Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case X, Shelf 37, Box D

Carved and Gilt frame Venetian date about 1690, Mr. John Webb

Photograph
1853 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In 1853, Charles Thurston Thompson, the first Official Photographer of the South Kensington Museum (later the V&A), was commissioned to photograph a loan exhibition of furniture at Gore House, London. It was the first of many photographic campaigns documenting temporary loan exhibitions that were to become a hallmark of the Museum's photographic service. Such loan objects were photographed prior to their return to lenders so that photographic copies could be sold to designers, craftsmen and students, and also filed in the Museum's library for study. Thompson inadvertently included himself and his camera, reflected in the mirror. It gives us a vivid glimpse of a photographer at work outdoors - in the garden at Gore House - in the early days of the Museum and the profession of Museum Photography.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleCarved and Gilt frame Venetian date about 1690, Mr. John Webb (generic title)
Materials and techniques
albumen print
Brief description
Photograph by Charles Thurston Thompson, 'Carved and Gilt frame Venetian date about 1690, Mr. John Webb', albumen print, 1853
Physical description
A sepia-coloured mounted photograph of the top half of an ornately carved mirror and frame. The camera and the photographer are visible in the reflection.
Gallery label
Charles Thurston Thompson (1816–68) Venetian Mirror, about 1700 Carved and Gilt Frame, Venetian, date about 1690 Both 1853 Thurston Thompson was the first official photographer of the South Kensington Museum (the original name of the V&A). He documented works that were on loan to the Museum, such as this Venetian mirror. By recording his reflection and that of his camera as well as the frame’s intricate carvings, he revealed the process of making images such as these. Albumen prints Museum nos. 39833, 32832(23/7/2016-5/3/2017)
Subjects depicted
Summary
In 1853, Charles Thurston Thompson, the first Official Photographer of the South Kensington Museum (later the V&A), was commissioned to photograph a loan exhibition of furniture at Gore House, London. It was the first of many photographic campaigns documenting temporary loan exhibitions that were to become a hallmark of the Museum's photographic service. Such loan objects were photographed prior to their return to lenders so that photographic copies could be sold to designers, craftsmen and students, and also filed in the Museum's library for study. Thompson inadvertently included himself and his camera, reflected in the mirror. It gives us a vivid glimpse of a photographer at work outdoors - in the garden at Gore House - in the early days of the Museum and the profession of Museum Photography.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
39832

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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