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Design
Fildes, Luke - Enlarge image
Design
- Date:
1863 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Fildes, Luke (Sir, KB, KCVO, RA), born 1844 - died 1927 (designer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Watercolour, bodycolour and gold paint on paper
- Museum number:
E.1946-1909
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D, case EXP
Object Type
This is one of a set of four highly finished designs for presentation to the examiners of the 'National Competition'. The National Art Library collected drawings for the applied arts from 1852. This example was bought to be used as a teaching aid by the School of Design (now the Royal College of Art).
Design & Designing
The influence of engraved ornament can be seen in Fildes' use of delicate pattern for this design. These forms were also used in a set of playing cards designed by Virgil Solis, a goldsmith from Nuremberg, in the early 16th century. The arabesque forms also show the influence of Owen Jones' book The Grammar of Ornament (1856), which was used as a teaching aid in art schools.
People
Owen Jones (1809-1874) was one of a number of celebrated artists who designed the backs of playing cards for the London firm of De la Rue. Jones used floral motifs as well as drawing on other features from a variety of sources that appeared in his Grammar of Ornament. The label has been signed by Richard Redgrave, who was the head of the National Art Training School in 1863.
Subjects Depicted
The design incorporates stylised floral forms, which most closely resemble a type of convolvulus.
