Not currently on display at the V&A

Vice

Costume Design
ca.1860 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a design by Richard Wynn Keene or Dykwynkyn (1809-1887), for the character of Vice, probably in a pantomime.The quote is a reference to the lines in Alexander Pope's poem Essay on Man:
Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.'

Dykwynkyn specialised in costumes and 'big heads' for pantomimes, especially at Drury Lane and Her Majesty's Theatres in the 1860s, and in one playbill featuring his work was referred to as the 'artist, sculptor, mask and property maker and costume designer Richard Keene.' In an article of 1867 the playwright T.W. Robertson described him as 'the presiding genius of all theatrical Christmas revels.'

For his pantomime work Keene used the name Dykwynkyn which he often characteristically signed on an artist's palette on the ground. He was also responsible for designs for a number of other lavish productions of the day, and for these he was billed as Mr. R.W. Keene.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleVice (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pencil and watercolour on paper
Brief description
Costume design for Vice, a character probably in an unidentified pantomime, ca.1860. Pencil and watercolour by Dykwynkyn - Richard Wynn Keene (1809-1887).
Physical description
Pencil and watercolour costume design on cream paper for the character Vice, a grimacing bald man with a bulging stomach, a reptilian webbed ruff and skirt and bifocated toes, brandishing in his left hand a katar, or Indian punch-dagger, and holding a decanter in his right. Inscribed in ink below: 'Vice - is a monster so hideous in (mien) that to be hated - needs but - to be seen'
Dimensions
  • Height: 19.0cm
  • Width: 14.0cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Inscribed in ink: 'Vice - is a monster so hideous in (word missing but should be 'mien') that to be hated - needs but - to be seen' (The inscription is a version of the quote from Alexander Pope's Essay on Man, Epistle II: Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As, to be hated, needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace.)
  • Dykwynkyn (Signed in pen and ink on the shape of an artist's palette on which the character is standing.)
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a design by Richard Wynn Keene or Dykwynkyn (1809-1887), for the character of Vice, probably in a pantomime.The quote is a reference to the lines in Alexander Pope's poem Essay on Man:
Vice is a monster of so frightful mien,
As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.'

Dykwynkyn specialised in costumes and 'big heads' for pantomimes, especially at Drury Lane and Her Majesty's Theatres in the 1860s, and in one playbill featuring his work was referred to as the 'artist, sculptor, mask and property maker and costume designer Richard Keene.' In an article of 1867 the playwright T.W. Robertson described him as 'the presiding genius of all theatrical Christmas revels.'

For his pantomime work Keene used the name Dykwynkyn which he often characteristically signed on an artist's palette on the ground. He was also responsible for designs for a number of other lavish productions of the day, and for these he was billed as Mr. R.W. Keene.
Collection
Accession number
S.246-2011

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 createdMay 23, 2011
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest