Bodkin Case
ca. 1780 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This case would usually be described as a needle or bodkin case, an elegant case in which a lady could keep her sewing and dressing implements. However, in the 1784 catalogue (p. 66) of Horace Walpole's collection at Strawberry Hill, his house at Twickenham, it is described as a 'tooth-pick case of gold, enamelled with cameos; a present from Lady Diana Beauclerc'.
People
Lady Diana Beauclerk was an amateur painter of considerable talent and a close friend of Horace Walpole. She was praised by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and she was the author of designs which were used in ceramics by Wedgwood. In 1775, Beauclerk executed seven drawings illustrating Walpole's tragedy in blank verse, 'The Mysterious Mother', which pleased him so much that he built an octagonal room for them at Strawberry Hill, which he called the Beauclerk Closet. Walpole expressed his enthusiasm for enamelling in 1759 at the end of a commission for an enamelled watch which he arranged for Sir Horace Mann: 'if anything a quarter so pretty was found in Herculaneum we should admire their enamellers more than their Scipios and Caesars'.
Design & Designing
From the late 1760s the taste for Neo-classical design favoured enamelling which imitated cameos. The white heads or figures stand out from the chocolate ground.
This case would usually be described as a needle or bodkin case, an elegant case in which a lady could keep her sewing and dressing implements. However, in the 1784 catalogue (p. 66) of Horace Walpole's collection at Strawberry Hill, his house at Twickenham, it is described as a 'tooth-pick case of gold, enamelled with cameos; a present from Lady Diana Beauclerc'.
People
Lady Diana Beauclerk was an amateur painter of considerable talent and a close friend of Horace Walpole. She was praised by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and she was the author of designs which were used in ceramics by Wedgwood. In 1775, Beauclerk executed seven drawings illustrating Walpole's tragedy in blank verse, 'The Mysterious Mother', which pleased him so much that he built an octagonal room for them at Strawberry Hill, which he called the Beauclerk Closet. Walpole expressed his enthusiasm for enamelling in 1759 at the end of a commission for an enamelled watch which he arranged for Sir Horace Mann: 'if anything a quarter so pretty was found in Herculaneum we should admire their enamellers more than their Scipios and Caesars'.
Design & Designing
From the late 1760s the taste for Neo-classical design favoured enamelling which imitated cameos. The white heads or figures stand out from the chocolate ground.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Enamelled gold |
| Brief description | Enamelled gold bodkin case made in London, ca. 1780 |
| Physical description | Enamelled gold bodkin case with blue enamel ribbons and flowers framing four cameos on a chocolate ground. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | 'A present from Lady Diana Beauclerk to Sir Horace Walpole' |
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Acquired in memory of Prof. G. M. Petersen |
| Object history | Made in London Given to Sir Horace Walpole by Lady Diana Beauclerk, a young lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte. The case was sold to Henry Farrer in 1838. On 17 June 1963 it was lot 268 in the sale by Sotheby's of objects owned by Sir A. Chester Beatty: bought by Hakim, a London dealer. Walpole Exhibition, V&A RF.2008/527 Sterckshof Exhibition, RF.2010/400 |
| Summary | Object Type This case would usually be described as a needle or bodkin case, an elegant case in which a lady could keep her sewing and dressing implements. However, in the 1784 catalogue (p. 66) of Horace Walpole's collection at Strawberry Hill, his house at Twickenham, it is described as a 'tooth-pick case of gold, enamelled with cameos; a present from Lady Diana Beauclerc'. People Lady Diana Beauclerk was an amateur painter of considerable talent and a close friend of Horace Walpole. She was praised by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and she was the author of designs which were used in ceramics by Wedgwood. In 1775, Beauclerk executed seven drawings illustrating Walpole's tragedy in blank verse, 'The Mysterious Mother', which pleased him so much that he built an octagonal room for them at Strawberry Hill, which he called the Beauclerk Closet. Walpole expressed his enthusiasm for enamelling in 1759 at the end of a commission for an enamelled watch which he arranged for Sir Horace Mann: 'if anything a quarter so pretty was found in Herculaneum we should admire their enamellers more than their Scipios and Caesars'. Design & Designing From the late 1760s the taste for Neo-classical design favoured enamelling which imitated cameos. The white heads or figures stand out from the chocolate ground. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.7:1, 2-1998 |
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
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | November 17, 1999 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
