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Tray
Richard Redgrave, born 1804 - died 1888 - Enlarge image
Tray
- Place of origin:
Birmingham, England (made)
- Date:
1865 (made)
1847 (designed) - Artist/Maker:
Richard Redgrave, born 1804 - died 1888 (designer)
Jennens & Bettridge (maker) - Materials and Techniques:
Papier-mâché, japanned and gilded, with appliqué of mother-of-pearl
- Museum number:
132-1865
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 122g, case 2
Object Type
Shaped trays were popular with the Victorians as they combined new designs with a practical function. This wine tray was designed to hold two decanters and glasses so that wine or sherry could be served more easily to groups of people.
People
Henry Cole (1808-1882) and his friend the artist Richard Redgrave (1804-1888) collaborated over several products for Summerley's Art Manufactures in 1847. They visited Jennens & Bettridge and another papier-mâché manufacturer, Frederick Walton of Wolverhampton, to discuss designs. Redgrave's design for tray, decanters and glasses was approved by Cole in September 1847 and John Bettridge, who had agreed to make the tray, produced the first example in January 1848. Cole bought this tray from Bettridge in 1865 for £3 4s (£3.20) for the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A).
Trading
Cole optimistically advertised this 'supper tray', as he called it, with decanters and glasses in October 1847, although the first example was not ready until January 1848. He continued to promote this new design by including it in an exhibition that he organised at the Royal Society of Arts, London, in 1848. Jennens & Bettridge showed the tray on their stand at the Exposition of Arts and Manufactures, Birmingham, in 1849, which was praised by Cole in the Journal of Design.
