The Indian Court and Jewels
Watercolour
1851 (made)
1851 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Great Exhibition of 1851 took place at Hyde Park in a revolutionary glass and iron building known as the 'Crystal Palace'. It included over 13,000 exhibits and was the first international exhibition of manufactured products.
The exhibition attracted more than six million visitors, equivalent to a third of the population of Great Britain. This watercolour is from a group of images reproduced as colour lithographs in Recollections of the Great Exhibition, a lavish contemporary souvenir guide. The profits from the Great Exhibition were used to fund several science and art initiatives in South Kensington. They included what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose earliest surviving building was erected in 1857.
This watercolour shows the Indian Court and Jewels. The Indian items on display include jewellery, textiles and model boats. After the closure of the exhibition in October 1851, a parliamentary grant of £5000 was given to the V&A to finance the creation of its core collections. £1500 of this was spent on Indian manufactures, some of which were purchased from the exhibition.
The exhibition attracted more than six million visitors, equivalent to a third of the population of Great Britain. This watercolour is from a group of images reproduced as colour lithographs in Recollections of the Great Exhibition, a lavish contemporary souvenir guide. The profits from the Great Exhibition were used to fund several science and art initiatives in South Kensington. They included what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose earliest surviving building was erected in 1857.
This watercolour shows the Indian Court and Jewels. The Indian items on display include jewellery, textiles and model boats. After the closure of the exhibition in October 1851, a parliamentary grant of £5000 was given to the V&A to finance the creation of its core collections. £1500 of this was spent on Indian manufactures, some of which were purchased from the exhibition.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Indian Court and Jewels (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and gouache over pencil on paper |
| Brief description | Watercolour, Interior view of the Great Exhibtion - 'The Indian Court and Jewels', by Henry Clarke Pidgeon, 1851 |
| Physical description | Watercolour of an interior view of the Great Exhibtion - 'The Indian Court and Jewels' |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Purchased with Art Fund support and assistance from the Friends of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | The Great Exhibition of 1851 took place at Hyde Park in a revolutionary glass and iron building known as the 'Crystal Palace'. It included over 13,000 exhibits and was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. The exhibition attracted more than six million visitors, equivalent to a third of the population of Great Britain. This watercolour is from a group of images reproduced as colour lithographs in Recollections of the Great Exhibition, a lavish contemporary souvenir guide. The profits from the Great Exhibition were used to fund several science and art initiatives in South Kensington. They included what is now the Victoria and Albert Museum, whose earliest surviving building was erected in 1857. This watercolour shows the Indian Court and Jewels. The Indian items on display include jewellery, textiles and model boats. After the closure of the exhibition in October 1851, a parliamentary grant of £5000 was given to the V&A to finance the creation of its core collections. £1500 of this was spent on Indian manufactures, some of which were purchased from the exhibition. |
| Associated object | 19538:3 (Reproduction) |
| Bibliographic reference | Julius Bryant, ed. Art and Design for All. The Victoria and Albert Museum London: V&A Publishing, 2011. ISBN: 9781851776665. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.12-2007 |
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| Record created | May 16, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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