'Antinous' and Egyptian female figure, about 1800. Museum no. A.4-1974 and A.5-1974 (female)

'Antinous' and Egyptian female figure, about 1800. Museum no. A.4-1974 and A.5-1974 (female)

On display in Room 101

'Antinous' and Egyptian female figure
Probably Italy
About 1800
Rosso antico marble
Width 8 cm x height 33 cm x depth 13 cm and width 7.5 cm x height 50 cm x depth 12 cm (female)
Museum no. A.4-1974 and A.5-1974 (female)
Bequeathed by the 7th Duke of Wellington through The Art Fund

Thomas Hope furnished his Egyptian room in his London home in Duchess Street, W1, London, with marble figures including these ones. Two of these figures were sold in the great sale at The Deepdene, Hope's country house, in 1917. They were subsequently owned by Lord Gerald Wellesley, later 7th Duke of Wellington, a knowledgeable collector of Regency furniture, who bequeathed them to the Museum.

'Mrs Freeman as Isis', Anne Seymour Damer

'Mrs Freeman as Isis', Anne Seymour Damer, about 1789. Museum no. A.31-1931, Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh FSA

On display in Gallery 120

'Mrs Freeman as Isis'
Anne Seymour Damer (1748-1828)
England
About 1789
Marble
Width 23 cm x depth 24 cm
Museum no. A.31-1931
Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh FSA

This bust, showing Mrs Freeman as the Egyptian goddess Isis, belonged to Thomas Hope who may have displayed it in the Egyptian Room in his country house, the Deepdene, in Surrey. Mrs Freeman was a close friend of the sculptor, Anne Seymour Damer. The musical instrument carved on the socle( the short plinth supporting the sculpture) is a sistrum, which was used in Ancient Egypt.

Anne Seymour Damer, nee Conway, had married the Hon. John Damer in 1767, but, following his suicide, trained as a sculptor. She was a cousin of Horace Walpole (1717-1797), who warmly encouraged her, and who declared her on one occasion (perhaps half in jest) to be the equal of Praxiteles. Walpole bequeathed his country house, Strawberry Hill at Twickenham, to Damer and her sister. Damer practised as an amateur, being an aristocratic woman, and for this reason was not perhaps always accorded the recognition she deserved. She exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1784 to 1818, executing a variety of subjects, usually in stone or marble. She was also a novelist and stage performer.

Damer's good friend Mrs Freeman ('Mrs' was used indistinguishably for both married and single women in the 18th century) was noted in the diary of a contemporary - the artist Joseph Farington (1747-1821) - as the mistress of the author and engraver Samuel Ireland.

Bell krater vase, about 390 BC. Museum no. C.1776-1919

Bell krater vase, about 390 BC. Museum no. C.1776-1919

On display in Room 120

Bell krater vase
Italy (Etruscan)
About 390 BC
Earthenware
Museum no. C.1776-1919

Thomas Hope had a large collection of Ancient Greek vases including this example, which he arranged in a series of small rooms in his London house in Duchess Street, W.1. He admired the vases for their beauty and used the details of costume, armour, hair styles, furniture and decorative patterns as inspiration for his own designs in the Greek Revival style.

Bell krater vase (reverse detail), about 390 BC. Museum no. C.1776-1919

In 1801 Hope purchased the second collection of ancient vases formed by Sir William Hamilton, formerly the British Ambassador to the Naples court. These formed the nucleus for Hope's own collection of vases, which he displayed at Duchess Street.

Materials & Technique

This ancient Greek vase with two handles was used to mix wine and water. It is decorated in the 'red figure' technique in which the areas surrounding the figures are painted in a slip (mixture of clay and water), leaving the red pottery showing through. Careful control of the firing process allowed Greek potters to oxidise the body of the pot, turning it red, by keeping the kiln well ventilated. The kiln was then starved of oxygen and filled with carbon monoxide (by using wet fuel), causing the slip to turn black. The kiln was then again well ventilated.

Tea urn, Benjamin Smith and Digby Scott

Tea urn, Benjamin Smith and Digby Scott, 1816-17. Museum no. M.2:1-2004

On display in Room 120

Tea urn
Benjamin Smith (1764-1823) and Digby Scott (1763-1816)
England
1816-17
Silver gilt
Height 35.8 cm x length 37.4 cm (maximum with spout) x diameter 28.4 cm
Museum no. M.2:1-2004

Thomas Hope admired French Empire designs in interiors, furniture and metalwork, like the tea urn. He owned another example of this tea urn which was part of a service for serving tea after dinner. The urn is decorated with sphinxes and other Egyptian Revival motifs, appropriate for someone like Thomas Hope who was so enthusiastic about this new style.

Tea urns were used to provide hot water when tea was drunk after dinner. The oil lamp beneath the main body of the urn kept the water hot. The handles for the urn are concealed as part of the decorative frieze, and are hinged behind the classical masks. This gilt tea urn is exceptionally grand and would have been made for a very wealthy and fashion-conscious client.

This urn was made by Digby Scott (1763 -1816) and Benjamin Smith II (1764-1823), who managed a workshop for the Royal Goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. They used a design by the French designer Jean-Jacques Boileau (active in England 1787-1851). The identification of the designer is based upon drawings thought to be by Boileau in the Print Room of the V&A, which use similar ornament.

Table and vase, Charles Frederick Hancock

Table and vase, Charles Frederick Hancock, 1850-51. Museum no. M.46-2003 (table) and M.47-2003 (vase)

On display in Room 120

Table and Vase
Charles Frederick Hancock
England
1850-51
Ebony, rosewood, silver inlay and electroplated nickel silver (table) and silver, raised, with cast additions (vase)
Museum no. M.46-2003 (table) and M.47-2003 (vase)
Accepted in lieu of tax by HM Government and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum

Thomas Hope published his book, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration in 1807, with his designs for furniture, metalwork and interiors. This table and vase, shown at the Great Exhibition in 1851, show how his designs continued to provide inspiration for designers and craftsmen after his death in 1831. They belonged to Purnell Bransby Purnell (1791-1866), a collector of classical antiquities like Hope.

This silver vase was, with an ebony table inlaid with silver, part of a testimonial presented to Purnell Bransby Purnell, County Chairman of the Gloucestershire Quarter Sessions, for his work in improving the management and conditions in the county's private mental health institutions. It was paid for by public subscription.

The vase was made by the prestigious goldsmith Charles Frederick Hancock and first shown with the table at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. It is a grand and elegant presentation piece, and the combination of the vase with the ebony table makes it unique. The vase is in the form of a Greek hydria, or water carrier, and the ornament demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of classical decoration.

Purnell, a collector of Greek and Roman antiquities, may have devised some of the designs on the vase himself. Contemporary accounts reveal that the table and vase were to be on show in Purnell Bransby Purnell's drawing room.

Chair, Thomas Hope

Chair, Thomas Hope, Made by Edward & Roberts, about 1892. Museum no. W.29-1976

On display in Room 120

Chair
Thomas Hope
Made by Edward & Roberts
England
About 1892
Mahogany with inlaid decoration of brass and ebony
Width 58.4 cm x height 85.2 cm x depth 59.7 cm
Museum no. W.29-1976

Thomas Hope published his book, Household Furniture and Interior Decoration in 1807, with his designs for furniture, metalwork and interiors. His intention was to provide ideas for designers and craftsmen so he used cheaper black and white illustrations and provided a scale for measurements. His book remained influential long after his death in 1831. This chair, made by a London firm in the 1890s, is copied from one of his illustrations in the book and shows how his designs became fashionable nearly a hundred years later.

This chair was probably made by Edwards and Roberts, a firm who are first listed in the 1854 Kelly’s Post Office Directory of London and described as 'antique and modern cabinet makers and importers of ancient furniture'.

This chair bears an imitation ivory label stamped 'Edward & Roberts, 148-160 Wardour St, 532 Oxford St. London.'  It is therefore likely that is was made after 1892, as this is when the firm occupied premises at these locations. The firm specialised in reproductions of earlier styles.