From Bohemia and the royal houses of Europe to the tiny colonial
city of Auckland, Anton Seuffert brought his remarkable cabinent making
skill and left a unique legacy
This
escritoire, repatriated recently from Scotland, appears to be one
of the last Seuffert made Louis XV revival cabinets. Its origins
are unknown.
Photo: Coutesy John Leech Gallery
Early New Zealand settlers were generally very resourceful, needing many
practical skills and plenty of determination to survive in the harsh new
environment in which they found themselves. Nowhere are these attributes
better seen than when reviewing the life of cabinetmaker and master craftsman
Anton Seuffert (1815-1887).
Seuffert migrated to New Zealand in 1859, and for the following 28 years
created a body of cabinetry featuring marquetry (veneer pictures) and
parquetry (veneer
geometric designs) using New Zealand woods. In terms of both quantity
and quality, no other colonial craftsman came close to his achievements.
Now, more than 130 years since his death, interest in his work and that
of his sons William, Albert and Carl continues to gather momentum, with
private collectors and museums actively seeking examples of
Seuffert treasures.
Already some of the best Seuffert pieces feature in Te Papa, the Auckland
War Memorial Museum and Canterbury Museum – the only places in this
country where his
work is on display – as well as the Royal Collection, Australian
National Gallery, Sydney Powerhouse Museum, Kew Gardens, Albert &
Victoria Museum, Roosevelt Library
and British Natural History Museum.
The
most detailed and stunning of all Seuffert tables was located at
the residence of the New Zealand ambassador in Paris. How the table
got there or which Seuffert made it is unknown. The detail, as the
photo reveals, is quite incredible.
The enthusiasm to embrace Maori imagery in addition to native birds
and plants is a recurring feature on many Seuffert works. The central
scene is based on an 1852 painting by John Alexander Gillfilan.
The scene is of a Maori village or ‘Pa’ near the town
of “Petre, Wanganui”. The wine tabletop has unfortunately
suffered from the use of a poor quality carcass timber and a vertical
split is evident through the middle.
Photo: Coutesy Kennedy Warne
Anton Seuffert was born into a working-class family in Bohemia, probably
in 1814 or 1815. As a teenager, he started work for the prestigious firm
of Carl Leistler & Sons of Vienna, cabinetmakers to the Austrian Emperor,
Francis Joseph I. As one of the best-known firms of its kind in Europe
at that time, the company supplied furniture for many of the European
royal houses. Anton rose to the position of foreman and went to England
on furniture delivery projects to palaces during the reign of Queen Victoria.
In 1851, Leistler & Sons had extensive displays at London’s
Great Exhibition, and Anton was tasked with the responsibility of setting
up these exhibits. In addition to the formal displays, it was a monumental
Gothic Revival bookcase made by Leistler & Sons that attracted particular
attention. This was given to Queen Victoria by Francis Joseph I, and is
on display in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Seuffert was instrumental
in the construction of this piece.
This
is the largest and most intricate of the jewellery boxes with a
detailed marquetry picture on the top incorporating an iconic native
New Zealand scene. The Gothic arch pattern around the sides is common
to almost all the Seuffert boxes. Below this is a linked cube
pattern also seen on the Larkworthy table and a chessboard card
table. The bone keyhole escutcheon is a finer, rounded bottom type,
which indicates Anton Seuffert constructed the box. Blue velvet
lining has been used to finish the interior.
A post 1869 Anton Seuffert label is attached to the underside. This
box has been stored away from harsh light and temperature extremes,
so
consequently the veneer colours have remained strong. The carcass
timbers must have been well seasoned prior to construction because
the box shows no sign of shrinkage or twist.
Photo: Brian Peet
The question is often asked why Anton Seuffert, already in his 40s and
well established as a craftsman of some importance,
should come to the small dirt-road town of Auckland, populated by only
12,000 people and located on the opposite side of the world. The complete
answer may never be known,
but it must be remembered that Europe in the mid-1800s was politically
unstable, with insurrection, revolution and imperial
expansionism spreading through many countries. Peasants, industrial workers
and middle-class professionals were all agitating for changes to autocratic,
royalty-based political systems.
Around this same period, the mid-1840s, New Zealand timbers were arriving
on the shores of England, imported by Johann Levien. He had lived and
worked in Wellington and was a strong promoter of the qualities of the
more decorative New Zealand native timbers. It is known Seuffert and Levien
lived quite close to each other in London. Possibly, the prospect of a
new life in a country rich in the raw materials dear to the heart of a
consummate cabinetmaking craftsman was the reason Anton and Anna Seuffert
decided to uproot and sail to New Zealand with their two infant children.
This
table is a wonderful example of the fern and floral marquetry design
used on a number of the tops, but remains relatively rare by also
having an original carved stem and inlaid base.
Photo: Brian Peet
The Seufferts arrived in Auckland on 19 May 1859 in the immigrant ship
Caduceus. Anton Seuffert became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in January
1861. The family’s first residence was in Wakefield Street, Auckland,
and over the next 10 years five more children were born.
Anton Seuffert commenced his cabinetmaking craft on arrival in Auckland.The
first public record of his craftsmanship was published in an Auckland
newspaper, where he was described as working on a piece of marquetry furniture
intended as a display piece for the 1862 London International Exhibition.
At some point during construction, the exquisite cabinet became earmarked
for gifting to Queen Victoria from the citizens of the Auckland province.
A public subscription was opened and the £300 ($29,000) cost of
the cabinet was met by a list of who’s who of colonial Auckland.
As a consequence of a lengthy sea voyage, the cabinet arrived half way
through the 1862 London Exhibition and, after public display, remained
for the following 146 years as part of the Royal Collection.
Further contact with royalty occurred in 1869, when Queen Victoria’s
second son, Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited New Zealand
in his naval role as the captain of the HMS Galatea. As a consequence
of manufacturing a bed, a chest of drawers and a work table for the Duke’s
use during his 1869 stay, Anton received a Royal Appointment. At this
time, he changed the design of his work labels, as well as the spelling
of his surname, with the addition of a second “f”.
Adversity was never far from this family, eking out their meagre living
in a country short of wealthy clients. Seuffert never owned property,
always renting premises, and on
one occasion having a table confiscated by his landlord for disputed rent
arrears.
Anna regularly advertised laundry washing services in the Auckland papers.
However, the Seufferts’ biggest financial disaster occurred when
Anton’s workshop and home collapsed (see “As It Happened”),
leaving the family destitute, and destroying £800 ($74,500 in today’s
dollars) of furniture. For perspective on the significance of this loss,
a newspaper of the day advertised a dwelling on four and a half acres
(1.8 hectares) in Remuera, Auckland, with an orchard returning £30
($2800) in income for the mere sum of £450 ($42,000).
The financial impact of the collapse probably affected Seuffert for the
remainder of his life. He continued to rent premises and accommodation
until he died relatively penniless.
The death of his youngest son, Adolf, from typhoid at the age of 11 further
highlighted the precarious nature of colonial life.
Anton trained his sons William, Albert and Carl in his craft but only
his eldest son, William (1859-1943), developed skills equal
to his father's. William continued creating marquetry and parquetry furniture
and decorative items into the early 1940s, and his skill was such that
it is now virtually impossible to differentiate construction between the
work of father and son on many undated items.
This
opened page is from a Seuffert fern album. Pages of pressed and
dried New Zealand native ferns were mounted in book format, featuring
intricately inlaid front and back timber covers.
Photo: Brian Peet
William Seuffert’s most important piece of work was a cabinet made
for Major-General Robert Baden-Powell. Following the British defence of
Mafeking in 1900, during the Boer War, it was decided by a group of Auckland
citizens that a suitable presentation should be made to the general in
recognition of his efforts in leading that garrison. The cabinet took
three years to manufacture, and was paid for by shilling subscriptions
from thousands of Aucklanders.
The Baden-Powell commission and the content of press reports relating
to the presentation are an interesting reflection on the sensibilities
of New Zealand citizenry of the time. To raise a public subscription with
the intention of awarding a British Army officer for his efforts in fighting
a war in a third country is an unusual act by today’s standards.
It is a reminder that England was still “home”. New Zealand
was
newly settled by Europeans, and the majority of white settlers had either
been born in the United Kingdom or had parents who had been born there.
Louis XV escritoire cabinets defined the Seufferts’ craftsmanship,
and set the family in a league unlikely to ever be surpassed. It is now
thought that they produced nine
of these remarkably detailed and intricate specimens from 1865. This represented
an astonishing volume in quantity and quality. While the design and dimensions
of all the cabinets are virtually identical, the marquetry and carvings
vary between all examples. It is known from contemporary newspaper reports
and private letters that similar escritoires were made for David Limond
Murdoch, Sir Joseph Hooker, Sir George Grey, James Tannock Mackelvie,
Archibald
Anderson Watt and Captain Henry Burton.
At the time, Seuffert sold these cabinets for £85 ($8000), but
a recent private sale saw one apparently exchange hands for $300,000.
Small circular tables were the most common examples of the tables Seuffert
produced. They featured tops and bases embellished with geometric, star,
fern or picture patterns. At approximately 61 centimetres in diameter
by 73 centimetres high, they appear to have been intended as
drawing or sitting-room furniture.
From a series of 1875 newspaper advertisements, it is known the Seufferts
referred to these as card tables, although they were frequently referred
to as occasional, side, wine or specimen tables. Fellow German-speaking
craftsman Anton Teutenberg is credited with executing the table’s
stem carvings, in addition to other Seuffert commissions.
Inlaid boxes of many sizes were another specialty. The larger boxes were
designed for the storage of pressed native New Zealand fern specimens.
The smaller boxes are similar in design and were used for both jewellery
and handkerchief storage. An 1875 newspaper advertisement lists the value
of
these boxes at £5 ($570). Almost all are rather curiously constructed
with kauri bases, rimu sides and rewarewa veneer on the inside of the
lids. Another feature is the use of Gothic window inlaid patterns on the
sides. It must be remembered that the Gothic Revival movement was at its
peak in Europe around the mid-19th century. Bone or ivory keyhole escutcheons
are universal to all the boxes.
The smallest in the range were the glove boxes, and in 1875 these were
priced at £3 ($340). They differed from the larger boxes by almost
always having convex or domed lids, and there was also a greater variety
in marquetry design.
The Seufferts’ interest in the flora and fauna of their new country
is no better seen than in the production of fern album books containing
pressed ferns and timber front and back covers featuring detailed inlay.
The purchasing or gifting of mementoes to visiting dignitaries or officials
returning to Europe is thought to have provided the
Seufferts with a considerable source of customers. The Victorian English
were keen collectors of flora and fauna from the lands of the new world,
and Seuffert pressed albums would have been an ideal memento for returning
gentlefolk. These albums were easily transported, and would have been
a
novelty in an English drawing room.
The use of New Zealand imagery is a repeated feature of both Anton and
William’s work. Maori iconography, pictorial scenes and botanical
images were all sources of inspiration for the Seufferts. The early utilisation
of imagery from Anton’s new country would suggest possession of an
open
mind and a free spirit, seeing him cast off three decades of formal European
design influence. The longer he lived in New Zealand, the more his work
reflected his new world.
So why were the Seufferts so very good at what they did? On so many levels,
their work was head and shoulders above their contemporaries. They combined
significant artistic flair with considerable manual dexterity to achieve
works of art of unique visual balance and technical accuracy. The professional
consistency they brought to their craft can be observed from the smallest,
least significant piece right through to the largest most complex escritoire.
The accuracy of the inlay work with virtually invisible glue lines is
a constant. Repeat marquetry and parquetry patterns matched perfectly
on large designs. Selection of veneer timbers with pleasantly contrasting
colours and book matching of figured grain patterns occur as standard.
The search for
special timbers ranged from firewood piles to totara sent from the South
Island and akeake logs from the Chatham Islands.
Overlaid on this was the complete lack of support services Seuffert would
have been used to from previous employment in European workshops. Separate
teams of individually
skilled staff were tasked with timber selection, veneer cutting, component
design, inlay design, carcass construction, parquetry bandings, inter
cutting marquetry, laying the decorative inlays and finally polishing
and engraving the piece.
Initially, Anton Seuffert would have had to do all these steps
himself, and the Queen Victoria cabinet is the ultimate demonstration
of how superbly skilled this Bohemian craftsman really was. As time progressed,
his sons would have been of enormous help in his business. It has been
estimated that, between the three, there were approximately 160 years
of combined labour.
Thanks to that effort and their output, the prospect of many more Seuffert
works of art being discovered is extremely good.
The Seuffert Legacy by Brian Peet, $95,
bookshops,
www.seuffert.co.nz or from the author at 7 Otahuri Cres, Auckland 1051.
Brian Peet is a Seuffert descendant who has spent 15 years researching
their work.
Fall
of a House. — A very unfortunate affair
occurred on September 22, in Wellesley Street, by the fall
of a house belonging to Mr. A. Seufert, cabinetmaker. The
particulars of the occurrence are as follows :
— Mr. Seufert had let the shop adjoining his own, to
Mr. C. J. Stone, or some one acting for him, to store flour
in, and previous to doing so he had placed supports under
the ground floor, sufficient as he thought to sustain the
weight. A quantity of the flour, many tons, was stored, and
yesterday some men were engaged in unloading and storing a
further quantity, when the whole back part of the building
from top to bottom gave way, and fell with a crash into the
yard below.
Notwithstanding
the number of persons that
were about the premises, no one appears to have
been severely hurt. Mr. Seufert had a large and
valuable amount of cabinet work smashed by the falling mass.
His loss amounts to about £800.
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