FLEMISH BRICKS AND DUTCH METAL
Costume Design
1860 (designed)
1860 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is one of a set of seven designs by Richard Wynn Keene or Dykwynkyn (1809-1887), for an assortment of comic Knights in the first Christmas pantomime ever staged at Her Majesty's Theatre which opened on Christmas Eve, 1860. Harlequin and Tom Thumb!, or, Merlin The Magician and the Good Fairies of the Court of King Arthur was by all accounts a splendid pantomime, with brilliant set designs supervised by the well-known scene designer William Beverley, and remarkable costumes and the pantomime 'big heads' designed by the artist, sculptor, mask and property maker and costume designer known as Dykwynkyn. 'Big heads' traditionally featured in the opening of pantomimes at this date, and their design was a speciality of Dykwynkyn's.
The Knights in Tom Thumb appeared in 'The Banqueting Hall in the Palace of King Arthur', the scene in the Harlequinade in which Tom Thumb lived in King Arthur's Court. This design is entitled 'Flemish Bricks and Dutch Metal'. The Knights with the cockerel on their banner and shield relate to the 'Flemish Bricks' of the title, while that with the kettles on his shield relate to the 'Dutch Metal'.
The Knights in Tom Thumb appeared in 'The Banqueting Hall in the Palace of King Arthur', the scene in the Harlequinade in which Tom Thumb lived in King Arthur's Court. This design is entitled 'Flemish Bricks and Dutch Metal'. The Knights with the cockerel on their banner and shield relate to the 'Flemish Bricks' of the title, while that with the kettles on his shield relate to the 'Dutch Metal'.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | FLEMISH BRICKS AND DUTCH METAL (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Costume design for a group of knights, captioned 'Flemish Bricks and Dutch Metal', one of several Knight designs for the pantomime Harlequin and Tom Thumb! or, Merlin The Magician, & the Good Fairies of the Court of King Arthur, Her Majesty's Theatre, 24 December 1860. Pencil and watercolour by 'Dykwynkyn' - Richard Wynn Keene (1809-1887) |
| Physical description | Pencil and watercolour costume design on cream paper pasted on card for 'Flemish Bricks and Dutch Metal', depicting four knights. Two knights, at left, facing forwards, one holding a banner emblazoned with a crowing cockerel and one with a double-headed axe and a shield with a crowing cockerel emblem. At right, two knights, one, viewed from the back, holds an axe and a shield, and the other, viewed from the side, holds axe and a shield with a design of three kettles. Signed Dykwynkyn on a palette design. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by Mrs. W.W. Smith |
| Object history | Given to the donor in the 1920s by her husband's aunt, a friend of Florence Glossop Harris, daughter of Sir Augustus Harrris and wife of Frank Cellier. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is one of a set of seven designs by Richard Wynn Keene or Dykwynkyn (1809-1887), for an assortment of comic Knights in the first Christmas pantomime ever staged at Her Majesty's Theatre which opened on Christmas Eve, 1860. Harlequin and Tom Thumb!, or, Merlin The Magician and the Good Fairies of the Court of King Arthur was by all accounts a splendid pantomime, with brilliant set designs supervised by the well-known scene designer William Beverley, and remarkable costumes and the pantomime 'big heads' designed by the artist, sculptor, mask and property maker and costume designer known as Dykwynkyn. 'Big heads' traditionally featured in the opening of pantomimes at this date, and their design was a speciality of Dykwynkyn's. The Knights in Tom Thumb appeared in 'The Banqueting Hall in the Palace of King Arthur', the scene in the Harlequinade in which Tom Thumb lived in King Arthur's Court. This design is entitled 'Flemish Bricks and Dutch Metal'. The Knights with the cockerel on their banner and shield relate to the 'Flemish Bricks' of the title, while that with the kettles on his shield relate to the 'Dutch Metal'. |
| Associated objects |
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| Other number | S.12-2008 - Cancelled number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.736-1987 |
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| Record created | February 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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