Gifts of Grandeur: Queen Alexandra’s Diamond and Gold Bracelet

A Gold Bracelet with a Diamond and Enamel Buckle
Garrard & Co., 1830
The Royal Collection

This beautiful bracelet of gold, diamonds and cobalt blue enamel appears to be a marriage of several older pieces of jewelry which were assembled by the Royal jewelers at Garrard & Co. The centerpiece of the bracelet is an enamel buckle set with diamonds forming a pattern of ostrich feathers--the symbol of The Prince of Wales—and appears to date to the time of King William IV--Queen Victoria's predecessor.


The finished bracelet was a gift to Princess Alexandra of Denmark from the Duke of Cambridge, Queen Victoria's first cousin and nephew of King William IV. The bracelet likely symbolized Alexandra's marriage to the Prince of Wales, long before they would become King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Miniature of King Charles I when Prince of Wales, 1616

Miniautre of King Charles I when Prince of Wales.  Watercolor on vellum applied to card.
Sir Balthazar Gerbier, 1616
Nineteenth Century silver frame.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

What a pretty lady. Oh! Wait…it’s not a lady. This rather awkward miniature of a very feminine-looking gent is by an amateur painter, Sir Balthazar Gerbier, explaining its rough and confusing look. Gerbier was born in the Netherlands, and basically, he trained for the life of a courtier, including the useful art of drawing. Unprepared for anything else, Gerbier entered the service of Prince William of Orange in 1615 who sent the man to England in an ambassadorial capacity in 1616. While in England, Gerbier transferred his services and allegiance to the then Earl (later the Duke) of Buckingham who was a very close companion of King James I. Gerbier became the Duke of Buckingham’s domestic architect and adviser on art, roles for which he was ill-suited.

During the early 17th century in England, a gentleman was expected to show an interest in miniature painting as a complement to their gentlemanly knowledge of heraldry which was a favored skill under the early Stuart monarchs. Gerbier was ambitious, but not especially skilled in much of anything, so, to him, a knowledge of miniature painting techniques must have seemed useful.

Gerbier entered the service of King Charles I in 1628, just after the assassination of the Duke of Buckingham. The Dutchman’s charms found favor with Charles I and he was knighted in 1638. The two had previously been quite chummy through his association with Buckingham.

This youthful portrait of the future Charles I shows Charles just after he had been made Prince of Wales. The prince is depicted wearing the blue ribbon of the Order of the Garter. Clearly, this clunky miniature was not painted from life, but rather is a clumsy copy of a full-size portrait.

This is not the original frame. The miniature was re-set in the Nineteenth Century in this silver frame with a rolled edge bezel and a loop made up of wire flanked by two detached scrolls of flat wire.

The same miniature on the right with another by Gerbier on the left depicting, perhaps, the Duke of Gloucester.

Busy Day Today

The Victoria & Albert Museum

I suspected today might turn out to be a busy day, and, my senses were spot on.  There's not been a moment to think of pretty, little antiques, Punchinello or even Lobster-clawed ladies. So, you'll have to extend a hand or pincer of patience to me today.

Tomorrow, I'll be back on schedule.  Until then, we offer a hearty "Howdy doo," and promises for much excitement to come.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Burges Washstand, 1879

Washstand
William Burges, 1879
This and all related images from the Victoria & Albert Museum

Celebrated designer William Burges (1827-1881) vehemently disliked the style of Georgian furniture of the Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries.  As a designer, he sought only to introduce what he considered a more appealing style.  This washstand, designed by Burges, typifies his ideals.

The piece has been brightly painted and employs rich materials, complex fittings and references to literature and myth.  Despite the fanciful nature of the design, the washstand was perfectly functional with a water tank with a tap in the upper castellated section.  It is fitted with a marble basin which has been inlaid with silver fish motifs.  The basin is fitted with a tap in the form of a bronze animal and it swivels so that the dirty water can be tipped into a bucket in the cupboard below.

Burges called “The Tower House,” in Melbury Road, London, his home from 1878 until his death in 1881.  Always eager to surround himself with his preferred style, Burges designed every aspect of the house himself—with a façade in the Reformed Gothic style, and an interior which was decorated in the most elaborate fashion. He made this washstand specifically for the Guest Chamber, of which a visitor wrote, “The whole chamber is like an ancient shrine or reliquary.”

Not only was William Burges an architect and designer of furniture, he put his creative energies to metalwork and jewelry. He famously worked on Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch, near Cardiff, in Wales.  He had a peculiar personal life—devoted to the study of medieval art and the collection of armor. He was described by the wife of a patron as “ugly Burges who designs lovely things.”

Unusual Artifacts: The Lucknow Throne, 1820

Lucknow Throne
1820
Robert Home
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see an Indian throne chair of wood, gilt brass and gilt gesso mounts, painted decoration and blue velvet upholstery. The chair dates to about 1820.

Known as the “Lucknow Throne Chair,” this chair is a rare surviving example of palace furniture from Lucknow in northern India. This opulent piece of furniture was a gift from Ghazi-ud-din Haidar, Nawab and King of Oudh (ruled 1814 to 1827), to Lord Amherst, the Governor-General of India which was given during Amherst's visit to Lucknow in 1827.

Though it was built to be used by an Indian ruler, the chair was actually designed by the celebrated Scottish artist Robert Home who was court painter at Lucknow. There, Home designed regalia, royal carriages, howdahs, barges and palace furnishings in the popular European fashions of the day. The typical British design of this piece is further adorned with the twin-fish badge of the rulers of Lucknow.

The Art of Play: Bath Toys, 1970

Bath Toy
Patrick Rylands, 1970
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

You know, this has nothing to do with anything. And, it’s certainly not even remotely antique. But, I just like it. It’s cute and, even though I’m not a big fan of sitting in a bath, I’d like to have one.

It’s a bath toy. Made in 1970, the toy in the shape of a fish was designed by Patrick Rylands who was a designer of toys for Trendon Toys Ltd, Ambi Toys, Brio and other British firms. Rylands had a background as a ceramicist at the Royal College of Art. That sculptural background is wholly evident in the toys that he designed. His work is characterized by pleasing, rounded forms which would have been quite easy for small children to handle. The bath fish is one of a group of toys which Rylands designed which won the Duke of Edinburgh's Design Award in 1970. It, and its friends, are made of a molded plastic.

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.