Chilcott is abundantly aware of the principles of classical architecture, interior furniture design and the repetition of ornamental motifs and application of decorative elements. Turning away from modernist design Chilcott quoted profusely from earlier designers and worlds of artistic endeavour. This commode, which was part of the room setting, harks back to earlier architectural styles and furniture design sources such as Robert Adam (1728-1792).

Adam, who had been on a ‘Grand Tour’ of Europe, was fully conversant with Classical architecture and decorative detail, from which he developed classically inspired yet innovative designs for furniture and buildings. Chilcott references Adam’s work with its combination of elegance and elaborate decorative detail but never forgets that the natural world, as well as an idealised landscape, can serve as metaphors for universal themes.

Many of the motifs could be mistaken for their roots in ancient mythology, but Chilcott has reinterpreted them to provide a new iconography. He adds personal motifs and, by recording private experiences and scenes from daily life for inspiration on the commode, asserts the artist’s own personality in the work.

David White, a freelance cabinetmaker, worked with Chilcott on a number of furniture pieces. Around this time Chilcott also began a series of collaborative works with other artists including the painters Tony Lane and Ralph Paine, ceramicists Errol Barnes and Martin Popplewell, carpet manufacturers Dilana rugs and the architect Noel Lane.