Bracket (One of a Pair)
ca. 1730 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This bracket and its pair (museum no. W.1A-1988) are mentioned in the 1740 inventory of the contents of Tottenham Park, described as 'ten poettes heads on painted and gilt brackets (one ditto of Mr. Pope)'.
Design
They are carved in imitation of stone and enriched with water gilding. The upper edge of the plinth has a cyma reversa moulding - that is a moulding that is convex in its upper part and concave below. The plinths are supported by scroll-shaped brackets decorated with a bead and reel moulding flanked by outward-facing cyma reversa borders. The C-scroll pendant frames an acanthus leaf.
Materials & Making
Water gilding gives a particularly bright and shiny effect, unlike oil gilding which is duller. In water gilding, the base coat (a reddish clay known as 'bole') is moistened with water before the gold leaf is applied. When the work is dry the gold is burnished with a special tool.
People
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, was the chief proponent of the Palladian style. He designed Tottenham Park, Wiltshire, from 1721, adding four corner pavilions in 1738. The house belonged to Charles, Viscount Bruce who had married Burlington's sister, Juliana, in 1719. It was Burlington's first architectural commission and launched his career as an architect.
The interior furnishings were designed by William Kent.
This bracket and its pair (museum no. W.1A-1988) are mentioned in the 1740 inventory of the contents of Tottenham Park, described as 'ten poettes heads on painted and gilt brackets (one ditto of Mr. Pope)'.
Design
They are carved in imitation of stone and enriched with water gilding. The upper edge of the plinth has a cyma reversa moulding - that is a moulding that is convex in its upper part and concave below. The plinths are supported by scroll-shaped brackets decorated with a bead and reel moulding flanked by outward-facing cyma reversa borders. The C-scroll pendant frames an acanthus leaf.
Materials & Making
Water gilding gives a particularly bright and shiny effect, unlike oil gilding which is duller. In water gilding, the base coat (a reddish clay known as 'bole') is moistened with water before the gold leaf is applied. When the work is dry the gold is burnished with a special tool.
People
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, was the chief proponent of the Palladian style. He designed Tottenham Park, Wiltshire, from 1721, adding four corner pavilions in 1738. The house belonged to Charles, Viscount Bruce who had married Burlington's sister, Juliana, in 1719. It was Burlington's first architectural commission and launched his career as an architect.
The interior furnishings were designed by William Kent.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Painted and gilded softwood |
| Brief description | Bracket of painted and gilded wood, of scrolling console form. Designed by William Kent for Tottenham Park, Wiltshire, 1729-1732. |
| Physical description | Wall bracket, one of a pair (and originally of a larger set), of carved softwood, painted and gilded, the bracket in the form of a scrolled console, supporting a square shelf. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the Brigadier Clark Fund through Art Fund |
| Object history | Designed by William Kent (born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, 1685, died in London, 1748) and almost certainly made in London. Susan Weber (see ref, 2013) discusses them in relation to other brackets designed by Kent. They were made for Tottenham Park, Wiltshire, 1729-1732 and recorded in Tottenham's 1740 inventory as among '10 Poetts heads on painted and gilt bracketts one Ditto of Mr. Pope' in the study of Lord Bruce'. |
| Summary | Object Type This bracket and its pair (museum no. W.1A-1988) are mentioned in the 1740 inventory of the contents of Tottenham Park, described as 'ten poettes heads on painted and gilt brackets (one ditto of Mr. Pope)'. Design They are carved in imitation of stone and enriched with water gilding. The upper edge of the plinth has a cyma reversa moulding - that is a moulding that is convex in its upper part and concave below. The plinths are supported by scroll-shaped brackets decorated with a bead and reel moulding flanked by outward-facing cyma reversa borders. The C-scroll pendant frames an acanthus leaf. Materials & Making Water gilding gives a particularly bright and shiny effect, unlike oil gilding which is duller. In water gilding, the base coat (a reddish clay known as 'bole') is moistened with water before the gold leaf is applied. When the work is dry the gold is burnished with a special tool. People Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, was the chief proponent of the Palladian style. He designed Tottenham Park, Wiltshire, from 1721, adding four corner pavilions in 1738. The house belonged to Charles, Viscount Bruce who had married Burlington's sister, Juliana, in 1719. It was Burlington's first architectural commission and launched his career as an architect. The interior furnishings were designed by William Kent. |
| Associated object | W.1A-1988 (Pair) |
| Bibliographic reference | Weber, Susan, 'Kent and the Georgian Baroque Style in Furniture: Domestic Commisions', in Susan Weber (ed.), William Kent. Designing Georgian Britain (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, published for the Bard Center, New York, 2013, to accompany the exhibition of the same name held at the Bard Center, New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2013-2014), pp. 469-526, illustrated p. 508. fig. 18.56 and discussed p. 509. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.1-1988 |
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| Record created | June 11, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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