Style Starters: Liberty's of London Peacock Fabric, 1887

Textile
Roller Printed
Designed by Arthur Silver for Liberty's of London, 1887
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see a textile sample from a roller-printed cotton which was used for furnishings, as curtains or upholstery. The brilliantly colored tail feathers of peacocks were very popular motifs with designers of the Aesthetic Movement. In addition to being a popular theme in textiles both for home and fashion, the feathers themselves were often used in the home—placed in vases and containers to add rich color to any space.  That’s a trick that I use around my own 1890s home and I must say it’s an elegant addition to a room.

This pattern was drawn in 1887 by Arthur Silver who set up the Silver Studio at Brook Green in 1880, later moving to Haarlem Road, Hammersmith, London. The Silver Studio was renowned for its designs and supplies them to a host of high-end retailers.

This particular textile was originally sold through Liberty's on Regent Street, London.  Liberty’s notably helped proliferate the Aesthetic style in England. This pattern was resurrected for the V&A's Liberty exhibition in 1975 and has since become almost a trademark for the company.

Reverse of the fabric.

Style Starters: Liberty's of London Peacock Fabric, 1887

Textile
Roller Printed
Designed by Arthur Silver for Liberty's of London, 1887
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see a textile sample from a roller-printed cotton which was used for furnishings, as curtains or upholstery. The brilliantly colored tail feathers of peacocks were very popular motifs with designers of the Aesthetic Movement. In addition to being a popular theme in textiles both for home and fashion, the feathers themselves were often used in the home—placed in vases and containers to add rich color to any space.  That’s a trick that I use around my own 1890s home and I must say it’s an elegant addition to a room.

This pattern was drawn in 1887 by Arthur Silver who set up the Silver Studio at Brook Green in 1880, later moving to Haarlem Road, Hammersmith, London. The Silver Studio was renowned for its designs and supplies them to a host of high-end retailers.

 
This particular textile was originally sold through Liberty's on Regent Street, London.  Liberty’s notably helped proliferate the Aesthetic style in England. This pattern was resurrected for the V&A's Liberty exhibition in 1975 and has since become almost a trademark for the company.

Reverse of the fabric.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: May You Have a Quite Too Happy Time, 1882

The Victoria & Albert Museum


I now want to sign all correspondence, "May you have a quite too happy time." In addition to that perfectly sweet phrase, this card was one of a series of prize-winning greeting cards applauded for its color lithography.

The set of cards was intended to parody the Aesthetic Movement which promoted a fondness for Chinese and Japanese objects, plants, and flowers. Among the objects idealized by followers of the Aesthetic Movement, teapots were the most popular. This card satirized the fascination with teapots in particular.

This is the work of Albert Ludovici II who was inspired by George du Maurier. Du Maurier drew numerous cartoons satirizing the Aesthetic Movement for "Punch" magazine (yay!), including a famous cartoon entitled "The Six-Mark Teapot."

In the aforementioned cartoon, the "Aesthetic Bridegroom" and his "intense Bride" are looking at a teapot. The groom announces, "'It is quite consummate, is it not?" and the bride responds '"It is, indeed! Oh, Algernon, let us live up to it!"

Painting of the Day: The Piping Shepherd, 1870-1890

The Piping Shepherd
Fripp, 1870-1890
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Painted by Alfred Fripp (1822-1895), this painting is one of those romanticized looks at rural childhood which dotted the landscape of late Nineteenth-Century British painting. When this watercolor scene was painted, the shepherd boys of England still donned the traditional taupe-colored smocks (known, appropriately, as “drab”) which their forbears had worn. They didn’t wear brightly colored outfits such as the one pictured here, and, they certainly didn’t have matching hats. But, Fripp endeavors to show us an idealized view of country life—one which would more so appeal to his patrons than the reality of the thing. 

Similarly, if a shepherd felt like making music during this period (1870-1890), he’d not have a lovely Baroque recorder to play. He’d make a pipe from reeds. But, Fripp has given us a nicer world to look at—one wholly owing to the Aesthetic movement which favored beauty over historical accuracy. 

The Home Beautiful: An Advertisement for Jeffrey & Co's Artistic Wallpapers, 1907

Advertisement for Jeffrey & Co. Artistic Wallpapers, 1907
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Aesthetic movement’s mantra was “Art for art’s sake” and the idea flourished in the 1890s and early 1900s.  Around 1900, the English wallpaper manufacturer Jeffrey & Co. adopted the peacock—a favored motif of the Aesthetic Movement--as their logo to reinforce their association with the highest artistic standards in design.

Jeffrey & Co. proudly printed William Morris's wallpapers since 1864. Under the direction of their sole proprietor, Metford Warner (from 1871), they employed some of the best designers of the day - including Walter Crane, Lewis F. Day, B. J. Talbert and C. F. A. Voysey.

Here, we see an advertisement for Jeffrey & Co. from this end of this era--1907.  The company’s name is written in peacock feathers. 

Object of the Day: Liberty's of London Peacock Fabric, 1887

Textile
Roller Printed
Designed by Arthur Silver for Liberty's of London, 1887
The Victoria & Albert Museum

It’s peacock day!  Not internationally or anything—just here on Stalking the Belle Époque.  And, when you think of peacocks, well, at least when I think of peacocks, the first thing that comes to mind (aside from the fact that they’re vicious and bite) is the Aesthetic and Pre-Raphaelite movements.  So, let’s take a look at some artistic representations of peacocks from those eras.

Here, we see a textile sample from a roller-printed cotton which was used for furnishings, as curtains or upholstery. The brilliantly colored tail feathers of peacocks were very popular motifs with designers of the Aesthetic Movement.  In addition to being a popular theme in textiles both for home and fashion, the feathers themselves were often used in the home—placed in vases and containers to add rich color to any space.  That’s a trick that I use around my own 1890s home and I must say it’s an elegant addition to a room.

This pattern was drawn in 1887 by Arthur Silver who set up the Silver Studio at Brook Green in 1880, later moving to Haarlem Road, Hammersmith, London. The Silver Studio was renowned for its designs and supplies them to a host of high-end retailers.

 
This particular textile was originally sold through Liberty's on Regent Street, London.  Liberty’s notably helped proliferate the Aesthetic style in England. This pattern was resurrected for the V&A's Liberty exhibition in 1975 and has since become almost a trademark for the company.

Reverse of the fabric.

History's Runway: The Liberty Rose Evening Cloak, 1920

Evening Cloak of Velvet, Satin, Silk and Maribou
Liberty, London, 1920
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This luxurious evening cloak, meant for use in winter, was made by Liberty's—the celebrated London store—around 1920.  It was purchased by one Mrs. R. Scraggs.  While clearly of the Jazz Age, the cloak is reminiscent of the styles of earlier cloaks which were produced by the Liberty workshops in the “Aesthetic” taste.

The dark rose-pink velvet cloak features a hem trimmed with appliqué motifs above a dramatic band of marabou feathers meant to resemble fur. The applied shapes are made of gold satin and have been padded to give them depth in the manner of Renaissance garments where the silk or velvet was slashed, revealing a colorful lining beneath.  Tassels adorn each side and the glitter of gilt thread gives an element of shimmer to the garment.  

Greeting Card of the Day: May You Have a Quite Too Happy Time, 1882

The Victoria & Albert Museum


I now want to sign all correspondence, "May you have a quite too happy time." In addition to that perfectly sweet phrase, this card was one of a series of prize-winning greeting cards applauded for its color lithography.

The set of cards was intended to parody the Aesthetic Movement which promoted a fondness for Chinese and Japanese objects, plants, and flowers. Among the objects idealized by followers of the Aesthetic Movement, teapots were the most popular. This card satirized the fascination with teapots in particular.

This is the work of Albert Ludovici II who was inspired by George du Maurier. Du Maurier drew numerous cartoons satirizing the Aesthetic Movement for "Punch" magazine (yay!), including a famous cartoon entitled "The Six-Mark Teapot."

In the aforementioned cartoon, the "Aesthetic Bridegroom" and his "intense Bride" are looking at a teapot. The groom announces, "'It is quite consummate, is it not?" and the bride responds '"It is, indeed! Oh, Algernon, let us live up to it!"

The Belle Époque Today: “The Cult of Beauty” at the Victoria and Albert Museum

The Cult of Beauty

The Victoria & Albert Museum has launched a special exhibition which chronicles the history of the Aesthetic Movement (circa 1860 to 1890) and demonstrates the progression of the movement as well as its many influences. The exhibition, “The Cult of Beauty,” is a visual treat with examples of Aesthetic Movement fine and decorative arts from the museum’s permanent collection. Among the items on display are paintings, sculpture, photographs, furniture, decorative home goods, china, clothing, jewelry, prints, drawings and books.

Charger
William De Morgan, 1888
The Victoria & Albert Museum

For purposes of the exhibition, the Aesthetic Movement is defined by four ideas: The Search for the New Beauty, Art for Art’s Sake, Beautiful People and Aesthetic Houses, and Late-Flowering Beauty. The exhibit runs through July 17, 2011. To learn more about visiting this remarkable installation at the V&A and to see examples from the exhibit, visit the Web site of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Mrs. Luke Ionides
William Blake Richmond, 1882
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Object of the Day: An Unusual Aesthetic Movement Footstool

When we think of the Nineteenth Century European Aesthetic Movement, we tend to envision ebonized furniture with gilt details and chinoiserie overtones. We also are immediately put in mind of ornamentation derived from natural phenomenon such as peacock feathers and ferns. However, not all Aesthetic Movement furnishings were ebonized. Many later Aesthetic Movement pieces were stained maple—still decorated with naturally-inspired designs, but, in large part carved as opposed to painted.


Such is the case of this walnut footstool. With its highly stylized curving lines, this piece of furniture is reminiscent of Rococo Revival ideals of organic shape, and hints at the influence of Eastlake style in its coloring. However, the carved ornamentation of abstract foliage and central ovoid medallions which remind us of peacock feathers, firmly place this piece in the late English Aesthetic movement.

The red damask upholstery is a Twentieth Century addition. The stool is still padded with horsehair and the original upholstery of claret-covered mohair (in rather shabby condition) remains beneath the new covering. As is the case with most Aesthetic Movement furnishings, this piece blends stylistically with furniture from almost any era. Since coming to this house in 2001, this footstool has been the companion of a Rococo chair, a Louis XVI Slipper Chair, and a contemporary club chair without any problems fitting in. Today, it is tucked under my desk, providing much relief to an author with bad feet. Attractive and proud, it’s still content to serve its original purpose.