Interior Design Model thumbnail 1
Interior Design Model thumbnail 2
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Interior Design Model

1953 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.

In 1953, the Dorchester Hotel, London asked Messel to design a suite of rooms he would like to live in himself. The luxurious suite of rooms and penthouse became known as the ‘Oliver Messel Suite’. The suite and penthouse were restored in 1981 and continue to be in demand.

The penthouse dining room resembles a decorative arbour, with interlaced gilded branches and leaves on a background of mirrors framed by Burgundy curtains. Half-birdcages act as light fittings. Messel also designed the carpet, and created a sculpture of Bacchus to stand above the fireplace. He created a small ornamental garden with a fountain surmounted by a statue of Leda and the Swan and cupids for the balcony.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Wood, cardboard, fabric, and paint.
Brief description
Model by Oliver Messel for the interior of the Dorchester Hotel Penthouse and roof garden, 1953.
Physical description
A model for the interior design of the Dorchester Hotel Penthouse, 1953. A dining room with burgundy curtains and gilded organic decoration on the walls. The dining room leads to a roof garden, which consists of plants, gazebos and a fountain surmounted by Leda and the swan. Carpet designed by Messel.
Dimensions
  • Height: 57.5cm
  • Width: 60cm
  • Depth: 38.1cm
Production typeModel
Credit line
Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A
Object history
The Dorchester Hotel asked Messel to design a luxury apartment he would like to live in himself. The suite of rooms and penthouse became known as the ‘Oliver Messel Suite’, occupying the seventh and eighth floor of the hotel respectively. The silk manufacturer Sekers supplied fabrics for the chintz upholestry designed by Messel and Luforma Ltd. of Castle Northwick made carpets to Messel’s designs.
He also designed an ornamental roof garden and fountain surmounted by Leda and the Swan for the penthouse suite. In 1956 Messel returned to the Dorchester Hotel, creating interior designs for the Pavilion Room. The designs for this room were inspired by Messel’s designs for The Magic Flute (1947). The Oliver Messel Suite was restored in 1981 by the Dorchester Hotel; the original fabrics were replaced with Fortuny fabrics.
Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005.

Historical significance: Messel's most well known interior design and his largest decorative commission in London.
Production
Reason For Production: Commission
Summary
Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.

In 1953, the Dorchester Hotel, London asked Messel to design a suite of rooms he would like to live in himself. The luxurious suite of rooms and penthouse became known as the ‘Oliver Messel Suite’. The suite and penthouse were restored in 1981 and continue to be in demand.

The penthouse dining room resembles a decorative arbour, with interlaced gilded branches and leaves on a background of mirrors framed by Burgundy curtains. Half-birdcages act as light fittings. Messel also designed the carpet, and created a sculpture of Bacchus to stand above the fireplace. He created a small ornamental garden with a fountain surmounted by a statue of Leda and the Swan and cupids for the balcony.
Associated object
S.226-2006 (Ensemble)
Bibliographic reference
Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel, London, V&A, 1983
Other number
ROT 8877:1 - TM Rotation Number
Collection
Accession number
S.227-2006

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Record createdJuly 31, 2006
Record URL
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