Mrs Bryant's Pleasure thumbnail 1
Mrs Bryant's Pleasure thumbnail 2
+63
images
Not currently on display at the V&A

Mrs Bryant's Pleasure

Dolls' House
1860-1865 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This house is not a child's plaything. It was made for a lady called Mrs Bryant in the early 1860s, who lived in a house in Surbiton called Oakenshaw. Mrs Bryant wanted to make a miniature record of the interior of her home. The only child-related object is a child's folding chair in the drawing room.

Mrs Bryant commissioned a professional cabinet-maker to make the furniture which was made with skill and accuracy. The rooms are furnished in exactly the same way as a middle class home of the time would have been. The wallpaper is the same as Mrs Bryant would have had on her walls at home. 1860 was still too early for bathrooms, which became more widespread in the 1890s, and so the bedrooms are equipped with wash-stands and basins. The kitchen is surprisingly small. A real kitchen in a middle class household would have been considerably larger to accommodate the large range of kitchen equipment needed to keep the house going.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Dolls' House
  • Door
  • Door
TitleMrs Bryant's Pleasure (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Jointed and painted wood
Brief description
Mrs Bryant's Pleasure dolls' house made in England between 1860 and 1865
Physical description
The house is three stories high. The two side walls are painted to resemble bricks as is the front wall which has rows of pedimented sash windows, four to a storey, hung with lace and outer curtains. The house is surmounted on three sides by a balustrade. It has five rooms; two bedrooms on the second floor; a sitting room on the first floor; and a kitchen and parlour on the ground floor. All the rooms are furnished to give an accurate picture of interior decoration during the mid-nineteenth century.
Dimensions
  • Height: 187cm
  • Width: 127cm
  • Depth: 62cm
Production typeUnique
Gallery label
Ann Jago Bryant was in her late 50s when she commissioned this very large dolls’ house. It is said to be modelled on her real-life home, a large house called Oakenshaw in the London suburb of Surbiton. Although much simpler than Oakenshaw would have been, the cosy colours and heavy furniture do reflect fashions of the time. (2014)
Credit line
Given by Miss Helen Bryant
Object history
The house was loaned to the museum by Mrs Bryant's descendants from 1930, and was donated in 1955
Summary
This house is not a child's plaything. It was made for a lady called Mrs Bryant in the early 1860s, who lived in a house in Surbiton called Oakenshaw. Mrs Bryant wanted to make a miniature record of the interior of her home. The only child-related object is a child's folding chair in the drawing room.

Mrs Bryant commissioned a professional cabinet-maker to make the furniture which was made with skill and accuracy. The rooms are furnished in exactly the same way as a middle class home of the time would have been. The wallpaper is the same as Mrs Bryant would have had on her walls at home. 1860 was still too early for bathrooms, which became more widespread in the 1890s, and so the bedrooms are equipped with wash-stands and basins. The kitchen is surprisingly small. A real kitchen in a middle class household would have been considerably larger to accommodate the large range of kitchen equipment needed to keep the house going.
Collection
Accession number
MISC.9-1955

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 2, 2005
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest