Shellwork vase of flowers, made by Mrs Beal-Bonnell and her niece, housed under a glass dome. English, 1779-1781.

Shellwork vase of flowers under a glass dome.

Given by Mrs Mavis Hudson

Made by Mrs Beal Bonnell and Miss Harvey Bonnell. The Bonnell family, of Pelling Place, Old Windsor, were friends of Queen Charlotte and shared her interest in a variety of decorative arts.

There is a portrait by Romney of Mrs Bonnell in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (P.D. 131-1992), in a giltwood frame by the carver and gilder T. Fentham (see Christopher Gilbert, 'Pictorial Dictionary of Marked London Furniture 1700-1840', Leeds, 1999, p.199).

Simon Jervis, writing on 'Furniture in Eighteenth-Century House Guides' in 'Furniture History', vol. XLII (2006), pp. 63-152, on p. 76 writes:' And at Pelling Place the Hall and the Breakfast Parlour had furniture of painted velvet, which, like other painting and embroidery at Pelling, seems to have been executed by Mrs Bonnell, of whom it was said that the eight bed rooms and dressing rooms upstairs were "decorated with equal Taste and Ingenuity by the same Lady". Mrs Bonnell is the only woman in the Appendix [of the article, where, under Pelling is reference to Angus, 'Seats', London, 1787, where she is 'credited with such oversight of a whole house'. In note 10 (which is appended to the last sentence', SSJ writes 'She was evidently a woman of character, who for many years gave a Christmas dinner to 75 poor people of Windsor, a benefaction which continued under her will.'

The family was obviously highly skillled. A filigree paper (rolled-paper-work) cabinet on stand with silkwork panels, dated 1787, by Mary Anne Harvey Bonnell, was illustrated in

Probably made at Pelling place, Berkshire, the home of the Bonnells

Object Type
This vase is a typical example of shellwork ornament from the late 18th century. The flowers are made from naturally coloured sea shells held together by wires. Wire and string form the 'stems', and these are stuck into a wooden vase, also decorated with shells. The vase was displayed on a mantlepiece underneath a glass dome at the Bonnell family home, Pelling Place, Old Windsor, Berkshire. It is said to have been one of a pair, the second being presented to Queen Adelaide when she breakfasted with the Bonnell family at their home. However, a second vase has not been traced.

Social Class
Shellwork was particularly popular with middle- and upper-class ladies of fashion, who could afford the often expensive materials. They also had the leisure time to devote to such artistic pursuits, developing the skills required to make complex ornaments, to decorate fernery grottoes attached to the house and small domestic objects, such as boxes, tea caddies and tables.

Materials & Making
Shells were being imported into Britain in large quantities in the late 18th century, and could be bought from specialist shops such as 'Mr Castle's Grotto' in London. Other materials, such as wooden vases and basket shapes, were supplied by cabinet-makers. It was usual for ladies to store their shells in partitioned wooden boxes. This was a practical way of organising colours and varieties ready for use. The small compartments were often designed in geometric patterns, which, when filled with shells, gave the box a decorative quality of its own.

W.70-1981