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Circus Property

Late 19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

These bells were used in their act by the Huline Brothers William and James, a popular clown double act working in circus, music hall and variety in the late 19th century. They were musical clowns and adept jugglers, performing juggling feats with a variety of objects, including conical hats and a plum pie 'canon ball'. The Huline Brothers were also excellent at mime or 'dumbshow' and were well known for performing 'The Broken Mirror' act, the act in which one stands within a picture frame and mirrors the action of the other, afraid to admit he has broken the mirror.

Comedy musical double acts were popular in late 19th century circus and variety, performed by clown duos in white-face make-up such as the Hulines and the Musical Webbs. Musical clowns were expert musicians who played a range of instruments while making comical mistakes and funny noises. The Hulines' instruments included the violin, the concertina, the banjo and hand bells. They were English, but became well known on the continent during the 1870s, and were on the bill at the Folies Bergères in Paris in 1888.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Pewter and wire
Brief description
String of pewter bells used by the musical clowns, The Hulines, late 19th century
Physical description
String of nine circular pewter bells attached to a thick multi-stranded wire, each bell with a raised ridge running round its circumference. The bells are of four sizes: at one end a bell of 5.5 cm diameter, then two of 4.5 cm, three of 4 cm, two of 3 cm, the string ending in a bell of 4.5cm (all measurements approximate). The two smallest bells are undecorated, the others have incised patterns resembling flower petals in the lower half, four have the incised letters R M. The wire is not contemporary with the bells.
Dimensions
  • Approximate length of wire length: 28cm
  • Width: 11.5cm (maximum dimension)
  • Depth: 4cm (maximum dimension)
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
Credit line
Antony Hippisley Coxe Collection
Summary
These bells were used in their act by the Huline Brothers William and James, a popular clown double act working in circus, music hall and variety in the late 19th century. They were musical clowns and adept jugglers, performing juggling feats with a variety of objects, including conical hats and a plum pie 'canon ball'. The Huline Brothers were also excellent at mime or 'dumbshow' and were well known for performing 'The Broken Mirror' act, the act in which one stands within a picture frame and mirrors the action of the other, afraid to admit he has broken the mirror.

Comedy musical double acts were popular in late 19th century circus and variety, performed by clown duos in white-face make-up such as the Hulines and the Musical Webbs. Musical clowns were expert musicians who played a range of instruments while making comical mistakes and funny noises. The Hulines' instruments included the violin, the concertina, the banjo and hand bells. They were English, but became well known on the continent during the 1870s, and were on the bill at the Folies Bergères in Paris in 1888.
Collection
Accession number
S.25-2007

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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