In July
2014 I attended the Attingham Summer School, an eighteen-day course which
consisted of lectures and public and private visits to English country houses in
Sussex, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Gloucestershire. This program provided me with a
unique opportunity to become acquainted with the architectural and social history
of the historic house. It also gave me a chance to study its contents and
design. Lastly, I was able to gain a greater understanding of how these estates
are managed and interpreted with a particular focus on issues of conservation
and preservation.
As a
decorative arts historian and silver specialist, I came into the Attingham program
with a keen eye and ear for seeing works of silver and for hearing stories of
their history and their role in the country house. To my great fortune, a
pre-course visit took us to Apsley House in London, and a magnificent
Portuguese silver-gilt centerpiece whet my appetite for what was to come in the
weeks ahead (fig. 1).
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Figure 1: Portuguese centerpiece, silver, designed by D.A. Sequeira, Lisbon,
presented to Duke of Wellington in 1816, Apsley House, London.
presented to Duke of Wellington in 1816, Apsley House, London.
Upon the
official launch of the program, we visited Uppark in West Sussex where National
Trust curator and silver expert, James Rothwell, proved that objects are not
static adornments on display, but rather they are instilled with vibrant
histories. The dining room served as the perfect setting to demonstrate the
theatrical role that a piece of silver could play over the course of a meal.
Salvers, a kind of tray used to carry drinks, were instrumental to a pleasurable
affair. We envisioned footmen carrying wine glasses to the host and his guests,
toasts being made, and glasses being hurriedly refilled.
Additionally,
Rothwell discussed the issues of repatriation as many objects have been
dispersed or sold over the years. To the Trust’s good fortune, they have been
able to return many family objects. In recent years, they were able to purchase
a pair of silver tea canisters at a Sotheby’s auction in London (fig. 2). The
canisters are engraved with the arms of Sir Matthew Fetherstonhaugh and his wife Sarah Lehtieullier, who lived
at Uppark during the second half of the eighteenth century. The term
‘heirloom’ took on a more significant meaning as we continued our tour of the
English countryside.
Figure 2: Pair of tea canisters, silver, engraved with the arms of Fetherstonhaugh impaling Lehtieullier, 1767, displayed in the Little Parlour, Uppark, West Sussex.
Part of the
Devonshire collection, a stately silver perfume burner took on a presence of
its own in one of the bedchambers at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire (fig. 3).
Perfume burners served as braziers in which scent pastilles or other aromatics
were placed above a bed of burning charcoal. When in use, these vessels
produced scented fumes that filled the air with the pleasant smell of roses,
lavender, and other flowers and herbs. Embodied with the cultural values of
past societies, the perfume burner expresses how people experienced their bodies and the environment around them. Perfume
burners ranged from those vessels produced in bronze, brass, or copper to those
in silver crafted as elaborate decorative works of art, as seen in the example
at Chatsworth.
Figure 3: Perfume burner, possibly Phillip Rollos (fl. 1685-1710), circa 1690, silver, Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth House, Derbyshire.
While silver certainly was on my
radar, my mind was always open to new discoveries and ways of interpretation.
Our group had discussed atmosphere on the first day, and Calke Abbey embodied
this term (fig, 4). Owned by the Harpur family for nearly 300 years,
it was passed to the Trust in 1985 under fragile conditions. Deliberately
displayed under these circumstances, Calke Abbey is an example of the decline
of a country house, but it nonetheless speaks of deep admiration (figs. 5 and 6).
For me, it was a highlight of the course for its ability to inspire and to evoke
issues regarding preservation and conservation.
Figure 4: Calke Abbey.
Figure 5: Interior view of Calke Abbey.
Figure 6: Interior view of Calke Abbey.
Overall, the
2014 Attingham Summer School was about contextualization, lively lecturers,
scholarly conversations, friendships, and idyllic landscapes. It also was a unique
occasion to network with curators, conservators, and leading figures from such
institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Louvre, Getty, and Victoria
& Albert. These connections, my newfound knowledge of the English country
house, and my collection of memories have proved to be indispensable.
Participating in this program would not have been possible without generous funding
from the Chipstone Foundation, secured by Professor Ann Smart Martin at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Royal Oak Foundation, and I am truly
grateful for their support.
The
Attingham Trust, http://www.attinghamtrust.org/
Ann Glasscock, Project Assistant, Chazen Museum of Art
PhD Student in Art History and Material Culture, University
of Wisconsin-Madison
