The Backgammon Players

This extraordinary cabinet was created in 1861, the very year Philip Webb co-founded Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. with William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The Backgammon Players represents Webb's pioneering vision for functional art that drew from vernacular traditions rather than historical revival styles. As one of the earliest pieces produced for the new firm, it showcases the collaborative, craft-based approach that would define the Arts and Crafts movement. Webb, known as the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture, applied the same principles he used designing the Red House for Morris in 1859—honest materials, visible construction, and medieval-inspired decorative elements integrated with function.

The cabinet's impressive scale (over six feet tall) and mixed materials—painted pine combined with oil-painted leather panels, brass, and copper—demonstrate the firm's commitment to breaking down barriers between fine and decorative arts. The backgammon theme likely features painted figures engaged in the medieval game, reflecting the Pre-Raphaelite circle's fascination with medieval leisure and craft. Webb's skills in furniture design, metalwork, and integration of multiple materials, developed during the Red House project, are fully realized here. This piece embodies the radical idea that everyday objects could be beautiful, handcrafted works of art, challenging the mass-produced furniture flooding Victorian homes.