Thursday, July 23, 2020

Edward Burne-Jones: Stained Glass Master

Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) was arguably the most eminent artist of the Victorian period, having mastered various art forms. He particularly excelled as a stained-glass maker; his watercolour of Lot and his Daughters (1874), from our collection, is a window design that exemplifies his masterful and refreshing approach to stained glass art. 

Born in 1833, Burne-Jones had a comfortable upbringing, but was, in many ways, a deprived child. Having lost his mother at just six days old, he was raised in an isolated religious household by his melancholic father and an unstimulating housekeeper. Seeking solace from his bleak childhood, a young Burne-Jones would immerse himself in the arts in his free time, particularly drawing. As a young adult, he was destined to be a priest. However, in 1855, he abandoned his Theology degree at the University of Oxford to pursue a career in art.

Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), Cupid delivering Psyche, c. 1867
© Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery 

Initially, Burne-Jones focused solely on painting, inspired heavily by the artistic philosophy of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He continued to paint for the rest of his life, becoming one of the most celebrated painters of the Brotherhood (our collection’s Cupid delivering Psyche is a fine example of his Pre-Raphaelite work). But in 1861 he expanded his repertoire to more artisanal practices, notably succeeding with his stained-glass work. He and close friend William Morris founded Morris & Co., a company that manufactured furniture, jewellery and stained glass, amongst other decorative arts. He did this for two main reasons. It was common practice for artists of his time to pursue interdisciplinary careers and master several crafts. Secondly, and more practically, it provided him with a steadier income than his paintings, which, though popular, could not generate a consistent income for a young artist yet to firmly establish his name in the industry. The artists at Morris & Co. proved to be fundamental in the Arts and Crafts movement, which sought to inject decorative and aesthetic richness into a Victorian society that they considered to be over-industrial and drab. 

Stained glass windows were highly sought after in Victorian times. This was because Gothic Revivalism became the leading style of church architecture in the wake of the Church of England’s 1833 Oxford Movement. The movement’s leaders felt that the Church’s rituals were devoid of grace, and, therefore, encouraged a return to the traditional Catholic style of worship; a visually opulent, public ritual centred around the Eucharist. Stained glass was thus crucial to Gothic Revival architects, who were, from then on, more often tasked with recreating the awe-inspiring, icon-littered settings of Medieval masses.

Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898), Lot and his Daughters, 1874
© Trustees of the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery 


The demand for stained glass in the 1870s certainly shows in Burne-Jones’ artistic output; between 1872 and 1876, he produced 270 cartoons for stained glass designs. In this design for the biblical story of Lot and his Daughters, Lot, who lives in the sinful city of Sodom, is warned by angels that God is going to burn the city down, and so flees with his wife and two daughters. As they escape, the angels tell the family to not look back at the city. This, however, is ignored by Lot’s wife, who consequently gets turned into a pillar of salt. 

The scene’s narrative enables Burne-Jones to fully demonstrate his skill as a stained-glass designer. Decorative art historian Alan Crawford says that Burne-Jones’ figures are either ‘dancing or statuesque’. Lot’s wife is undoubtedly exemplary of the latter, depicted like a classical sculpture. She stands in contrapposto, a technique very popular with classical sculptors to make their figure stand with their weight on one side to create a natural, slight s-shaped twist in their pose. And, while Lot and his daughters are not exactly ‘dancing’, they are certainly captured in a moment of dramatic movement. 

Burne-Jones was renowned for his drawing of drapery. This is evident in his use of another classical technique; modelling lines. These are the lines formed from grooves in the drapery that give depth and definition to a figure. They are used expertly by Burne-Jones to show the tightening of the drapery around the knees of his figures. This reveals the contrapposto stance of the wife, and the bending knees of Lot and the daughters to emphasise their hasty escape from Sodom. It is no coincidence that Burne-Jones was painting such dramatized, classicised figures in 1874. Three years prior he visited Italy, where he spent hours on his back in the Sistine Chapel. Using an opera glass, he meticulously studied Michelangelo’s figures. 

Designing and making stained glass in the 19th century was a relatively straightforward process. While Medieval stained-glass makers had to piece together fragments of coloured glass between thin strips of lead in a mosaic-like fashion, advances in technology meant that large glass panels could now simply be painted with coloured enamel. This allowed Burne-Jones to use glass like a canvas, and easily implement his painterly techniques into his designs.

Lot and his Daughters was never realised. It was a design for a Morris & Co. window in St. Paul’s Cathedral, Kolkata, to commemorate Lord Mayo, Viceroy of India, who was assassinated in 1872. In the completed window, however, are examples of how Burne-Jones was able to translate the above-mentioned techniques from his highly sophisticated designs into their intended material.

Written by Tom MacKinnon, Curatorial Volunteer

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Three Glittering Bowls

When you next visit The Higgins Bedford, put a little time aside to pop into The Settlement Gallery to stroll round and explore our local archaeology.

Our story begins with a very brief look at the geology of the area and moves swiftly into the Prehistoric period with bones of long gone Woolly Mammoths, Rhinoceroses’ and Cave Bears. The displays continue in chronological order and end with the siege of Bedford Castle and the beginnings of the medieval town.

About half way through your journey your eye will be caught by 3 large glittering copper alloy bowls. The bowls were found buried together in a deep pit in 1856 by workmen building the railway line near Sandy.

The bowls, measuring between 7cm and 11cm high and 23 cm and 31 cm in diameter, are very thin, about 2m thick and they are very lightweight. All three bowls are plain and undecorated apart from simple fluting around the rim edge. Each bowl would have been made by a skilful craftsman beating the shape out of a single sheet of copper alloy.

The bowls are Roman in date and would have originally formed part of a table service belonging to a wealthy household, probably a family living and working in the busy town of Sandy.

Quite why this nest of luxury metal bowls came to be buried near Sandy, we will never know. The most likely explanation could be related to the upheaval and the crumbling of the Roman administration in the province of Britannia, as the Roman Empire went into decline in the late 4th to early 5th century AD.

This transition would have affected all levels of society and many people would have faced an uncertain future. It is quite possible that the owners of the bowls fearing for their future decided to deliberately bury these valuable items to safe guard them until they could return at a later time to dig them up.

Written by Liz Pieksma, Keeper of Archaeology

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Bedfordshire's Breweries - Thomas Jarvis & Co., Phoenix Brewery

Thomas Jarvis was born in 1803 at Eaton Socon. He moved to Bedford and married Ann Wainright in July 1826 at St. Paul’s Church. Their first and only child was Samuel Wainright Jarvis, born in February 1828. Sadly, Ann died aged just 44 years old on 31st December 1843.

By 1841, Thomas Jarvis had set up his brewery in Gwyn Street. At that time, there were eight breweries in Bedford and the brewing industry was second only to the cotton industry in the country. Weak or “small” beer was cheaper and safer to drink than water and both adults and children drank beer in preference to water.

Following the death of his first wife Ann, Thomas married Eliza Page on 30th July 1844 at St. Peter’s Church, Bedford. Eliza was from Gloucestershire and was 17 years younger than Thomas. Before Eliza married she had lived at the Moravian Girls College, 34 St. Peter’s Street, Bedford. The Moravian College was founded in 1801 and closed in 1911. Until the arrival of the Harpur Trust Girls School in 1882 it was the best girls school in the local area.
 
Jarvis and Co. Ginger Beer Bottle, BEDFM 2008.42.303, Chrystal Collection

By 1851 Thomas was living at 185 Gwyn Street with Eliza and their three children, Lewis, Robert, and, Mary Ann. They went on to have five more children, three girls, and two boys. Sadly, two of their daughters died in infancy. 

Jarvis and Co. ‘Old Rum’ Bottle, with Phoenix Brewery logo at top of label, BEDFM 2008.42.173, Chrystal Collection.

Over the years, the brewery went from strength to strength, so in 1866 Thomas expanded operations and moved to Midland Road to build a larger brewery. He called it the ‘Phoenix Brewery’, and he moved next door. Four years later, he was employing six men, and trading as Thomas Jarvis & Co., Brewers, Wine and Spirit Merchants

Jarvis and Co. Beer Bottle of green glass, BEDFM 2008.42.251, Chrystal Collection

Thomas was the victim of theft by one of his servant’s, Emma Green, who had been employed by him for about ten weeks. On Monday 31st May 1869, Emma Green appeared before the Borough Petty Sessions Court. The Bedfordshire Times on Saturday 5th June 1869, reported;
“Emma Green, aged about 21, a domestic servant, lately in the employ of Mr. Thomas Jarvis, brewer, was charged with stealing a cheque belonging to her late master, on the 26th May, and pleaded guilty. She was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with hard labour. It appeared that the girl presented a cheque, drawn for £5, at Messrs Barnard’s Bank, on the 26th May., … an investigation took place at the bank, and Mr. Alger, chief clerk, discovered that the cheque thus presented belonged to the cheque book held by Mr. Jarvis … it was ascertained that five cheques had been taken away. The book had been left out of the bureau on one occasion … and on another occasion, the lock of the bureau had been forced. With many tears, Emma Green said she was very sorry she did not think what she was doing at the time. She did not take more than one cheque.”
Emma Green had lived with her parents and three siblings at Maldons Yard, Bedford. Her time in prison appeared to have taught her a lesson. Emma was able to turn her life around after her release from prison, she moved to Luton where she worked as a cook for a solicitor and his family.

The White Horse Inn, Midland Road, 1928, Lantern Slide by Walter N Henman, associated with Jarvis and Co. just before the pub was demolished to build Marks and Spencers on that site in 1929, BEDFM 1974.27.138

On the 16th July 1873, following the death of Bingham Newland of Newland and Nash brewers, Thomas Jarvis purchased St. Paul’s Brewery and 35 public houses for the sum of £34,200. He merged it with his Phoenix Brewery. In 1876 he sold the St. Paul’s brewery site to the Harpur Trust to extend its Grammar School. In 1883 Thomas retired and his three sons, Lewis, Robert, and Walter ran the brewery, trading as Jarvis & Company. On the 14th October 1886, Thomas died aged 83 years. He is buried in the graveyard behind the Moravian Chapel at St. Peter’s Street, Bedford. Lewis, Thomas’s eldest son, married Ada Maud Dawson on the 5th October 1876. They moved in to ‘Barley Craft’ at Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire and all their eleven children were born there.

Jarvis and Co. Beer Bottle, clear glass, BEDFM 2008.42.249, Chrystal Collection

Lewis retired on 13th May 1897. His brothers Robert and Walter then ran the firm of Jarvis & Co. On the 9th February 1912, Robert died aged 64 at his home Castle Lodge, Castle Hill, Bedford. Walter Jarvis was the last surviving partner of the firm and spent much of his time in the business. Walter died aged 58 years in 1915.

Jarvis and Co. Codd Bottle, BEDFM 2008.42.160, Chrystal Collection

In 1917, Charles Wells purchased the Phoenix Brewery for the sum of £79,000. It came with two maltings and 69 pubs and off-licences. In 1918, brewing ceased. 

Source:

Written by Lydia Saul, Keeper of Social History


Friday, July 3, 2020

Six Designing Women

Today I wanted to write about some of the female artists and craftspeople in the Design Gallery. There are so many reasons why the work of women is harder to find in a museum setting whilst that of men is prevalent. Women’s art has historically been seen as ‘low’ art, domestic and incomparable to the fine art that men produced. There is nothing ‘low’ about the women’s art in this blog, as May Morris, one of the women I have included said, ‘I’m a remarkable woman — always was, though none of you seemed to think so.’

Textile Designer May Morris (1862-1938)

May was an important figure in the Arts and Crafts movement as a designer and maker. She ran Morris & Co.’s embroidery department and was instrumental in making embroidery be seen as a serious art form rather than a domestic pastime. She was also passionate about gender equality founding the Women’s Guild of Arts after seeing the lack of support for female artists. 

Screen with embroidery designed by May Morris about 1890 and made by Morris & Co.

Enameller Mary Beilby (1749-1797)

Mary was from a talented family of enamellers who are credited with introducing enamel painting on glass to England. At just 13 she joined her brother’s Newcastle workshop where she decorated drinking glasses with beautiful enamel decoration. It is not always easy to recognise Mary’s contribution as glasses are often signed with just the Beilby surname. 

Goblet with enamelling by Mary Beilby 1765-1770 

Silversmiths Hester (about 1708-1794) and Ann Bateman (1748-about 1812)

Hester ran one of the most famous family silversmiths in London which was known for its beautifully made, simply decorated, graceful tableware. She was from a poor background and had no formal education; in 1760 when she registered as a silversmith she was unable to sign her own name. Over the next 30 years she built an incredibly successful business which fully embraced new technologies.

Silver tea caddy made in 1782 by Hester Bateman

When Hester retired her family continued the business. Her daughter-in-law Ann (1748–1813) became a successful silversmith in her own right, registering her first mark in 1791 after the death of her husband Jonathan. She later went into partnership with Jonathan’s brother Peter, and together they made beautiful pieces in the popular neoclassical style.

Silver jug made in 1794 by Ann and Peter Bateman (1740-1825)

Decorator Hannah Barlow (1851-1916)

Hannah was the first female artist to be employed by Doulton’s Lambeth pottery as a decorator. She specialised in animals and countryside scenes, decorating up to 20 pots a day. Her work is easily identifiable not just by its quality, but also by her initials as all of Doulton’s artists were encouraged to mark their work.

Vase decorated by Hannah Barlow in 1886 and made by Doulton

Designer and Decorator Eliza Simmance (1873-1928)

Eliza started at Doulton a couple of years after Hannah in 1873 and worked for the company for 55 years. By the 1880s, she had a staff of artists working to produce her beautiful and varied designs which ranged from Art Nouveau to Victorian Gothic. 

Vase designed by Eliza Simmance about 1873-1880 and made by Doulton

You can find these objects and more in the Design Gallery when we're able to have visitors again.

Written by Victoria Partridge, Keeper of Fine and Decorative Art