The grand staircase at Lyme Park, by Sybil Legh, 1898. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
At Lyme Park in Cheshire there is a group of small watercolours of interiors by Sybil Legh (pronounced Lee), painted in 1897 and 1898.
Early nineteenth-century wire plant stand in the entrance hall at Lyme Park. The stand is actually from nearby Dunham Massey. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
The Leghs had been at Lyme since about 1400.
The library at Lyme by Sybil Legh, 1897. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
Sybil Legh wasn’t a professional watercolourist, but she certainly had an eye for framing a view.
Early nineteenth-century flower arrangement in the yellow bedroom at Lyme. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
All of the watercolours include houseplants and flowers.
The yellow bedroom at Lyme, by Sybil Legh, 1898. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
There was a project a few years ago recreating and photographing a number of documented historic flower arrangements, including the examples shown here.
The dining room table laid to design number 14 from John Perkins's 'Flower Decorations for the Table', 1877. ©NTPL/Andreas von Einsiedel
Flower arrangements are of course the most ephemeral of creations – but in this case they were recorded in the book Flora Domestica: A History of British Flower Arranging, 1500-1930, by Mary Rose Blacker.
September 15, 2010 at 13:52 |
That plant stand is extraordinary!
September 15, 2010 at 14:15 |
Isn’t it? Very popular in the early nineteenth century, as evident for instance in Charlotte Gere’s book Nineteenth Century Decoration: The Art of the Interior.
September 15, 2010 at 21:54 |
Gorgeous, the colors red, purples, I love.thank you Emile for showing us the power of flowers. pgt
September 16, 2010 at 07:25 |
Thanks Gaye – the effect is surprisingly powerful, isn’t it – the flowers themselves, the arranger and the photographer all working together.