Venetian Mirror
Photograph
1853 (photographed)
1853 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In 1853, Charles Thurston Thompson, the first Official Photographer of the South Kensington Museum (later the V&A), was commissioned to photograph a loan exhibition of furniture at Gore House, London. It was the first of many photographic campaigns documenting temporary loan exhibitions that were to become a hallmark of the Museum's photographic service. Such loan objects were photographed prior to their return to lenders so that photographic copies could be sold to designers, craftsmen and students, and also filed in the Museum's library for study. Thompson inadvertently included himself and his camera, reflected in the mirror. It gives us a vivid glimpse of a photographer at work outdoors - in the garden at Gore House - in the early days of the Museum and the profession of Museum Photography.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Venetian Mirror (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print |
| Brief description | Photograph by Charles Thurston Thompson, 'Venetian Mirror, circa 1700 (Mr John Webb)' from the album Furniture Exhibited at Gore House, Vol. II, albumen print, 1853 |
| Physical description | A sepia-colured photograph of an ornately carved gilded mirror. In the reflection is visible trees, a camera on tripod and a figure operating the camera. The photograph is mounted in a bound 91 page album of 142 prints. This print is mounted with another print, with the National Art Library Stamp visible upper centre. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | In 1853, Charles Thurston Thompson, the first Official Photographer of the South Kensington Museum (later the V&A), was commissioned to photograph a loan exhibition of furniture at Gore House, London. It was the first of many photographic campaigns documenting temporary loan exhibitions that were to become a hallmark of the Museum's photographic service. Such loan objects were photographed prior to their return to lenders so that photographic copies could be sold to designers, craftsmen and students, and also filed in the Museum's library for study. Thompson inadvertently included himself and his camera, reflected in the mirror. It gives us a vivid glimpse of a photographer at work outdoors - in the garden at Gore House - in the early days of the Museum and the profession of Museum Photography. |
| Associated object | 39:833 (Version) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 32638 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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