Comments for Treasure Hunt

Comment on Animals of the forest by Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:22:23 +0000

Mark, yes theirs is a great example of the benefits of artistic partnership, isn’t it?

But, Deana, you are already doing just that by leaving your very much appreciated comments And yes this is a fun bit of my job, but only a small bit I’m afraid, with lots of other more humdrum things to do as well.

Comment on Animals of the forest by deana

deana — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:20:25 +0000

Honestly, I wish I could work for the NT and spend my days spouting love for all the wonders of the collections –– it would be heaven. Brilliant to show lesser known influences on well known artists and craftsmen. Webb is brilliant.

Comment on Animals of the forest by Mark D. Ruffner

Mark D. Ruffner — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:31:02 +0000

I’ve long been an admirer of William Morris and have collected a number of books about him. And leafing through them, I realize how important Webb and Dearle were to Morris’ enduring reputation.

Comment on Animals of the forest by Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:10:24 +0000

Thanks. And thanks for those interesting links, Andrew. Yes I wonder whether Webb was directly inspired by Dürer’s hare – it would seem likely.

Comment on Animals of the forest by Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:42:00 +0000

Fantastic. Good luck.

The Hare reminds me of the Dürer watercolour – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Hare

There were some fantastic William Morris tapestries at the Two Temple Place exhibition last year. For example,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walthamforestcouncil/6289063860/

Must get to the reopened William Morris Gallery in Waltham Forest, one of the finalists for the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2013!

Comment on Animals of the forest by Katharine Hope

Katharine Hope — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:35:01 +0000

Charming….

Comment on Keeping up with the Jansens by Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:03:09 +0000

That is a very good question. I don’t know exactly when teacup handles first came in. There is a Hogarth painting in the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester, entitled ‘The Wollaston family’ and dated to 1730, in which people still appear to be holding handleless cups (http://bbc.in/LTg11z). They are also showing off various elegant and meaningful ways of holding the cups and saucers, such as holding them aloft on thumb and forefinger and turning the cup upside down to indicate that one has had sufficient.

Regarding the heat issue, one of the functions of the saucer seems to have been to act as a barrier between the hot tea and the fingers. And the cups were small so the dainty quantity of tea would cool quickly. And apparently sometimes people would pour the tea into to the saucer to speed up the cooling.

Comment on Keeping up with the Jansens by Susan Walter

Susan Walter — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:29:06 +0000

What I have never understood is how you drank tea, made from boiling water, from those incredibly fine, handle-less cups.

Comment on Keeping up with the Jansens by Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:04:24 +0000

Oh you are such a purist

Comment on Keeping up with the Jansens by style court

style court — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:52:54 +0000

Just read it. Makes perfect sense now. I think I’m partial to the non-raised example at Dyrham Park Also, I like how you note that some of the designs found on the lacquered furniture echo those seen in Javanese batiks.