The Home Beautiful: The False Principles of Decoration Papier Mache Tray, 1850

The Home Beautiful: The False Principles of Decoration Papier Mache Tray, 1850

Papier Mache Tray with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay and Painted Center, c. 1850
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By now, you know how much I adore Victorian Papier Mache objects.  Along with inlays of mother-of-pearl, these items were often adorned with copies of oil paintings of old buildings or genre scenes.

Here's a great example with a scene of huntsman returning home with fish to cook.  This Papier Mache tray decorated with a painting based on an original which once belonged to the Duke of Devonshire.  The tray was famously part of the exhibition entitled, "False Principles of Decoration" which was held at Marlborough House, London, in 1852.

The catalogue for the exhibition explained that the tray had been selected because of the incongruous combination of the copy of the painting with the gilt border and mother-of-pearl decoration. It described the tray as  "An example of popular taste, presenting numerous features which the student should carefully avoid. These include a copy of the painting 'Bolton Abbey in the Olden Times' by Sir Edwin Landseer, that would be hidden when the tray was in use, and the glittering mother-of-pearl scattered around the edge."

According to the V&A, "Charles Dickens also described 'that tray with a bit of one of Landseer's pictures on it' in his satirical description of the display, 'A House Full of Horrors', which appeared in his magazine Household Words in December 1852."

Well, I like it anyway.

The tray was made by Jennens  & Bettridge, a firm run by Theodore Hyla Jennens and John Bettridge between 1816 and 1864.  They were famous for their exquisite range of papier-mache goods (writing boxes, trays, fans and larger pieces of furniture such as chairs, tables and sofas) which they manufactured in their factory at 99 Constitution Hill, Birmingham. The firm also had premises at 6 Halkin Street West, Belgrave Square, London. This tray is signed indistinctly with the firm's name.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Specimen of Raised Embroidery, 1851

Embroidery Sample, 1851
Worked by C. Georgiana Mowland for entry in The Great Exhibition
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mounted on a piece of wood, this fragment of embroidery was once framed behind glass for display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it was described as “a design for trimming or ornament.” While embroidery like this would have been used to adorn a garment or for trimming decorative home items, such a fine piece of needlework would probably have been  displayed on a wall,like a painting.

The embroiderer, C. Georgiana Mowland (1834-?) has taken extreme care to show the plants in great detail,  suggesting that she may have been inspired by the botanical prints that were popular at the time—especially those of  the painter Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) who was best known for his illustrations of roses.

                                         
C. Georgiana Mowland was a London schoolgirl who lived near to the current home of the Victoria & Albert Museum.  They resided in a garage flat above the mews in Belgravia’s posh Eaton Square.  The eldest child of Matthew Mowland, a coach driver, and his wife Eliza, Georgiana spent her time, like other girls her age, engaged in embroidery.  However, unlike other amateur embroiderers, she shows exquisite skill and fineness of hand.  

This fragment of her art is worked on an oblong piece of white satin, and shows a mixture of flat embroidery and raised appliqué techniques. A central spray of white Bourbon roses depicts one full-blown flower worked in white crepe fabric with stems stitched in green and brown silk threads.  Assorted foliage is worked in lengths of wired chenille in shades of green and brown with and the buds in écru wired chenille.

An additional spray of flowers graces each corner.  The upper pair of sprays shows blossoms with five rounded petals of white crepe fabric and stems worked in green and yellow silks.  The lower pair are similar but the blossoms demonstrate pointed petals made of cream crepe fabric.

In 1851, Mowland entered this work in the Great Exhibition. The Exhibition, as were Prince Albert’s wishes, included work by children and for children. Miss Mowland’s entry is an unusual piece since, at this time, children were more encouraged to focus on plain sewing techniques for practical use.  Clearly, this entry would have been an exquisite surprise.   The text stitched into the accompanying canvas is set within a border of stylized laurel leaves worked in tent stitch using red silks.  A cross in red at each corner accompanies a split line of stylized bay leaves in green to fill out the last line of text.

The following text accompanied the embroidery, worked on canvas in embroidery by Miss Mowland for her entry in the Exhibition:

A Specimen of Raised Embroidery

Executed by C G Mowland No 23 

Eaton Mews South Eaton Sq Aged 12

Class 19 No 228 Tapestry in the 

Exhibition 1851 Design for trimming 

or ornament 

Crape Embroidery 

on satin ground. 

No. 454a. 

(in Register)

 We know little else about C. Georgiana Mowland except that records indicate that the “C” most likely stood for “Charlotte,” and that she was later married to a George Pewsey (a watch and clock maker).  

The Home Beautiful: The False Principles of Decoration Papier Mache Tray, 1850

Papier Mache Tray with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay and Painted Center, c. 1850
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By now, you know how much I adore Victorian Papier Mache objects.  Along with inlays of mother-of-pearl, these items were often adorned with copies of oil paintings of old buildings or genre scenes.

Here's a great example with a scene of huntsman returning home with fish to cook.  This Papier Mache tray decorated with a painting based on an original which once belonged to the Duke of Devonshire.  The tray was famously part of the exhibition entitled, "False Principles of Decoration" which was held at Marlborough House, London, in 1852.

The catalogue for the exhibition explained that the tray had been selected because of the incongruous combination of the copy of the painting with the gilt border and mother-of-pearl decoration. It described the tray as  "An example of popular taste, presenting numerous features which the student should carefully avoid. These include a copy of the painting 'Bolton Abbey in the Olden Times' by Sir Edwin Landseer, that would be hidden when the tray was in use, and the glittering mother-of-pearl scattered around the edge."

According to the V&A, "Charles Dickens also described 'that tray with a bit of one of Landseer's pictures on it' in his satirical description of the display, 'A House Full of Horrors', which appeared in his magazine Household Words in December 1852."

Well, I like it anyway.

The tray was made by Jennens  & Bettridge, a firm run by Theodore Hyla Jennens and John Bettridge between 1816 and 1864.  They were famous for their exquisite range of papier-mache goods (writing boxes, trays, fans and larger pieces of furniture such as chairs, tables and sofas) which they manufactured in their factory at 99 Constitution Hill, Birmingham. The firm also had premises at 6 Halkin Street West, Belgrave Square, London. This tray is signed indistinctly with the firm's name.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Specimen of Raised Embroidery, 1851

Embroidery Sample, 1851
Worked by C. Georgiana Mowland for entry in The Great Exhibition
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mounted on a piece of wood, this fragment of embroidery was once framed behind glass for display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it was described as “a design for trimming or ornament.” While embroidery like this would have been used to adorn a garment or for trimming decorative home items, such a fine piece of needlework would probably have been  displayed on a wall,like a painting.

The embroiderer, C. Georgiana Mowland (1834-?) has taken extreme care to show the plants in great detail,  suggesting that she may have been inspired by the botanical prints that were popular at the time—especially those of  the painter Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) who was best known for his illustrations of roses.

                                         
C. Georgiana Mowland was a London schoolgirl who lived near to the current home of the Victoria & Albert Museum.  They resided in a garage flat above the mews in Belgravia’s posh Eaton Square.  The eldest child of Matthew Mowland, a coach driver, and his wife Eliza, Georgiana spent her time, like other girls her age, engaged in embroidery.  However, unlike other amateur embroiderers, she shows exquisite skill and fineness of hand.  

This fragment of her art is worked on an oblong piece of white satin, and shows a mixture of flat embroidery and raised appliqué techniques. A central spray of white Bourbon roses depicts one full-blown flower worked in white crepe fabric with stems stitched in green and brown silk threads.  Assorted foliage is worked in lengths of wired chenille in shades of green and brown with and the buds in écru wired chenille.

An additional spray of flowers graces each corner.  The upper pair of sprays shows blossoms with five rounded petals of white crepe fabric and stems worked in green and yellow silks.  The lower pair are similar but the blossoms demonstrate pointed petals made of cream crepe fabric.

In 1851, Mowland entered this work in the Great Exhibition. The Exhibition, as were Prince Albert’s wishes, included work by children and for children. Miss Mowland’s entry is an unusual piece since, at this time, children were more encouraged to focus on plain sewing techniques for practical use.  Clearly, this entry would have been an exquisite surprise.   The text stitched into the accompanying canvas is set within a border of stylized laurel leaves worked in tent stitch using red silks.  A cross in red at each corner accompanies a split line of stylized bay leaves in green to fill out the last line of text.

The following text accompanied the embroidery, worked on canvas in embroidery by Miss Mowland for her entry in the Exhibition:

A Specimen of Raised Embroidery

Executed by C G Mowland No 23 

Eaton Mews South Eaton Sq Aged 12

Class 19 No 228 Tapestry in the 

Exhibition 1851 Design for trimming 

or ornament 

Crape Embroidery 

on satin ground. 

No. 454a. 

(in Register)

 We know little else about C. Georgiana Mowland except that records indicate that the “C” most likely stood for “Charlotte,” and that she was later married to a George Pewsey (a watch and clock maker).  

At the Music Hall: The Belle of Belgrave Square, Late 19th C.

Sheet Music Cover, 19th C.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This week's music hall song is unusual in that I don't have an audio clip for you since I can't find a recording.  Nevertheless, it fits today's theme.

"The Belle of Belgrave Square" is also kmown as "Lady Audley's Kitchen Maid's Secret."  The song refers to the popular 1862 novel "Lady Audley's Secret," by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.  The book is described as "a lurid and melodramatic tale of bigamy, gold- digging and murder amongst the aristocracy of London’s Belgravia." 

In the book, the young, beautiful and gracious Lady Audley (recently married to the elderly Sir Michael) harbors a sinister secret, and, as these things typically go, only her maid knows the truth. The heroine is driven to increasingly desperate measures in order to hide the truth.  Of course, she eventually goes mad. And, Of course, the book was a wild success.

The song is a parody of the novel, wherein Lady Audley's maid also has a secret - the young man she is seeing. As the kitchen maid's boyfriend creeps through the elegant Belgrave Square house for a secret assignation, he has a noisy accident, that gives him away. The decorative cover of the sheet music includes a short verse that explains the scene:

'Oh! headlong in the dark I went, and with my arms outspread, Down came champagne and port wine bottles, smashing on my head, I felt the Port Wine trickling down my forehead, face, and neck. Then heard a loud voice shouting out a policeman go and get.' 

The Home Beautiful: The False Principles of Decoration Papier Mache Tray, 1850

Papier Mache Tray with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay and Painted Center, c. 1850
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By now, you know how much I adore Victorian Papier Mache objects.  Along with inlays of mother-of-pearl, these items were often adorned with copies of oil paintings of old buildings or genre scenes.

Here's a great example with a scene of huntsman returning home with fish to cook.  This Papier Mache tray decorated with a painting based on an original which once belonged to the Duke of Devonshire.  The tray was famously part of the exhibition entitled, "False Principles of Decoration" which was held at Marlborough House, London, in 1852.

The catalogue for the exhibition explained that the tray had been selected because of the incongruous combination of the copy of the painting with the gilt border and mother-of-pearl decoration. It described the tray as  "An example of popular taste, presenting numerous features which the student should carefully avoid. These include a copy of the painting 'Bolton Abbey in the Olden Times' by Sir Edwin Landseer, that would be hidden when the tray was in use, and the glittering mother-of-pearl scattered around the edge."

According to the V&A, "Charles Dickens also described 'that tray with a bit of one of Landseer's pictures on it' in his satirical description of the display, 'A House Full of Horrors', which appeared in his magazine Household Words in December 1852."

Well, I like it anyway.

The tray was made by Jennens  & Bettridge, a firm run by Theodore Hyla Jennens and John Bettridge between 1816 and 1864.  They were famous for their exquisite range of papier-mache goods (writing boxes, trays, fans and larger pieces of furniture such as chairs, tables and sofas) which they manufactured in their factory at 99 Constitution Hill, Birmingham. The firm also had premises at 6 Halkin Street West, Belgrave Square, London. This tray is signed indistinctly with the firm's name.

Place of the Week: Belgrave Square

Belgrave Square in Central London's City of Westminster remains one of the grandest, most fashionable, elegant, coveted and largest of the city's Nineteenth Century squares. Naturally, Belgrave Square is the crown jewel of the posh area known as Belgravia.

The famed square was designed by the property contractor Thomas Cubitt for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor (later the 1st Marquess of Westminster) in the 1820s. Most of the towering, exquisite houses on the square were occupied by 1840.

So how did Belgrave Square, and consequently, Belgravia, get its name? One of the Duke of Westminster's subsidiary titles, Viscount Belgrave was the inspiration. The village of Belgrave, Cheshire is two miles from the Grosvenor family's main country seat of EatonHall.

The principle visual scheme for the rows of gleaming townhouses consisted primarily of four terraces, each of which was comprised of eleven elegant whitestuccoed houses. The south east terrace is different in that it features twelve houses. Another anomaly is the detached mansions in three of the corners. All of the properties surround a private, sculpture-filled central garden.



The terraces of opulent townhouses were designed by George Basevi. Tothis day, they are considered some of the most luxurious and majestic houses ever built in London on a speculative basis. The largest andmost handsome of the corner mansions, Seaford House, in the east corner, wasdesigned by Philip Hardwick, and the grand house on the west corner was designed by Robert Smirke.

From its founding well into World War II, the Belgrave Square was occupied by the utmost the upper class, the British aristocracy, and leadingcelebrities as well as several embassies. After World War II, many of the houses were converted into offices for charities and institutes, but that has since changed as, since 2004, many of the leases have been offered for sale and have been purchased by wealthy private owners.

The interior layouts of most of the townhouses are similar, however, the decorations are vastly different and reflect almost two centuries of the mostelite interior design.

Since our new online novel, Mr. Punch of Belgrave Square, is set in the Duke of Fallbridge's Belgrave Square house at the fictional number 65, I wanted to give you all a sense of how some of these handsome mansions looked both then and now. Enjoy these historical photographs of the interiors of No. 9 Belgrave Square from London's Country Life Picture Library.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Specimen of Raised Embroidery, 1851

Embroidery Sample, 1851
Worked by C. Georgiana Mowland for entry in The Great Exhibition
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Mounted on a piece of wood, this fragment of embroidery was once framed behind glass for display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it was described as “a design for trimming or ornament.” While embroidery like this would have been used to adorn a garment or for trimming decorative home items, such a fine piece of needlework would probably have been  displayed on a wall,like a painting.

The embroiderer, C. Georgiana Mowland (1834-?) has taken extreme care to show the plants in great detail,  suggesting that she may have been inspired by the botanical prints that were popular at the time—especially those of  the painter Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) who was best known for his illustrations of roses.

                                        
C. Georgiana Mowland was a London schoolgirl who lived near to the current home of the Victoria & Albert Museum.  They resided in a garage flat above the mews in Belgravia’s posh Eaton Square.  The eldest child of Matthew Mowland, a coach driver, and his wife Eliza, Georgiana spent her time, like other girls her age, engaged in embroidery.  However, unlike other amateur embroiderers, she shows exquisite skill and fineness of hand. 

This fragment of her art is worked on an oblong piece of white satin, and shows a mixture of flat embroidery and raised appliqué techniques. A central spray of white Bourbon roses depicts one full-blown flower worked in white crepe fabric with stems stitched in green and brown silk threads.  Assorted foliage is worked in lengths of wired chenille in shades of green and brown with and the buds in écru wired chenille.

An additional spray of flowers graces each corner.  The upper pair of sprays shows blossoms with five rounded petals of white crepe fabric and stems worked in green and yellow silks.  The lower pair are similar but the blossoms demonstrate pointed petals made of cream crepe fabric.

In 1851, Mowland entered this work in the Great Exhibition. The Exhibition, as were Prince Albert’s wishes, included work by children and for children. Miss Mowland’s entry is an unusual piece since, at this time, children were more encouraged to focus on plain sewing techniques for practical use.  Clearly, this entry would have been an exquisite surprise.   The text stitched into the accompanying canvas is set within a border of stylized laurel leaves worked in tent stitch using red silks.  A cross in red at each corner accompanies a split line of stylized bay leaves in green to fill out the last line of text.

The following text accompanied the embroidery, worked on canvas in embroidery by Miss Mowland for her entry in the Exhibition:

A Specimen of Raised Embroidery

Executed by C G Mowland No 23 

Eaton Mews South Eaton Sq Aged 12

Class 19 No 228 Tapestry in the 

Exhibition 1851 Design for trimming 

or ornament 

Crape Embroidery 

on satin ground. 

No. 454a. 

(in Register)

 We know little else about C. Georgiana Mowland except that records indicate that the “C” most likely stood for “Charlotte,” and that she was later married to a George Pewsey (a watch and clock maker).