Mastery of Design: The Joseph Gold and Mother-of-Pearl Box, 1749-50

Box of Gold with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay
1749-1750
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This box—possibly made to hold snuff—is crafted of gold which has been inlaid with mother-of-pearl in a Chinoiserie design.  It was made in France between 1749 and 1750 and was imported to England in 1838.  

The box was a gift to the V&A from Mrs. Samuel S. Joseph.

Gifts of Grandeur: The Roman Emperors' Watch, 1738

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Here, we see a gilt metal clock-watch with a mother-of-pearl medallion set with onyx cameos of the Emperors Augustus and Vespasian, and a gold bust of the goddess Minerva with a crown of rose-cut diamonds.  The whole of the piece is luxuriously set with stones

Made in Germany by Johann Salomon Mayer, the piece is dated 1738.  The medallions of mother-of-pearl are mounted on a gilded copper into which the agate cameos of the Roman Emperors are set.   The bust of Minerva with her helmet is modeled from carnelian and her armor is gold, set with diamonds (mostly brilliant and table-cut),  almandine and hessonite garnets, and emeralds.  Enameling adds further color and dimension.  

 

Though the case was made in Germany, the watch movement was probably made in London in about 1690. This movement was used in another watch before being set into this piece.  The top plate of the movement bears the name of Du Thuillay of Halle.

Precious Time: A Mosaic Cabinet and Clock, circa 1700

Mosaic Cabinet and Clock
1700-1850
Giovanni Battista Foggini
Italian with a German clockworks.
pietre dure (hardstone mosaic), ebony, gilded bronze,
brass, mother-of-pearl and ebonized wood
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Isn’t this gorgeous? This cabinet and clock was over one hundred years in the making and represents the work of several different artists. The bottom part of the cabinet dates to 1700-1705 and is constructed of pietre dure (hardstone mosaic), ebony, gilded bronze, brass, mother-of-pearl and ebonized wood. The central mosaic panel is not the original decoration, but rather an addition from the Nineteenth Century. Looking closely at the pietre dure central panel, we can see that it was originally intended to be a tray. The composition which features a mosaic of a string of pearls was designed to be viewed from above, horizontally, and not vertically as it is positioned here. Nevertheless it is an attractive addition to the original piece.


The initial design is the work of Giovanni Battista Foggini of Florence. Foggini created this cabinet for Anna-Maria Luisa de' Medici. In the late Seventeenth Century, the top portion and clock were added. Crafted of the same materials and in a similar style, the top half is the work is almost as old as the original portion—having been added many years after its initial creation.

The present clock is a replacement for the mid-Eighteenth Century English clock which had been built into the cabinet. The second clock is German in origin and was added in the mid Nineteenth Century. At the same time, the central panel on the bottom portion of the cabinet was replaced with the one we see today.

Having been lost from the de’ Medici home, this beautiful group found its way into a private collection. Its owners have generously loaned it to The Victoria & Albert Museum.

Masterpiece of the Week: A Mother-of-Pearl Spectacle Case and Spectacles, 1685-1688

Spectacle Case
The Victoria & Albert Museum

I think this is very pretty, and I’d never have guessed that it is as old as it is. Here, we see a French spectacle case of painted and gilded mother-of-pearl. The case was donated to the V&A still containing a pair of folding spectacles, of tortoise-shell and silver. The spectacles were actually made later in the Eighteenth Century.


The case itself was made in the shape of a pair of spectacles with a high, arched bridge. It is crafted of two sheets of mother-of-pearl, joined by a narrow, molded, strip of silver around the sides and base of the case. One surface of the mother-of-pearl is painted in red, green and yellow with a floral design springing from a trellised flower pot centered on each lens.

This case may have belonged to James II. The painted mother-of-pearl case is of the very highest quality and would have only been available to someone of Royal or noble birth. A letter that accompanied the spectacles, from the Eighteenth Century, describes how the case passed from James's son, the Old Pretender, through several hands, until it came into the possession of a Mr. Walker in 1770.

Unfolding Pictures: The Houghton Boating Fan, 1890-1900

Click image to enlarge.
Fan
Mother-of-Pearl Guards and Sticks
Francis Houghton
1890-1900
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Francis Houghton was known throughout late Nineteenth Century Britain as a prolific and highly-talented fan painter, yet know very little about the details of his life except that a number of his fans survive.

The dramatic scene the leaf of this handsome fan is typical of his work. Depicted is a man leaning over the side of the boat. He is presumably saving a girl, who is stranded out at sea in a rowing boat.

The fan is unusually large compared to others by Houghton and, oddly, he has painted the sea over the mother-of-pearl sticks to give the impression of the water stretching out to infinity. He made the fan between 1890 and 1900.  The mother-of-pearl guard is in excellent condition.

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 Mother of Pearl Veneered Desk Set, Austria, 1910

Desk Set
Vienna, 1910
The Victoria and Albert Museum

Today, we’ll be looking at objects which use mother-of-pearl. Mother-of-pearl has long been celebrated for its beauty and has been employed in all manner of art for centuries. This beautiful medium was never more popular than in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Let’s begin by taking a look at a stunning suite of objects from the last gasp of the Edwardian era.

Here, we see a desk set from 1910 which was made in Vienna as designed by Josef Hoffmann, and manufactured by Wiener Werkstätte. The whole of the set is veneered in mother-of-pearl and ebony, with bases lined with black cloth, and other elements of leather, glass and silver plate.

The set consists of an inkstand, a candlestick, a penholder, a seal, and a card holder. The inkstand is rectangular, veneered with rectangular plaques of mother-of-pearl and inlaid with a horizontal stringing of ebony. It features hollowed-out areas to support the candlestick and penholder. The candlestick takes a similar rectangular shape. It, too, is veneered with rectangular plaques of mother-of-pearl, the whole length of which is inlaid with two vertical strings of ebony per side. The top offers a circular silver-plated inset to hold a candle.

The matching penholder is veneered with similar plaques of mother-of-pearl and strings of ebony with the top boasting a circular silver-plated inset to hold pens. Meanwhile, the seal of matching materials has a top with a square silver-plated inset. And, finally, the card holder is rectangular with one side higher than the other, the sides are veneered with rectangular plaques of mother-of-pearl, and inlaid with vertical stringing of ebony. The sloping top features a rectangular inlaid pocket of leather.

Small luxury objects such as this, veneered in mother-of-pearl, were produced in great numbers in Vienna in the Biedermeier period (1815-1840). About sixty years later, the designers of the Wiener Werkstätte Co. reintroduced the material, but the shape of the early Twentieth-Century pieces is squarer with more geometrical applied adornment. By 1912, sets such as this one sold for tremendous amounts of money.