Coming Soon | Tess and Alfred Newall: Herbarium Cabinet
A contemporary take on historic cabinets designed to house and preserve plant specimens
Tuesday 13 May until Friday 16 May 2025.
Opening times: 10.00–17.00
FREE EXHIBITION
As part of London Craft Week 2025, Herbarium Cabinet will be on display in our library, alongside specimens of featured plants from our collections.
The cabinet is created by decorative artist Tess Newall and furniture maker Alfred Newall in celebration of the traditional techniques integral to their work. From their workshops in East Sussex, Tess and Alfred have designed and crafted a piece that showcases the beauty and skill found in handmade furniture.
Herbarium Cabinet is a contemporary take on historic cabinets designed to house and preserve plant specimens. Combining their crafts as a cabinet maker and an artist, with their shared interest in natural history, Herbarium Cabinet pays homage to a botanical design lineage that runs from naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) to botanist Carl Lindman (1856–1928) and designer Josef Frank (1885–1967), celebrating the synergy of art, craft and science. Handpainted botanical studies have been applied to the cabinet in a decoupage technique, inspired by the walls of Carl Linnaeus’ bedroom in Hammarby, Sweden.
The cabinet is on display in the library of London’s historic Linnean Society, whose collections include those of Carl Linnaeus. Original botanical specimens from Linnaeus’ collection are exhibited alongside the piece, echoing the species of plant depicted on the cabinet.
Alongside the display is a programme of events:
