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Silver Plaque, Palace of Necessidades, Lisbon

Photograph
1866 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Sir Henry Cole, the first director of South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) understood the importance of photography as an extension of the resources of the Museum. He saw a role for photography in terms of documenting and promoting the Museum’s collection, as well as a tool for art education. In 1856, When Cole appointed his brother-in-law, Charles Thurston Thompson, as Museum Photographer, the first museum photographic service was born.

Under Cole’s direction, the Museum sourced photographs from a wide range of suppliers and sponsored photographic campaigns abroad. In 1866, Thurston Thompson traveled to Iberia armed with a registry of desirable items for photographing. Included among the list were objects from the collections of the Royal Palaces in Lisbon. The lack of contextuality of these photographs points to Thurston Thompson’s belief in his role as a documentary photographer.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSilver Plaque, Palace of Necessidades, Lisbon (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Albumen print
Brief description
Photograph by Charles Thurston Thompson, Silver Plaque, Palace of Necessidades, Lisbon, albumen print, 1866
Physical description
A mounted sepia-coloured photograph of a metal plaque with repoussé work, depicting a classical interior scene in ornate frame with large ribbon on top of frame. Bound with 80 other photographs in album, each with printed label.
Dimensions
  • Album cover height: 55cm
  • Album cover width: 47cm
Subject depicted
Association
Summary
Sir Henry Cole, the first director of South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) understood the importance of photography as an extension of the resources of the Museum. He saw a role for photography in terms of documenting and promoting the Museum’s collection, as well as a tool for art education. In 1856, When Cole appointed his brother-in-law, Charles Thurston Thompson, as Museum Photographer, the first museum photographic service was born.

Under Cole’s direction, the Museum sourced photographs from a wide range of suppliers and sponsored photographic campaigns abroad. In 1866, Thurston Thompson traveled to Iberia armed with a registry of desirable items for photographing. Included among the list were objects from the collections of the Royal Palaces in Lisbon. The lack of contextuality of these photographs points to Thurston Thompson’s belief in his role as a documentary photographer.
Collection
Accession number
58526

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Record createdJuly 1, 2009
Record URL
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