Designs for knife handles
Design
ca. 1847 (made)
ca. 1847 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Richard Redgrave (1804-1888) was a painter and book illustrator. He was one of the few artists of his time admired by the Pre-Raphaelites. In 1847 he was appointed Botanical Lecturer at the Government School of Design at Marlborough House in London. This was the ancestor of the Royal College of Art. Redgrave made these designs for Henry Cole’s ‘Summerly’s Art Manufactures’. The knife handles are based on subtle organic shapes worthy of a sculptor. They are asymmetric but provide a good grip, and are well proportioned. At the time they would have seemed completely modern. Redgrave wrote on the use of botanical forms in ornament and published books on the practice of design.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Designs for knife handles (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil and watercolour |
| Brief description | Designs [4] for knife handles, by Richard Redgrave, pencil and watercolour, 1847. |
| Physical description | Pencil and watercolour drawing on paper |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Credit line | Presented by A. S. Cole, Esq., CB |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Richard Redgrave (1804-1888) was a painter and book illustrator. He was one of the few artists of his time admired by the Pre-Raphaelites. In 1847 he was appointed Botanical Lecturer at the Government School of Design at Marlborough House in London. This was the ancestor of the Royal College of Art. Redgrave made these designs for Henry Cole’s ‘Summerly’s Art Manufactures’. The knife handles are based on subtle organic shapes worthy of a sculptor. They are asymmetric but provide a good grip, and are well proportioned. At the time they would have seemed completely modern. Redgrave wrote on the use of botanical forms in ornament and published books on the practice of design. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.5871-1910 |
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| Record created | January 31, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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