Caesar and Cleopatra
Theatre Costume
ca. 1945 (designed)
ca. 1945 (designed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
In 1944, the designer Oliver Messel was released from his war duties in camouflage to work on the film Caesar and Cleopatra, adapted from George Bernard Shaw's play. It was the only colour film on which he ever worked. A master of pastiche period style, Messel brought all his imagination and ingenuity to creating Roman and Egyptian costumes and settings in the context of the mid 1940s.
Wartime shortages of materials was no problem for Messel, who knew that in theatre and on film, an accurate depiction of reality was not required. He had always been creative in his use of unexpected materials, and to make this armband needed no 'real' gold metal or chased decoration. The base is possibly a light metal edged with strong yet flexible millinery wire, the whole overlaid with brown paper adhesive tape and then painted to simulate gold. Onto this was fixed the decoration of upstretched 'angel' wings, made of moulded leather antiqued to simulate gold metal.
A number of these armbands survive, each with a different attachment, and, given wartime personnel shortages, Messel may have made some of the extant examples himself; they may be prototypes to be followed by other makers. He rarely designed anything without knowing how he wanted it made to give the full impact on stage or film.
Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel’s style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Carribean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas.
Wartime shortages of materials was no problem for Messel, who knew that in theatre and on film, an accurate depiction of reality was not required. He had always been creative in his use of unexpected materials, and to make this armband needed no 'real' gold metal or chased decoration. The base is possibly a light metal edged with strong yet flexible millinery wire, the whole overlaid with brown paper adhesive tape and then painted to simulate gold. Onto this was fixed the decoration of upstretched 'angel' wings, made of moulded leather antiqued to simulate gold metal.
A number of these armbands survive, each with a different attachment, and, given wartime personnel shortages, Messel may have made some of the extant examples himself; they may be prototypes to be followed by other makers. He rarely designed anything without knowing how he wanted it made to give the full impact on stage or film.
Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel’s style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Carribean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Caesar and Cleopatra (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | leather, metal, millinery wire, adhesive paper tape, paint, thread, elastic |
Brief description | Armband for a Roman soldier, decorated with upstanding wings, designed by Oliver Messel ca.1945 for the film Caesar and Cleopatra, adapted from the play by George Bernard Shaw. |
Physical description | Armband, open at the back, made from a lightweight pliable material, possibly metal, edged with millinery wire covered with brown paper and painted gold. Sewn onto the front are two wings of moulded leather with antiqued finish, backed with brown paper tape. Down each back edge are three small holes, through one of which is a length of elastic painted gold. |
Dimensions |
|
Production type | Design |
Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
Object history | The film of George Bernard Shaw's play Caesar and Cleopatra, starring Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh, was directed by Gabriel Pascal and released in England in 1945. Messel designed the costumes and the set interiors and may have made some of the accessories himself, either as prototypes or for use in the film. It was the only colour film which he designed. Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's remaining designs and artefacts (many designs were sold or given away during the artist's lifetime). The collection was briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being placed on indefinite loan to the V&A Theatre Museum from 1981. The Oliver Messel Collection was purchased from Lord Snowdon in 2005 with the aid of the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A. |
Production | Designed for the film of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra, released in England in 1945. Reason For Production: Commission |
Summary | In 1944, the designer Oliver Messel was released from his war duties in camouflage to work on the film Caesar and Cleopatra, adapted from George Bernard Shaw's play. It was the only colour film on which he ever worked. A master of pastiche period style, Messel brought all his imagination and ingenuity to creating Roman and Egyptian costumes and settings in the context of the mid 1940s. Wartime shortages of materials was no problem for Messel, who knew that in theatre and on film, an accurate depiction of reality was not required. He had always been creative in his use of unexpected materials, and to make this armband needed no 'real' gold metal or chased decoration. The base is possibly a light metal edged with strong yet flexible millinery wire, the whole overlaid with brown paper adhesive tape and then painted to simulate gold. Onto this was fixed the decoration of upstretched 'angel' wings, made of moulded leather antiqued to simulate gold metal. A number of these armbands survive, each with a different attachment, and, given wartime personnel shortages, Messel may have made some of the extant examples himself; they may be prototypes to be followed by other makers. He rarely designed anything without knowing how he wanted it made to give the full impact on stage or film. Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, working in every aspect of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic designs informed by period styles, were perfectly in tune with his times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, Messel’s style had become unfashionable, having no sympathy with the new 'kitchen sink' school of theatre. He increasingly concentrated on his non-theatrical painting and designing and eventually retired to the Carribean, where he began a new career designing and building highly idiosyncratic luxury villas. |
Bibliographic reference | Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel: an exhibition held at the Theatre Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, 22 June - 30 September 1983.
London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983. 200p., ill
ISBN 0905209508) |
Other number | No ROT number assigned - TM Rotation Number |
Collection | |
Accession number | S.524-2006 |
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Record created | October 26, 2006 |
Record URL |
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