Saturday Sparkle: A Diamond and Emerald Brooch, 1930

Diamond and Emerald Brooch
French, 1930
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Dense configurations of diamonds in geometric patterns defined the jewelry design of the 1930’s. Very often, designers, especially the French, adapted these rigid designs into stylized organic forms. Especially popular were feathers and flowers.


This brooch is the epitome of 1930’s style. Brilliant cut and baguette diamonds set in platinum take on an abstracted feather form—contrasted by cool green cabochon emeralds. The platinum framework is easily removed so that this brooch can be worn as a flexible pendant.



 
 

The Art of Play: Toy Silver Saucepan, Tea Set and Cover, 1720-1750

Toy Saucepan, Tea Set and Cover
Silver, Wooden Handles, Fabric
1720-1750
The Victoria & Albert Museum

For as long as there have been children, there have been toys. Children have always liked to play with miniature versions of the objects that they see their parents use every day. So, it was only natural that a child in the early Eighteenth Century would have a miniature saucepan and silver tea set to play with.


Crafted of silver and wood, this set features small versions of a traditional tea set in addition to a cozy, a saucepan and, oddly, a silver swan. Curiously, this set of objects was intended to be buried with their owner who passed away as a small child. It was taken from her casket before burial.

Sculpture of the Day: Relief of an Unknown Man, 1790-1820

Relief of an Unknown Man
possible Sir Francis Burdett
1790-1820
Polychrome Wax
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Prior to photographs, portraiture was the only way to preserve an image. Whether the portrait was in paint or a three-dimensional sculpture, to sit for such a piece of art was considered a symbol of status and financial comfort.


In the late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, the use of wax as a medium became more popular. Wax portraits—especially in low relief—were often created as a tribute to a person who has passed.

This bas relief wax plaque of an unknown man was created between 1790 and 1820. Some believe that this curly-headed gentleman is Sir Francis Burdett, but there’s little evidence to support that claim. Regardless of his identity, it’s a beautiful portrait. Still brightly colored and crisp after two centuries, this gentleman’s visage continues to charm us long after his body has gone to dust.

Mastery of Design: An Ivory and Diamond Ring, 1750-1800

Ivory and Diamond Ring
Gold, Crystal, Diamonds, Ivory and, possibly, shell.
1750-1800
Possibly German.
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the late Eighteenth Century, ivory was prized as an exotic and valuable medium. Ivory found its way into a variety of uses from household items to jewelry. Due to its durability and its ability to be carved into delicate and intricate patterns, ivory was a highly desirable material.


This ring by an unknown maker probably comes from Germany between 1750 and 1800. German jewelers were known for their fine ivory carvings and rings such as this were often imported into Britain. Housed behind a crystal dome, an ivory carving shows an intricate pastoral scene. Ethereal in its frame of diamonds, the piece has been set in gold.

For a ring like this to survive this long is quite remarkable. Very often, the crystal was broken from daily wear. This example is in exquisite condition.

Mr. Punch in the Arts: A Glass Paperweight Featuring Mr. Punch and Toby, 1873

Pressed Glass Paperweight
John Derbyshire & Co.
1873-1876
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From his first appearance as Pulcinello, a marionette, in Covent Garden, Mr. Punch has been Britain’s most beloved grouch and a source of inspiration for artists in every possible medium.


This green glass paperweight shows the burgeoning interest in pressed glass figures. Produced by John Derbyshire in Salford, Manchester, the paperweight dates between 1873 and 1876. We see Mr. Punch in all of his deformed beauty, seated atop a chair beneath which his faithful companion, Toby, rests comfortably.

This is one of a pair of paperweights produced by Derbyshire. The companion shows Judy, seated similarly, with her cat.

The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Victoria & Albert Museum

Painting of the Day: Portrait of a Lady called Jeanne de Marigny, 1650-1660

Portrait of a Lady Called Jeanne de Marigny
1650-1660
Either Charles Beaubrun or Henri Beaubrun or both
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This elegant painting of a richly dressed woman is curious in a variety of ways. To begin with, though the painting is said to be of a woman named Jeanne de Marigny, no one is quite sure who she is. No other portraits of the sitter survive, no are any records of her to be found.


Another odd thing about this painting is that it has been attributed to two artists and may be the work of one of them or both of them. Said to be the work of Charles Beaubrun and/or Henri Beaubrun, the canvas shows hallmarks of the hand of both artists. The Beaubrun were cousins—both of whom worked in the courts of Louis XIII and XIV and are virtually indistinguishable in both style and subject matter.

Nevertheless, it’s an exquisite painting and though we don’t really know who she is or who painted her, this canvas is an interesting glimpse into the style and fashion of the Seventeenth Century France.

Painting of the Day: “The Alarm; La Gouvernante Fidèle,” 1723



The Alarm
Jean-Francois de Troy
1723
The Victoria & Albert Museum





One of the most popular painters of Parisian court life, Jean-Francois de Troy was just as celebrated for his skill as he was for his slightly tawdry subject matter. This is an excellent example of some of Troy’s romantically-charged handiwork.


Here, we see a scene of two lovers sharing a clandestine meeting in a garden. Their rendezvous is interrupted by a wild-eyed maid whose come to communicate something to her mistress. Perhaps her husband has returned, perhaps her father, perhaps, even, his wife.

With a typically Eighteenth Century color palette of russets, blues, pinks and greens, the painting is alive with color and motion and feels just as vibrant as they day it was completed in 1723.

The Art of Play: A Rare Antique Sand Toy, 1850-1870

Sand Toy
French, 1850-1870
Gerard Camagni
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This unusual and exceptionally beautiful toy dates between 1850 and 1870 and comes from France. Sand toys are particularly rare—prone to damage from wet weather and their fragile natures.


Sand toys function by the power of falling sand which is distributed through a complicated system of hoppers and paddle wheels which served to “animate” a paper figure within a glass case. Given the nature of the mechanism, sand toys didn’t function very well except in extremely dry weather. They were very often broken from the shaking of frustrated children who wanted to mechanism to work in all conditions.

This exquisite toy of glass, paper and wood is intricately decorated and features a figure of a woman in Eighteenth Century dress. Upon the release of the sand, she dances within her glass case.

Remarkably undamaged, this beautiful antique is part of the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Painting of the Day: The Governess, 1844

The Governess
Richard Redgrave, 1844
The Victoria & Albert Museum

When Richard Redgrave exhibited this painting in 1844, he asked that the following quotation accompany the canvas: “She sees no kind domestic visage here'” Redgrave was sympathetic to the lives of governesses. His own sister was a governess and died young. She often told him of the awkwardness of the position—not quite a servant, not quite a member of the family. The role was lonely and ambiguous, but it was also one of the few acceptable means by which a middle class girl might earn a living.


Redgrave painted this scene of a distracted governess holding a letter which seems to have recalled unhappy emotions. The canvas was well-received, but deemed a trifle depressing. When it was purchased, the buyer asked if it couldn’t be “made cheerier.” And, so, Redgrave added the scene of the children in the background, while refusing to alter the countenance of the poor central figure.

The Art of Play: The Stuff of Nightmares

Mechanical toy cat, German 1900-1910,
and mechanical toy monkey, probably Schuco, 1920s
The Museum of Childhood
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Until February, 2012, The Museum of Childhood at the Victoria & Albert Museum, welcomes you to a magical and somewhat sinister world of unusual toys in their recently transformed Front Room Gallery.


Celebrated artists worked with school children to create this interesting installation which shows the innocence of a child’s playthings against a backdrop of fairytale mystery. Among the items on display are these mechanical German toys—a cat and a monkey respectively—which date between 1900 and 1920. The stuff of nightmares, indeed. But, an opportunity to find the innocence in superficial fear.