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Tasmania's Rich Woods |
| Section: THE ARTS / CRAFT & DESIGN |
| Author: Peter Hughes |
| Publication:
The World & I Online |
| Issue Date: 1/1/2002 |
| Size: 2,361 Words, 15,031 Characters |
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To those who know something of Tasmania, which lies south of the eastern coast of the Australian mainland, the island's name brings to mind images of the beautiful mountain scenery and lush rain forests for which it is justly famous. It is especially in the rugged western and southern parts that one finds many extensive, temperate rain forests, despite two hundred years of European occupation,
Alternately, since the late nineteenth century, those from Australia's bustling mainland cities have often thought of Tasmania as a sequestered retreat, reminiscent at the same time of a mythical English countryside and a quaint colonial past. When considering the island's geography, its history, and the forests themselves, woodcraft and furniture making occupy a significant place.
Tasmania has, since these earliest times, had a reputation for woodcraft and fine handmade furniture. Initially, this reputation was gained by the colony's early wealth, which created a demand for quality furniture that coincided with the late Georgian and Regency periods of English design. This era, characterized by stylistic sophistication and restrained elegance, is widely regarded as a high point in the history of furniture. In Tasmania, it had an added dimension: the further simplification found in the sometimes quirky provincial, or folk-quality, work produced by colonial isolation and improvisation. Today, early Tasmanian colonial furniture--produced up to the 1840s--is highly pr...
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...responsibly and minimally as possible. To value the other means that we must make objects that are considered beautiful and long lasting. The latter is the challenge for Tasmania's woodworkers and furniture makers, a challenge for which they seem admirably suited.
More information on the arts, culture, and ecology of Tasmania can be accessed on the Internet at www.tourism.tas.gov.au.
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Publication Details
(The World & I Online) |
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The World & I Online is a
comprehensive academic resource that encompasses a broad range of
articles by scholars and experts in the areas of Global Studies,
Liberal Arts, Fine & Applied Arts, General Science, and Spanish.
Originally published monthly in print as The World & I, our site
includes the complete contents since 1986 and continues to publish
a new issue online each month. |
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