Mastery of Design: An Indian Tourmaline Brooch, 1860

Brooch-Pendant
Tourmaline, Emerald, Diamonds, Pearls, Gold
India, 1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

A gorgeous pink tourmaline is the centerpiece of this fantastic brooch which also includes rose-cut diamonds, emeralds, and river pearls set in gold. The carved emerald drop is detachable.


This brooch was made in India for the Western market and bears trademarks of both English and Indian sensibilities. In 1851visitors to the Great Exhibition had become enamored of the displays of Indian jewelry, marveling at its opulent appearance and vivid colors.

By 1860, Indian jewelers learned that their good would sell quite well in England and began producing works in their traditional methods with an eye for English tastes. This brooch is an excellent example of that interesting artistic trend. 

At the Music Hall: My Love Is Like the Red, Red Rose.

"Where the Heart Is"
Screenprint on paper
The Victoria & Albert Museum

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That’s sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry:

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun:
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare thee well, my only Luve
And fare thee well, a while!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile.
My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose


"My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose" is one of the most enduring traditional British Songs. Written in 1794 by Robert Burns, the song is based on traditional Scottish poetry. Alternate titles are: “My Love is Like A Red, Red Rose” or “Red, Red Rose.” The lyrics were originally published as a poem.

Burns, in the last decade of his life, was preoccupied with preserving traditional Scottish songs for future generations—managing to preserve over 300 songs for posterity. Perhaps the most notable of the lot was "Auld Lang Syne.” During this period, Burns developed this song based on traditional sources. He gave the song to Scots singer Pietro Urbani who published it. While there’s some debate about the details of all of this, the simple fact is that Burns lifted the song from traditional Scots folk songs in an attempt to preserve it.

This piece has remained popular for centuries. It was a favorite at the music halls and in the theatres of Britain and the U.S. It even was used repeatedly in early film soundtracks, and is still performed to this day.

Print of the Day: Mlle.Noblet in La Paysanne Supposee, 1822

Mlle. Noblet in La Paysanne Supposee
1822
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This full-length  etching from 1822 depicts the dancer "Mlle. Noblet in La Paysanne Supposee," a celebrated ballet of the 1820s.  Noblet ("You can't un-fry things, Jerri.  You can't be something you're not."*) wears a pale yellow calf-length lightweight gown with a crimson front-lacing bodice.  She holds the edge of a delicate white apron in her left hand.

A similar hand-colored version of this image is held in the collection of the New York Public Library though the gown in that print was left white.

The print is dated "14th March 1822" and is the work of the engraver Robert Cooper.  The piece is based on an original painting by F. Waldeck.  It was published by H. Berthoud, Jr.  

*Internet points to anyone who knows what I'm talking about.

History's Runway: A Dior Cocktail Dress, 1957

Cocktail Dress
Christian Dior
London, 1957
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Well, isn’t this yummy? Here, we see a Christian Dior (1905-1957) cocktail dress made of raspberry-hue satin organza. A deep collar flares out from a fitted bodice from which gathered material cascades, seemingly held in place by two softly dramatic bows.

Dior believed that the design of a gown would come to him by studying the fabric. He wrote, “many a dress of mine is born of the fabric alone.” This philosophy is evident with this elegant cocktail dress. Dior let the crisp satin organza speak to him and guide him to create this bouffant masterpiece. The dress is given body by four layers of new petticoat affixed below the tightly fitted waist. The innermost layer of netting is further stiffened with horsehair so that the shape will be retained even after the wearer sits. 

Made in Dior’s London branch (established in 1954), the dress dates to 1957. Dior collaborated with Marc Bohan (b, 1926) on this piece. This was Dior’s “red dress” for 1957. Each of his collections included at least one red dress. Dior famously stated that “red is the colour of life. I love red and I think it suits every complexion. Bright reds - scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson, cherry are very gay and youthful.”

Figure of the Day: A London Dandy, c. 1754

London Dandy
Meissen
Germany, c. 1754
The Victoria & ALbert Museum

Here’s a German idea of the image of a London Dandy. Made by Meissen around 1754, this figure of hard-paste porcelain is gilded and painted with enamels. The modeler has taken great pains to depict the costume of an English dandy accurately. He’s shown with his long lilac coat, his crimson cuffs, his tri-corne hat, long wig and feathers. The scrolled base is picked out in gold, making it the height of Rococo fun.

The figure is the work of one of my favorite Meissen modelers, Johann Joachim Kändler (1706 -1775).

Her Majesty's Furniture: The Richard Bridgens Chair, 1815

Chair, 1815
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Who doesn’t like a chair with a little fringe on it? While, the upholstery on this chair has been replaced, it has been done so using historical illustrations of the chair and by copying wool fragments of the original cover. Hidden under the upholstery, the chair is stamped with the numerals XXIV, suggesting that it was once a part of a large set which was housed at Battle Abbey.


Battle Abbey was founded by William the Conqueror on the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The abbey was rebuilt by 1500. Between 1812 and 1822, Sir Godfrey Vassal Webster (1789-1836) , who inherited the abbey in 1810, ordered a massive program of restoration which included the reroofing of the medieval Great Hall and work on the former Abbot's house. Webster commissioned appropriate furniture, including this set of chairs which were used throughout the abbey.

The frame of the chair is of stained oak, partly gilded and painted crimson, with an upholstered back and seat and gilt brass adornment. The chair-back boasts rectangular upholstered panel which is flanked by two spirals and set between two cross rails, each of which is ornamented with five gilt-brass rosette studs. In the center of the crest is a large gilt-brass shield bearing the Webster family crest. The chair is upholstered in crimson cloth with a deep, dramatic fringe around the seat.

Father Christmas Through the Ages: “A Merry Christmas to ‘Yon,’” 1910

The Victoria & Albert Museum

This Christmas postcard is gilded and embossed. The front depicts of Santa Claus in a red robe, as he stops outside of a house with a basket of dolls and toys. He also holds a doll and a toy trumpet.

The card is further adorned with a decorative border at the left side and top showing fir-tree branches adorned with candles and apples.

At the bottom are the words "A Merry Christmas to yon (sic)" in gilt letters. The card was made in Austria, possibly accounting for the misspelling of the English word, “you.”