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Lot Essay
While the works of William Shakespeare were widely popular throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Victorians’ fervor for his body of work elevated him to the national hero of Britain that we know him as today. First appearing around the tercentenary of his birth in 1864, Victorian zeal for Shakespeare’s writings even led to some clerical devotees to raise him to divine status, sprinkling sermons with quotes and passages from his various plays (see Charles LaPorte, The Victorian Cult of Shakespeare: Bardology in the Nineteenth Century, Cambridge University Press, 2020, pp. 22-49). The striking rise in popularity of Shakespearian stories in English popular culture and national lore made it an excellent subject matter for a spectacular exhibition piece created by an English company to showcase in the nation’s capital city for the International Exhibition in 1871.
Two plates from the present service were handsomely illustrated in the Art Journal Catalogue of the International Exhibition 1871, where the service was described as follows:
"We engrave also two of the PLATES of a dessert-service; they are graceful and beautiful, and also novel. Each plate contains a fancy-portrait of one of the heroines of Shakespere [sic], set in festoons of flowers. They are very refined examples of Art applied to manufacture. 'The general design is by Mr. Daniell and Mr. Charles J. Rowe.' and the portraits are painted by M. Palmère. Each bears an entirely distinct design."
Charles P. Palmere (b. Paris 1830) is recorded as figure painter at Coalport and is known to have painted a number of important pieces for the 1871 Exhibition, in addition to the present service of Shakespearian heroines. Other notable items included a pair of vases after subjects by Greuze (see M. Messenger, Coalport 1795-1926, Suffolk, 1995, p. 34, col. pl. 30 and p. 233.), as well as views of Mentmore and a study of Ondine.
Col. Albert Brassey Esq. (1844-1918), owner of the present service in the late 19th century, is recorded as a proficient rower at Oxford, winning a number of cups at various regattas. He was a Colonel in the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars and served as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1878. A conservative MP, he served in Parliament from 1895-1906, representing Banbury. In 1871, the same year that the service was displayed at the London Exhibition, he married the Hon. Maria Matilda Helena, daughter of John Charles Robert Bingham, 4th Baron Clanmorris. It is interesting to speculate if Brassey was perhaps a Shakespeare devotee himself, or if perhaps the service was a gift for his new bride.
The present lot is accompanied by a booklet relating to the service that was likely produced in the early 20th century. In it the scenes are all identified, but it is miscatalogued as Copeland. The heroines include Miranda, Joan of Arc, Juliet, Rosalind, Imogen, Anne Boleyn, Silvia, Beatrice, Queen Katherine, Perdita, Hero, Olivia, Helena, Jessica, Mistress Page, Katherina, Lady Anne, Cordelia, Princess Blanche, Portia, Hermione, Ophelia, Cleopatra and Desdemona.
Two plates from the present service were handsomely illustrated in the Art Journal Catalogue of the International Exhibition 1871, where the service was described as follows:
"We engrave also two of the PLATES of a dessert-service; they are graceful and beautiful, and also novel. Each plate contains a fancy-portrait of one of the heroines of Shakespere [sic], set in festoons of flowers. They are very refined examples of Art applied to manufacture. 'The general design is by Mr. Daniell and Mr. Charles J. Rowe.' and the portraits are painted by M. Palmère. Each bears an entirely distinct design."
Charles P. Palmere (b. Paris 1830) is recorded as figure painter at Coalport and is known to have painted a number of important pieces for the 1871 Exhibition, in addition to the present service of Shakespearian heroines. Other notable items included a pair of vases after subjects by Greuze (see M. Messenger, Coalport 1795-1926, Suffolk, 1995, p. 34, col. pl. 30 and p. 233.), as well as views of Mentmore and a study of Ondine.
Col. Albert Brassey Esq. (1844-1918), owner of the present service in the late 19th century, is recorded as a proficient rower at Oxford, winning a number of cups at various regattas. He was a Colonel in the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars and served as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1878. A conservative MP, he served in Parliament from 1895-1906, representing Banbury. In 1871, the same year that the service was displayed at the London Exhibition, he married the Hon. Maria Matilda Helena, daughter of John Charles Robert Bingham, 4th Baron Clanmorris. It is interesting to speculate if Brassey was perhaps a Shakespeare devotee himself, or if perhaps the service was a gift for his new bride.
The present lot is accompanied by a booklet relating to the service that was likely produced in the early 20th century. In it the scenes are all identified, but it is miscatalogued as Copeland. The heroines include Miranda, Joan of Arc, Juliet, Rosalind, Imogen, Anne Boleyn, Silvia, Beatrice, Queen Katherine, Perdita, Hero, Olivia, Helena, Jessica, Mistress Page, Katherina, Lady Anne, Cordelia, Princess Blanche, Portia, Hermione, Ophelia, Cleopatra and Desdemona.