�s; A.B. Waters CBE
Technique	Pen, ink and pencil drawing
Work Type	Fine Art