Unusual Artifacts: A Needlework Portrait by Mary Knowles, 1779

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

We’ve looked at the famed needlework portraits of Miss Mary Linwood. However, Linwood wasn’t the only person recreating painted portraits in embroidery. This needlework picture, commissioned by Queen Charlotte (Consort of George V), in wool dates to 1779 and is the work of Mary Morris Knowles.

Mary Morris Knowles was born of a Quaker family in Rugely, Staffordshire, and was celebrated as much for her intellect as for her skill with the needle. Knowles is now considered to be an important early protagonist of the feminist viewpoint in English cultural life. Ahead of her time, Knowles was an early supporter for the abolition of slavery.

In 1771 Knowles was introduced Queen Charlotte at Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace), forming a friendship which would last over the next thirty years. Following that first visit in 1771, the Queen commissioned Mrs. Knowles to make a copy of Zoffany’s portrait of George III in needlework or ‘needle painting’ as it was also known.

So pleased with the result, Queen Charlotte showed off the portrait to all of her friends. Eight years later, Mrs. Knowles embroidered this companion picture for Queen Charlotte. It is a self portrait of the artist as she created the needle-painting of George III.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Mastery of Design: A Brooch with a Cameo of Four Georges, c. 1820

Cameo Brooch with Four Georges
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click on image for high resolution version.

The original part of this brooch, the cameo, was made by Rundell Bridge & Rundell in 1820.  The cameo of white on brown sardonyx was lifted from the top of, as the Royal Collection archives note, a "very elegant & richly chased Snuff Box with devices & Cameo of the four King Georges of England raised on Onyx set with Brilliant Ornaments & Crown' supplied to George IV by Rundell Bridge & Rundell ... on 21 October 1821 for £364."  The cameo is set on a matted yellow gold ground and is surmounted by a diamond-set crown.

Later set in red gold with an open-back brooch mount, the reverse of the cameo is engraved with the Garter motto HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE (Shame on him who thinks evil of it): ACCESSIT GEORGE I Aug 1 1714 GEORGE II June 11 1727 GEORGE III Oct 25 1760 GEORGE IV Jan 29 1820.

The silver wreath of rose-cut diamond laurel and palm leaves which was added to the cameo matches the laurel wreaths worn by Georges I-IV in the cameo profiles.

So, how did this cameo go from snuffbox to brooch?  And, when?  

The box, as presented to George IV in 1821, does not appear in the list of George IV’s snuffboxes sold by William IV to Rundells in 1830. Given that, the snuffbox was probably given to one of George IV’s "favorites" shortly after it was presented to him. It's most likely that the snuffbox was  dismantled and the lid converted into its present form as a brooch before its presentation to Queen Mary in July of 1893 as a wedding gift by Earl and Countess Cadogan.

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Coburg Sideboard, 1851

Sideboard
Germany, 1850-1851
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Oh, Prince Albert…you can take the boy out of Germany, but you can’t take the Germany out of the boy. Though courtiers suggested to Queen Victoria that her Consort might want to tone down the whole, “I’m a foreign prince” schtick at various points, Prince Albert was unabashedly German in almost every way. Though Prince Albert’s pre-Victoria life was actually kind of terrible and sad, after his marriage he romanticized Germany and his boyhood and developed a rather peculiar tie to all of the things which he ignored when he actually lived in Germany.

So, by 1851, when the Prince’s baby, “The Great Exhibition” had launched, he was keen to make sure that Germany was represented. And, then, came this sideboard and its heavily carved brethren. Ferdinand Rothbart (1823-1899), a German furniture maker, presented a handsome suite of furniture at the Great Exhibition of 1851. Rothbart was assisted by one Th. Kolb whose history is all but lost now. The suite included four chairs among other objects which were all manufactured by Thomas Hoffmeister and Thomas Behrens in Coburg, Germany around 1850.

The entire lot was commissioned by the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg. Just for the record, let’s not forget that Albert was the Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (which was, by the way, the official name of the Royal Family from Victoria’s 1840 marriage until King George V changed it to “Windsor” on July 17, 1917 during the First World War when there was, understandably, some anti-German sentiment).

After the Exhibition, and after the sideboard—the most admired piece of the lot—was awarded an “Honourable Mention” by the juries there, Prince Albert bought the whole lot, intending to use the pieces in Balmoral Castle. However, during the construction of the new castle at Balmoral, the furnishings were taken to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh where it was used in the Evening Drawing Room. Evidently, Albert changed his mind and the suite never made it to Balmoral. It remained in Holyroodhouse until 1923 when Queen Mary donated the furnishings to the University of Edinburgh. I find this rather queer as it’s the first time I ever heard of Queen Mary donating anything to anyone. She much preferred having people donate things to her. I suspect, however, that these pieces weren’t really Mary’s cup of tea. She, too, at times tried to distance herself from her German roots. After all, aside from being related to Prince Albert as well, she was also the daughter of the uber-German Duke of Teck. Perhaps she just didn’t want these pieces around. The University grew tired of the suite as well, and, in 1967, donated the lot to the V&A which seems quite content to have it. 


This particular sideboard was described in the 1851 Exhibition catalog as being “in the German-Gothic style of the middle ages.” Well, yes, it is. It’s quite Gothic—complete with ogival arches and repeated motifs similar to Gothic window tracery. The door panels are deeply carved with hunting scenes and motifs. The central doors depict a group of deer in a woodland setting. These are flanked by figures of men with spears, knives and bugles. Boars and bears round out the theme. The whole of the reverse is covered in deep, plush, red velvet, which, where exposed, is faded to brown.

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Miniature of Queen Victoria’s Father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, 1814

Edward, Duke of Kent
1814
Miniature on Ivory in Gold Locket
The Royal Collection

The fourth son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn was a military officer with expensive and debauched tastes as well as a host of illegitimate children. At the time of George III’s death, the King only had one legitimate grandchild, and she died young—leaving no one in line for the throne after the Prince Regent (later King George IV) and his younger brother, William. George III’s unmarried sons tried to make suitable marriages to produce a legitimate heir presumptice. Among this rush, The Duke of Kent married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld. They had one child—Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent. The Princess was the only legitimate issue in line for the Crown, and after the death of her uncle, King William IV, she ascended the throne as Queen Victoria in 1837. The Duke of Kent never saw his daughter as Queen. He died seventeen years earlier.

But, here he is on a watercolor on ivory miniature in a gold locket. The painting is by Johan Georg Paul Fischer and dates to 1814.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Victoria was painted in 1821, before her accession, holding this miniature in a portrait by Sir William Beechey which depicts the the Duchess of Kent with Princess Victoria. The elaborate gold locket is the work of the jewelers Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, and shows their masterful chasing and repoussé work. The Duke is identified by his Garter emblems, his coronet and his name, EDWARD. The locket’s reverse is similarly chased and is adorned with the badge of the Bath within the collar, and the collar and badge of St Patrick.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Fischer based this miniature on a portrait by Sir Beechey which also dates to 1814. No stranger to the Royal Family, Fischer’s first Royal sitter was King George III, whom Fischer painted for his Golden Jubilee.

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Mastery of Design: A Brooch with a Cameo of Four Georges, c. 1820

Cameo Brooch with Four Georges
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click on image for high resolution version.

The original part of this brooch, the cameo, was made by Rundell Bridge & Rundell in 1820.  The cameo of white on brown sardonyx was lifted from the top of, as the Royal Collection archives note, a "very elegant & richly chased Snuff Box with devices & Cameo of the four King Georges of England raised on Onyx set with Brilliant Ornaments & Crown' supplied to George IV by Rundell Bridge & Rundell ... on 21 October 1821 for £364."  The cameo is set on a matted yellow gold ground and is surmounted by a diamond-set crown.

Later set in red gold with an open-back brooch mount, the reverse of the cameo is engraved with the Garter motto HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE (Shame on him who thinks evil of it): ACCESSIT GEORGE I Aug 1 1714 GEORGE II June 11 1727 GEORGE III Oct 25 1760 GEORGE IV Jan 29 1820.

The silver wreath of rose-cut diamond laurel and palm leaves which was added to the cameo matches the laurel wreaths worn by Georges I-IV in the cameo profiles.

So, how did this cameo go from snuffbox to brooch?  And, when?  

The box, as presented to George IV in 1821, does not appear in the list of George IV’s snuffboxes sold by William IV to Rundells in 1830. Given that, the snuffbox was probably given to one of George IV’s "favorites" shortly after it was presented to him. It's most likely that the snuffbox was  dismantled and the lid converted into its present form as a brooch before its presentation to Queen Mary in July of 1893 as a wedding gift by Earl and Countess Cadogan.

Unfolding Pictures: The George III and the Royal Family Fan, 1790

Fan
1790--The Poggi Workshop
The Victoria and Albert Museum

King George III was actually quite savvy about Public Relations—before he went mad. This characteristic was not inherited by his son, the Prince of Wales and future King George IV. George III was careful to make sure that the Royal Family was portrayed as happy and cohesive and he ensured this by commissioning works of art which showed his brood engaged in civilized and joyful activities. This fan is part of that effort.

Here, we see a fan with leaves of engraved and hand-colored paper. Ir features carved and pierced ivory sticks and guards. The engraving shows King George III and the Royal Family in attendance at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1788. The scene si framed in a floral decorative border with strips of gilded paper at its edges and the guards are decorated with an urn and flowers. Curiously, the reverse is unadorned.

The leaf is based on a painting by Johann Heinrich Ramberg which was recreated in miniature for the fan. The fan's maker was Antonio Poggi, who worked in London from 1776 to 1799. Poggi is immortalized by the words of the novelist Fanny Burney who described a visit to Poggi’s shop in her diary for March 1781, stating that the fans “are more beautiful than can be imagined. One was bespoke by the Duchess of Devonshire for a present, that was to cost £30.”

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Miniature of Queen Victoria’s Father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, 1814

Edward, Duke of Kent
1814
Miniature on Ivory in Gold Locket
The Royal Collection

The fourth son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn was a military officer with expensive and debauched tastes as well as a host of illegitimate children. At the time of George III’s death, the King only had one legitimate grandchild, and she died young—leaving no one in line for the throne after the Prince Regent (later King George IV) and his younger brother, William. George III’s unmarried sons tried to make suitable marriages to produce a legitimate heir presumptice. Among this rush, The Duke of Kent married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld. They had one child—Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent. The Princess was the only legitimate issue in line for the Crown, and after the death of her uncle, King William IV, she ascended the throne as Queen Victoria in 1837. The Duke of Kent never saw his daughter as Queen. He died seventeen years earlier.

But, here he is on a watercolor on ivory miniature in a gold locket. The painting is by Johan Georg Paul Fischer and dates to 1814.

Queen Victoria was painted in 1821, before her accession, holding this miniature in a portrait by Sir William Beechey which depicts the the Duchess of Kent with Princess Victoria. The elaborate gold locket is the work of the jewelers Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, and shows their masterful chasing and repoussé work. The Duke is identified by his Garter emblems, his coronet and his name, EDWARD. The locket’s reverse is similarly chased and is adorned with the badge of the Bath within the collar, and the collar and badge of St Patrick.

Fischer based this miniature on a portrait by Sir Beechey which also dates to 1814. No stranger to the Royal Family, Fischer’s first Royal sitter was King George III, whom Fischer painted for his Golden Jubilee.

Mastery of Design: The Bird of Paradise from Tipu Sultan’s Throne, 1787-91

Bird of Paradise
Created 1787-1791
Gold, Silver, Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies
Stolen from the Throne of Tipu,
Sulatan of Mysore, 1799
Presented to George III
The Royal Collection

Here’s something that Mary of Teck didn’t get her hands on! Instead, it came into The Royal Collection via King George III who was equally responsible for adding objects to the collection, albeit in a different way.


Prior to being given to George III, the “Bird of Paradise” was actually a piece of the magnificent golden throne (made up of life-sized gold and bejweled tigers) of Tipu, Sultan of Mysore, India. The bird of diamonds, rubies, gold, emeralds, pearls and silver sat atop the throne and was considered a symbol of happiness. Should the bird ever touch the ground, that would mean an end to peace. Well, the bird hit the ground. In 1799, when Tipu Sultan’s citadel was ransacked and he was overthown and killed, British soldiers hacked his glorious throne to pieces and took the prizes home as glittering trophies. This stolen beauty was presented to George III by The East India Company. George III gave it to
Queen Charlotte who bequeathed it to their daughters, who, in turn gave it to King George IV around 1818.

Unfolding Pictures: The Recovery of George III from Illness Fan, 1789

Recovery of George III from Illness Fan
English, 1789
A Gift of Queen Mary to...
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here’s another fan which Queen Mary (Consort of King George V) managed to wrestle out of the hands of one of her friends and return to the Royal Collection. However, for some reason, Mary didn’t keep the fan. Shortly before her death she donated it, along with a few other objects from her personal collection, to the Victoria & Albert Museum.

This fan shows the trend of Eighteenth Century fan-makers to create objects which commemorated important events such as births, marriages and deaths of well-known people, royal occasions or major social events. Here, we see a celebration of George III’s recovery from illness in 1789. Its design is simple and straightforward and well suited to the seriousness of the event.

The elegant, emblematic design includes the rose and thistle which symbolizes the Union of Scotland and England by Act of Parliament in 1707. Above these emblems are the words, “Health is restored to ONE and happiness to Millions.” That seems a little extreme, since George III wasn’t the most beloved monarch of all time, but he certainly was better liked by the average citizen than his offspring: King George IV and William IV.

Chances are, the fan was designed for a lady to carry at the great ball given at the Court in 1789 to celebrate the king’s recovery. His recovery was rather short-lived. As we say in the Southern U.S., until he died, George III, well, “he just ain’t right.” 

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Landscape with Diana in Repose, 1740

Landscape with Diana
Reposing from the Chase
Franceco Zuccarelli, 1740
Oil on Copper
The Royal Collection

Joseph Smith of the British Consul was responsible for amassing a large collection of art which was quite the envy of King George III. Smith had an impressive collection of Italian landscapes, notably a large group of celebrated painter Francesco Zuccarelli.


Zuccarelli’s work was notable for its luminescence which owed to his use of metal as a foundation for his paintings. He often painted on copper, giving a natural shimmer and radiance to his paintings. Smith had purchased this painting by Zuccarelli and considered it to be one of the finest by the artist. Painted on copper, the landscape features a scene of Diana—the Goddess of the Hunt—easily identified by the presence of her crescent-moon-shaped diadem—in repose. The painting is unique in that Zuccarelli has given unusual prominence to the figures and to the dogs in the composition when typically he focused only on the landscape.

George III so envied this painting that he convinced Smith to sell it to him in 1762. It has remained a prominent part of The Royal Collection ever since.

Gifts of Grandeur: A Needlework Portrait by Mary Knowles, 1779

Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

We’ve looked at the famed needlework portraits of Miss Mary Linwood. However, Linwood wasn’t the only person recreating painted portraits in embroidery. This needlework picture, commissioned by Queen Charlotte (Consort of George V), in wool dates to 1779 and is the work of Mary Morris Knowles.


Mary Morris Knowles was born of a Quaker family in Rugely, Staffordshire, and was celebrated as much for her intellect as for her skill with the needle. Knowles is now considered to be an important early protagonist of the feminist viewpoint in English cultural life. Ahead of her time, Knowles was an early supporter for the abolition of slavery.

In 1771 Knowles was introduced Queen Charlotte at Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace), forming a friendship which would last over the next thirty years. Following that first visit in 1771, the Queen commissioned Mrs. Knowles to make a copy of Zoffany’s portrait of George III in needlework or ‘needle painting’ as it was also known.

So pleased with the result, Queen Charlotte showed off the portrait to all of her friends. Eight years later, Mrs. Knowles embroidered this companion picture for Queen Charlotte. It is a self portrait of the artist as she created the needle-painting of George III.

Unfolding Pictures: The George III and the Royal Family Fan, 1790

Fan
1790--The Poggi Workshop
The Victoria and Albert Museum

King George III was actually quite savvy about Public Relations—before he went mad. This characteristic was not inherited by his son, the Prince of Wales and future King George IV. George III was careful to make sure that the Royal Family was portrayed as happy and cohesive and he ensured this by commissioning works of art which showed his brood engaged in civilized and joyful activities. This fan is part of that effort.

Here, we see a fan with leaves of engraved and hand-colored paper. Ir features carved and pierced ivory sticks and guards. The engraving shows King George III and the Royal Family in attendance at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1788. The scene si framed in a floral decorative border with strips of gilded paper at its edges and the guards are decorated with an urn and flowers. Curiously, the reverse is unadorned.

The leaf is based on a painting by Johann Heinrich Ramberg which was recreated in miniature for the fan. The fan's maker was Antonio Poggi, who worked in London from 1776 to 1799. Poggi is immortalized by the words of the novelist Fanny Burney who described a visit to Poggi’s shop in her diary for March 1781, stating that the fans “are more beautiful than can be imagined. One was bespoke by the Duchess of Devonshire for a present, that was to cost £30.”

Card of the Day: The King’s Herbwoman

The King’s Herbwoman (or Herb Woman or Herb Strewer) was a ceremonial position most evident during the Coronation procession. As we look at the Silver Jubilee cards commemorating the 1935 celebration of King George V’s and Queen Mary’s twenty-five years on the throne, we get a glimpse at this custom which had long since fallen out of practice.

Typically, The Coronation Procession was led by the King's herb woman who was accompanied by six young attendants who strewed the path of the procession with herbs and flowers. Not only was this attractive to behold, but it served two practical purposes as well. It would scent the air as the horses stamped on the herbs and flowers. Let’s face it, the streets of London didn’t always smell so wonderful. And, secondly, the release of the aromas of certain plants was considered a way of protecting people from the threat of Plague. That thinking was rather flawed, but it was a nice idea.

The Herb Woman and her attendants would walk from the starting point of the procession (wherever the new monarch happened to be staying, this differed from coronation to coronation) to Wesminster Hall (now part of the Palace of Westminster) and then to Westminster Abbey for the Coronation itself.

These ceremonial ladies performed their office at the Coronation of each of the former Georges (I-!V), and were especially involved at the Coronation of George IV (seen in this card), where they wore matching wreaths upon their heads, and garlands of flowers about their dresses. The Coronation of George IV was the last occasion of the appearance of the Herb Woman and her girls. Upon the coronation of King William IV, his consort, Queen Adelaide, who was always determined to save money put a stop to the custom. Adelaide was wise to do this. Her husband’s brother and her father-in-law had done a splendid job of plunging the Empire into debt for their own personal pleasures. The Queen Consort wanted to show the people that more frugal times were ahead. While William IV was certainly more careful with funds than his predecessors, it wasn’t really until Queen Victoria’s reign that the family debt began to be erased.

Unfolding Pictures: The Recovery of George III from Illness Fan, 1789

Recovery of George III from Illness Fan
English, 1789
A Gift of Queen Mary to...
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here’s another fan which Queen Mary (Consort of King George V) managed to wrestle out of the hands of one of her friends and return to the Royal Collection. However, for some reason, Mary didn’t keep the fan. Shortly before her death she donated it, along with a few other objects from her personal collection, to the Victoria & Albert Museum.

This fan shows the trend of Eighteenth Century fan-makers to create objects which commemorated important events such as births, marriages and deaths of well-known people, royal occasions or major social events. Here, we see a celebration of George III’s recovery from illness in 1789. Its design is simple and straightforward and well suited to the seriousness of the event.

The elegant, emblematic design includes the rose and thistle which symbolizes the Union of Scotland and England by Act of Parliament in 1707. Above these emblems are the words, “Health is restored to ONE and happiness to Millions.” That seems a little extreme, since George III wasn’t the most beloved monarch of all time, but he certainly was better liked by the average citizen than his offspring: King George IV and William IV.

Chances are, the fan was designed for a lady to carry at the great ball given at the Court in 1789 to celebrate the king’s recovery. His recovery was rather short-lived. As we say in the Southern U.S., until he died, George III, well, “he just ain’t right.”

Painting of the Day: A Miniature of Queen Victoria’s Father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, 1814

Edward, Duke of Kent
1814
Miniature on Ivory in Gold Locket
The Royal Collection

The fourth son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent and Strathearn was a military officer with expensive and debauched tastes as well as a host of illegitimate children. At the time of George III’s death, the King only had one legitimate grandchild, and she died young—leaving no one in line for the throne after the Prince Regent (later King George IV) and his younger brother, William. George III’s unmarried sons tried to make suitable marriages to produce a legitimate heir presumptice. Among this rush, The Duke of Kent married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld. They had one child—Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent. The Princess was the only legitimate issue in line for the Crown, and after the death of her uncle, King William IV, she ascended the throne as Queen Victoria in 1837. The Duke of Kent never saw his daughter as Queen. He died seventeen years earlier.

But, here he is on a watercolor on ivory miniature in a gold locket. The painting is by Johan Georg Paul Fischer and dates to 1814.

Queen Victoria was painted in 1821, before her accession, holding this miniature in a portrait by Sir William Beechey which depicts the the Duchess of Kent with Princess Victoria. The elaborate gold locket is the work of the jewelers Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, and shows their masterful chasing and repoussé work. The Duke is identified by his Garter emblems, his coronet and his name, EDWARD. The locket’s reverse is similarly chased and is adorned with the badge of the Bath within the collar, and the collar and badge of St Patrick.

Fischer based this miniature on a portrait by Sir Beechey which also dates to 1814. No stranger to the Royal Family, Fischer’s first Royal sitter was King George III, whom Fischer painted for his Golden Jubilee.

Gratuitous Bertie Dog Picture: The Gladness of King George

“Hey, are you the guy on the dollar bill?”

Image: George III, Johann Zoffany, 1771, Commissioned by George III or Queen Charlotte, The Royal Collection

Painting of the Day: Landscape with Diana Reposing from the Chase, 1740

Landscape with Diana
Reposing from the Chase
Franceco Zuccarelli, 1740
Oil on Copper
The Royal Collection

Joseph Smith of the British Consul was responsible for amassing a large collection of art which was quite the envy of King George III. Smith had an impressive collection of Italian landscapes, notably a large group of celebrated painter Francesco Zuccarelli.


Zuccarelli’s work was notable for its luminescence which owed to his use of metal as a foundation for his paintings. He often painted on copper, giving a natural shimmer and radiance to his paintings. Smith had purchased this painting by Zuccarelli and considered it to be one of the finest by the artist. Painted on copper, the landscape features a scene of Diana—the Goddess of the Hunt—easily identified by the presence of her crescent-moon-shaped diadem—in repose. The painting is unique in that Zuccarelli has given unusual prominence to the figures and to the dogs in the composition when typically he focused only on the landscape.

George III so envied this painting that he convinced Smith to sell it to him in 1762. It has remained a prominent part of The Royal Collection ever since.

Unusual Artifacts: Queen Charlotte’s Gaming Counters, 1780

A miniature on Ivory set with pearls
showing Queen Charlotte in an ideal
light.  She was widely described as
"Not a great beauty."
1762
The Royal Collection

Queen Charlotte didn’t have what one would call the happiest of lives. As a young bride, her husband, King George III, as well as the rest of the Royal Household was very much under the often irrational control of the Dowager Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, her mother-in-law. The King’s mother insisted that English ladies not speak directly to the German-born princess-turned-consort unless she was accompanied by one of her German handlers. It really was all quite a kerfuffle. So much of a kerfuffle, in fact, that Queen Charlotte—for a spell—had a home of her own, Buckingham House (known as “The Queen’s House”) which, as we know, grew into Buckingham Palace.


And, yet, despite these complications, Charlotte and George got along well enough to have fifteen children together (thirteen of whom survived to adulthood). Charlotte tried to remain cheerful and pursued the things which interested her—botany, music, making sure women were educated, and card games…lots and lots of card games. What else is a Queen to do when she’s stuck in one room for hours at a time while her husband goes increasingly mad? Besides, it seems she was almost constantly pregnant, so cards were a nice way to pass the time.

Gaming Counters with the Cipher of Queen Charlotte
Mother-of-Pearl
Chinese, 1780
The Royal Collection

Queen Charlotte’s favorite games were “Whisk” and “Commerce.” She was known to spend hours at a time at these games. In 1780, she was presented with an elaborate gaming set which included these Chinese, mother-of-pearl gaming counters which were engraved with her cipher. Well-worn, it’s obvious that the Queen used these counters frequently.

After her death, her son sold all of her belongings (except her jewels) at an 1819 auction. Among the items sold, were these mother-of-pearl counters. Now, it’s difficult to say how they’ve come back to the Royal Collection. Some believe that they were purchased in 1819 by the Duke of Sussex who consequently auctioned them off again in 1845. Where they were after that, I’m not sure. However, I would guess that Mary of Teck picked these up sometime in the early Twentieth Century—as one does.

Mastery of Design: The Bird of Paradise from Tipu Sultan’s Throne, 1787-91

Bird of Paradise
Created 1787-1791
Gold, Silver, Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies
Stolen from the Throne of Tipu,
Sulatan of Mysore, 1799
Presented to George III
The Royal Collection

Here’s something that Mary of Teck didn’t get her hands on! Instead, it came into The Royal Collection via King George III who was equally responsible for adding objects to the collection, albeit in a different way.


Prior to being given to George III, the “Bird of Paradise” was actually a piece of the magnificent golden throne (made up of life-sized gold and bejweled tigers) of Tipu, Sultan of Mysore, India. The bird of diamonds, rubies, gold, emeralds, pearls and silver sat atop the throne and was considered a symbol of happiness. Should the bird ever touch the ground, that would mean an end to peace. Well, the bird hit the ground. In 1799, when Tipu Sultan’s citadel was ransacked and he was overthown and killed, British soldiers hacked his glorious throne to pieces and took the prizes home as glittering trophies. This stolen beauty was presented to George III by The East India Company. George III gave it to
Queen Charlotte who bequeathed it to their daughters, who, in turn gave it to King George IV around 1818.

Unusual Artifacts: Peppermill with Cipher of George III, 1761

Peppermill with Cipher of
George III
1761-62
Tortoiseshell, Silver, Steel
The Royal Collection

King George III had a distinct distaste for opulent dining and did not enjoy public banquets and dinners. He much preferred sharing a simple supper of mutton, cold turkey, fried oysters and custard with Queen Charlotte in his bedchamber. Toward the end of his life, as he became slightly more--shall we say—peculiar, he liked to eat alone at 2:00.


However, just because he preferred a simple meal at a small table, didn’t mean he wanted to just use any old china or service. Between 1761 and 1762, George commissioned a new, magnificent set of silver (partially gilt) for use at his private table. Part of the order was this peppermill. The vessel is crafted of tortoiseshell and silver with a silver inset of George III’s cipher. The blades of the grinder are made of steel. Though slightly worn from use, the peppermill is in excellent condition and is a nifty little reminder of George III and what probably amounts to hundreds upon hundreds of fried oysters.