The Home Beautiful: The Hamilton Palace Screen, 1670-1700

Japanese Eight-Panel Screen, 1670-1700
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

NOTE: I don't know what's up with the font on this post.  If I make it smaller, it's microscopic, if I leave it "normal," it's like a child's picture book.  I give up.  You'll notice some of the posts lately are having font weirdness.  I'll have to work on it.  In the meantime...


I call dibs on this in case the V&A ever wants to unload it. This six-paneled screen is adorned with a landscape design featuring buildings, figures, trees, birds and monkeys. The figures depicted are: men fishing at a river; a man walking with a stick; a man carrying a bag on a stick and women in brightly colored clothing sitting by a river. The scene comes alive with gold houses on hills, trees with shining monkeys nestled in the branches, a wise owl in a tree, birds in flight, and flowers with their glistening petals inlaid with gleaming shell. The images all glimmer in gold, silver and red on a dark lacquer ground in the fashionable technique of japanning. Each panel is attached to the next with metal foil and stud hinges.


This decorative screen, used for privacy or to divide a portion of a room (or simply to look pretty) was made in Japan between 1670 and 1700. It is believed that the screen may have come from the collection of Hamilton Palace. This important collection included many pieces previously owned by William Beckford (1760-1844) including the Van Diemen box and the Mazarin Chest.

Pets of the Belle Époque: “A Girl with Dogs” by Charles Burton Barber, 1893

Girl with Dogs
Charles Burton Barber, 1893
The Lady Lever Art Gallery
Liverpool

A popular subject matter of the late Nineteenth Century was the sentimental portrait of a child and his/her pets. Near the end of his life, painter Charles Burton Barber painted several such paintings, not so much out of a deep love for the subject, but because he knew they’d sell. And, sell they did.


Soap magnate Lord Leverhulme purchased this painting in 1901 for the purpose of using it in advertisements for Lever Brothers soap. The image of the little girl projected an innocent quality as she struggled to carry two puppies in her skirts while their nervous mother and sibling look on. As was often the case with Lord Leverhulme, he purchased the painting for business, but kept it for pleasure. It still resides in the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool. 

Unfolding Pictures: Fan Depicting Claudia Proving Her Innocence, 1740

Fan Depicting Claudia Proving Her Innocence
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection
Via The Royal Collection Trust
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Click Image to Enlarge

Fan Depicting "Claudia Proving Her Innocence"
Italian, 1740
Kid Leather, Pierced Ivory, Mother-of-Pearl
The Royal Collection
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Claudia Quinta was a Vestal Virgin. Her job was to tend the fire at the Forum which had been brought by Aeneas from Troy to Rome—as one does with fire. As was often the case with those wacky Vestal Virgins, there was a bit of a kerfuffle regarding her virtue and she ended up being accused of adultery. One would think that with all the fire-tending, she wouldn’t have had the time for other pursuits, but there you have it. Claudia was forced to prove her innocence. And, she managed to do it with the help of the Goddess Cybele. Fair enough. You see, she proved her chastity by pulling a ship with the strings of her girdle. Now, how that shows her to be chaste, I’m not sure. If anything, it proves she had a strong midsection and nothing more, but nevertheless, the elders saw this miraculous bit of naval and navel fortitude to be evidence enough that she wasn’t an adulterous, but rather a freakishly strong, happy little Vestal Virgin. Imagine what she could have done if she had Spanx.

This fan with pierced ivory sticks and mother-of-pearl guards sports a kid leather leaf painting with a scene of Claudia as she moves the ship, aided by Cybele. Created in 1740 by an unknown Italian fan-maker, the fan was a favorite of Princess Charlotte, the daughter of King George IV. When Princess Charlotte died in childbirth, many of her belongings were bequeathed to her dresser/friend, Mrs. Louis. Upon Mrs. Louis’ death on Easter Sunday of 1838, this fan and a number of other personal mementos which had belonged to the Princess were given to Queen Victoria. Victoria put this fan on display because she believed it to be quite fine and attractive. And, it truly is.

Finely painted with beautiful workmanship in the sticks and guards, the beauty of this fan has not faded in over two centuries.

History's Runway: A Seaside Dress, 1872

Seaside Day Dress
England, c. 1872
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Inspired by the classic sailor suit, this day dress was made in the early 1870s as a sporting outfit to be worn for a day at the seaside—walking or boating. Constructed of easily-laundered (by Victorian standards) cotton, the outfit is meant to be practical without sacrificing style.

A hip-length jacket with a square collar is finished in scarf ends. The overskirt boasts patch pockets with another pocket in the seam. A stitched bow adorns the belt. Unlined, the ensemble would have been ideal for a warm day.  Bone buttons offer a charming contrast to the combination of medium blue and ecru stripes and the rich, deep blue of the finish-work.

It was made in the United Kingdom, likely in London. Few such example of sporting outfits of this period remain. Though the materials were durable, these types of ensembles were more quickly consumed due to the nature of their use.

You'll see that, as was the style of the time, this was worn with a bustle beneath the dress.  The skirts are shorter than would have been acceptable for city-wear, but this served to keep the hem from dragging in the sand.  

After a Fashion: A Silver and Gemstone Buckle and Belt Tag, 1905

Silver and Gemstone Buckle
and Belt Tag, 1905
This and all images courtesy of:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This silver buckle and belt tag are decorated with enamel and set with moonstones, amethysts and chalcedony. The silver is adorned with cast roundels of stags and birds.

Henry Wilson, an architect, sculptor, metalworker and jeweler, is the artistic genius behind this magnificent, yet practical, work of art. Wilson was considered one of the most accomplished of all Arts and Crafts jewelers. He was so well-respected, a fellow artist-jeweler once wrote to him: “I simply can't understand how you can do such wonderful work. Apart altogether from the beauty of the designs and colour, the making of the things beats everything.”

Wilson’s great influence in the Arts and Crafts movement was his championing of the showcasing of the simple polished stone. This, he felt preserved the stone’s, as he put it, “mysterious magical quality.”

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Schindler Chatelaine, 1760

Enameled Gold Chatelaine
Part of a set by Philipp Ernst Schindler
1760
The Victoria & Albert Museum

While Eighteenth-Century Viennese goldsmiths were widely heralded for their exceptional gold boxes, they also produced a wide range of other luxury items which would have been found in Europe's most affluent households.

The lady of a fine house would always have had a superb chatelaine--a pin from which she could suspend a watch and other necessary household items.  Even cherished housekeepers would sometimes be gifted such extravagant items.  Take this glorious chatelaine, for example, which represents the best of the Viennese tradition of  enameled gold objects.

The Schindler Chatelaine, made by Philipp Ernst Schindler II, forms part of an exceptional set designed to neatly cater to the necessities of elegant life.  The set comprises an étui (or small case) with a knife, snuff spoon, toothpick and ear pick, watch and châtelaine (from which the watch hung) and a matching snuffbox. The chatelaine was worn at the waist either on a belt or apron.

Mastery of Design: Brooch with a Miniature of a Child, 1894

Brooch with a hand-colored photograph
English, 1894
Crown Copyright
The Royal Collection 
Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

From the Nineteenth Century British School, this brooch of gold, diamonds, enamel and hair is set with a watercolor-ed photograph miniature of a child. The piece is engraved May 3rd 1894, but was first recorded in the inventory of the Royal Collection during the present reign.

This hand-colored photograph of a young child is set into a heart-shaped frame of gold and red guilloché enamel. An applied gold and diamond foliate wreath is inset with a lock of hair on the glazed reverse.