Since the beginning of civilization humans have sought to adorn and decorate themselves, and the Chinese were no exception. Inspired by the beauty and variety of the birds and animals around them they sought, from the very earliest times to emulate these seemingly perfect creatures by first adorning themselves with their pelts and plumes. Then with increasing sophistication to embellish the clothes and accessories they wore, finally establishing by the time of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) a highly-stylised and visible social and political hierarchy. This was based upon their perception of the intrinsic characteristics of these creatures and famously epitomized by the bird and animal rank badges of that era.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, headgear and hairstyles evolved in the most spectacular manner, and the crests and head plumes of the birds the Chinese encountered provided inspiration over the centuries for an astonishing variety of hats, crowns, tiaras, hairstyles and hair ornaments. Drawn by their iridescent beauty, many races and peoples have used feathers as adornment or accessory, and the earliest humans, including the Chinese, probably initially sought to decorate themselves using entire feathers from the bird; we are all familiar with pictures of races right up until modern times such as the Papua New Guinean tribes, which continue to do so.

It is only the Chinese however who evolved beyond this to discover a way to incorporate the colour and sheen, which they so admired in the beautiful feathers, into something far more wearable, sophisticated and elegant (Hartman, R., 1980, p80). The most highly-prized of all as seen in the short poem above were the flashing iridescent turquoise and blue feathers of the little halcyon, or kingfisher bird, at that stage plentiful in China and in fact, in most of Asia. As can be deduced from the date of Ch’en Tzu-ang’s poem, the use of kingfisher feathers appears well-established at that stage and they were clearly already highly valued as much, if not more, than gold.

Excavations of T’ang dynasty (A.D. 618-906) tombs have revealed tiny kingfisher jewellery pieces which were probably used more in the manner of gems or decorative items, and there are descriptions of a dying king from the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) detailing his private chamber in which there were “kingfisher hangings on jasper hooks” and “bedspreads of kingfisher all seeded with pearls”(Hartman, R., 1980, p76), apparently from the manner of their description not necessarily unusual objects for the time.

Beverley Jackson in her extensive book on the subject of the use of kingfisher feathers recounts a marvelous episode where the indefatigable English author Oswald Sitwell is musing upon the glory that was Angkor Wat, and concludes, somewhat amazed, that such glories in a country with few resources such as ancient Cambodia must have been provided by one thing only – the enormous trade in kingfisher feathers for the insatiable Chinese market (Jackson, B., 2001, p5). This rather startling observation provides some insight into the ubiquity and popularity of the exquisite objects, and certainly no museum collection of Chinese dress is without at least one or two examples of this art

Indeed kingfisher feathers were employed with dazzling effect in a large variety of items for personal adornment including not only hair ornaments but crowns, wedding head-dresses, bracelets, nail guards, brooches, earrings, pendants and occasionally even larger objets d’art such as screens and tableaux. Although it is evident that kingfisher decorative items had existed for many centuries, they were at their most spectacular when used to decorate women’s hair ornaments, and this was an art form whose artistic culmination was reached in the Qing dynasty when the Manchus took control of Imperial power.

Although they sought to enforce Manchu customs and language from the beginning of their reign in 1644, by the time of the Qianlong Emperor (c 1736-95) the ruling Manchus were increasingly concerned that not only were the ethnic Han Chinese continuing with their own style of dress, they were also influencing Manchu style. Subsequently in 1759, the “Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Court” (Huangchao liqi tushi) was published, ostensibly in an effort to unify the country but in reality of course to control and impose their rule upon the Han(Garrett, V., p10). Under this system, clothing was divided into official and non-official wear, seasonal wear, styles, and colours, all based on rank. As women held no official role in the court (other than occasionally acting as regent, most notably the Empress Dowager Cixi) their rank was determined by their husband’s⁴.

Subsequently their dress, hairstyles and even their hair ornaments were very formalised so combined with the immense wealth and leisure time these women enjoyed, the art of dressing the hair and ornamenting the subsequent confection reached new heights – literally in the case of Manchu women, who sought to develop increasingly towering styles. Combined with her extra physical height, floor-length robes and 4-6” platform shoes, the Manchu court female was an imposing figure, and made the shorter-statured, bound-footed Han Chinese woman look girlish and doll-like by comparison(Johnson, B., 2001, p61).

Naturally in this era no woman of rank or wealth, Manchu or Han, did her own hair; in the case of the Manchu woman if a hat was not being worn for an official occasion, the preparations for this coiffure could take some hours, especially with the higher ranking princesses and empresses of the court(Princess Der Ling, 1911, p67). In order to keep the elaborate structure in place, a gel-like substance was used called pao bua, derived from soaking fine wood-shavings from a special tree in hot water until a sticky jelly was obtained. This was then combed through the hair which was then styled. In the case of Han women, unless their husband was a mandarin at the Imperial court this style would have simply been in the fashion of the day, often a simple coil or two braids at the nape of the neck; very few ornaments were used, often just fresh flowers or a couple of small pins.

In the case of Manchu women however it was a much more complex process and the gelled and combed hair was then wound around elaborate frames made of horsehair; according to the dictates of her rank a number of different types of styling followed, the best known of which is the liangpa tou “two handle ends” seen in many portraits of the day including the Empress Dowager. Against this towering backdrop (further augmented in the late Qing by a similar structure made of black satin), numerous beautiful objects such as sheng (combs), zan (hair slides), chai (hair pins) and buyao (hair ornaments) could be displayed, along with fresh and artificial flowers, pompoms and tassels (Garrett, V, 1997, p76, Hartman, R, 1980, p90, Jackson, B, 2001, pp61-63)

The hair ornaments themselves could be functional or decorative, serving to either help hold the hair in place in the case of the very large hair slide known as bianfang which essentially supported the two side buns and was often decorated on one side with a large hanging tassel which swung as the wearer walked, or in the case of smaller pins and ornaments be displayed entirely for their beauty and workmanship. The variety of materials used along with the kingfisher feathers included gold or silver (depending on wealth and rank), pearls, precious and semi-precious stones notably unfaceted rubies and sapphires, tourmalines and carnelians, the highly-valued Peking glass, coral, jade or jadeite, mother of pearl, and sometimes in the case of dangling hair ornaments (liusu) brass figures such as fish.

The ornaments themselves came in a huge variety of shapes including birds, animals, insects, flowers and other plant life including fruit and gourds, children or small figures, auspicious symbols including the shou “long life” and shuangxi “double happiness” symbols, shapes such as the Eight Precious Objects and even in the case of larger crowns and tiaras, small still life scenes depicting court life or famous scenes, however the most popular themes were butterflies, bats, dragonflies, grasshoppers, fish and gourds(Garrett, V, p19-35, Hartman, R, 1980, pp76-80, Jackson, B, 2001, p97) The reason for these choices was several-fold, for apart from their intrinsic charm and beauty these motifs held another type of significance. The Chinese language is rich with homophones, words that sound like one another but have different meanings, with the result that saying one thing can evoke something entirely different, sometimes humorous or for the superstitious Chinese, auspicious.

Well-known examples of this include “happiness” fu and “bat” bianfu, “prosperity” yu and “fish” yu, or interesting combinations such as “butterfly” and “gourd” guadie mianmian creating a rebus meaning “offspring for eternity”. Other motifs had their own inherent meanings, such as peaches and pomegranates (fertility), paired ducks (marital happiness) cranes (immortality) and lingzhi mushrooms (longevity). Because of this there resulted a strong visual vocabulary, almost a type of ‘visual shorthand’, so that the use of certain animals, insects or symbols would result in a piece that was not only able to be admired for its exquisite workmanship, but also had great meaning for the wearer and all those around her and usually connoted her wish for a happy and fulfilled life, preferably with many sons (Hartman, R, 1980, pp76-80).

It can be understood in the light of this that the Chinese of this era wore jewellery for different reasons to us today, usually more for aesthetic reasons or the enjoyment of the wearer, or as a practical means of storing their assets, rather than actually showing off wealth. In addition, the choice of background metal was again stipulated by formal decree, and gold was generally only permitted for ornaments for the ladies of the Imperial court or the very wealthy.

Whatever the metal it was wrought into an astonishing variety of shapes, often three-dimensional, and was frequently worked as filigree; quite frequently design elements such as stems, branches and leaves were fashioned with a springy copper ball so that they trembled when the wearer moved or walked, adding to the charm and beauty of the final picture(Jackson, B, 2001, p85).

While it is certainly acknowledged that the art of working with kingfisher feathers is one of China’s traditional handcrafts (Yuan, H, 2006, p97), the actual construction of the pieces themselves has been the subject of some conjecture. What is known is that thin sheets of gold or silver were formed into the desired shape with the appropriate ridges in the design being fashioned with a tiny hammer and a surrounding lip then being attached, much in the fashion of cloisonné(Hartmann, R, 1980, p76). The pieces of feather were then painstakingly laid in place and then affixed with adhesive or glue.

The method of fixation may have been variable depending on the way the piece was constructed and has been variously describedas eithercovering the entire finished product with a glue-like substance(Jackson, B, 2001, p53-54) or affixing each piece individually, as in a fascinating eye-witness account of the timedescribing how individual feather filaments were dredged through the glue before being laid flat upon the metal surface(Jackson, B, 2001, p50) What is agreed upon is that the glue must be invisible, and not discolour the feathers at all.

The exact composition of this glue is not precisely known although it was most likely a combination of adhesives derived from both animal (hide) and plant (seaweed) sourceswhich would have been plentiful and readily available at the time. The feathers themselves also appear to have been used in a couple of different ways to create the jewellery. One technique, by far the slowest and most painstaking and most likely that used for the Court jewellery, involved the method described above whereby individual feather filaments were laboriously attached side by side until the piece was covered and a solid lacquer-like effect was achieved.

Alternately and possibly as demand for these objects grew, a different and no doubt slightly more efficient technique was employed with larger sections of actual feather being attached. This may also have been used for larger pieces. What is certain is that with the inevitable intermingling of the ruling Manchus and the Han Chinese women, demand for these pieces grew as every women in China wanted one of these covetable and fashionable items. In addition the increasing influx of Western visitors combined with the aesthetic of the Art Nouveau movement in Europe made these pieces desirous beyond Chinese shores, and demand eventually outstripped supply with the eventual hunting to extinction of the little kingfisher bird in China.

Fashions then changed and with the advent of the sweeping social changes that were to befall China, this art, like so many others, was lost. The last factory producing these items commercially closed in Canton in 1930(Hartman, R, 1980, p78), and although reproduction items are still produced in China and the Philippines today, the items are generally inferior and do not use genuine kingfisher feathersbut rather dyed feathers from other birds(Jackson, B, 2001, p53).

What is so remarkable then is that the appreciation of, and delight in these beautiful little objects endures in both China and the West, and even in such a changed world as ours the fact that we can still admire and desire these little gems, and the very fact that so many pieces of this extraordinary art form still survive today is a tribute to both the skill of the artisans and the timeless beauty of the pieces themselves.

Guest Author: © Dr Sheena Burnell Shanghai 2009 – 2012 **Ch’en Tzu-ang (661-702)

Translation by Paul W. Kroll Dr Sheena Burnell is an anaesthetist currently living in the East. She began collecting Chinese objet d’art and Japanese ukiyoe (wood block prints) in the 1980s. Her shift in focus to Chinese dress accessories dates from her first visits to Hong Kong in the early ‘90s. This led to an expanding interest in women’s and children’s dress accessories in general and more recently kingfisher hair ornaments. Sheena appeared on the Australian ABC program ‘Collectors’ in 2007, with her collection of bound feet shoes and related objects.

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Roman fresco with banquet scene from the Casa dei Casti Amanti (IX 12, 6-8) in Pompeii

In western society we are inheritors of a legacy from Ancient Greece and Rome that despite the passing of over 2500 years is still potent. Through their ideas the desire to capture the essence of fine living was born. Today that art of living has evolved since the development of the domus in European antiquity to a residence in America and Australia, through a diverse and special mix of peoples and their cultures.

Ancient Greek gastronomy developed out of a practice of sacrificing domestic animals to a variety of gods. Afterwards, as one would expect in a democracy, the carcasses were equally proportioned and sold at market. During the fifth century before the Christ event herbs, spices and honey were added to heighten taste.

As documented in the literature of this period, cookery was considered a very important skill, because the Greeks understood it to be one of the basic arts that sustained human life. Romans of the first century embraced Greek ideas and art forms with great passion. Roman orator Cicero [106 BC -43 BC] believed that ‘to style the presence of guests at a dinner table’ lay at the heart of Roman civilised life ‘because it implied a community of enjoyment, a convivium, or ‘living together’.

Reconstruction of the Octagonal Room - Emperor Nero's Domus Aurea

Following the decline of the Republic and ascent of the Empirical system at Rome a shared meal became a vehicle for display, ostentation, rank, hierarchy and for flattering and influencing people, in a setting they could exercise the art of conversation. Roman Emperor Nero (37-68) enjoyed fine living with great gusto. When he entered his just completed residence, the Domus Aurea (or Golden House, built in 64 AD, he is said to have proclaimed, as he gazed upon its many splendours, words to the effect, ‘now at last I can live as a human being’.

Author of a first century best seller Satyricon, Gaius Petronius (27-66 A.D.), was Nero’s advisor in all matters of luxury and extravagance (his unofficial title was arbiter elegantia). He described guests arriving at a banquet as being requested to remove their shoes at the door, have their hands washed in iced water, no mean feat prior to refrigeration, while their toenails were trimmed to the sounds of a chorus singing. Perhaps today we may consider the last just a little excessive.

We do know that Nero’s guests reclined, along with their host, on couches enjoying conversation and cuisine prepared by chefs, who achieved some fame. His vast banqueting hall revolved in harmony with the rhythms of day and night, the ceiling opening to reveal the heavens as perfume and gifts showered onto guests.

The advent of Christianity created a challenge for those at the top because by now there was a well-established tradition of fine living throughout the Roman world.

The Apostle Paul struggled to attend gatherings where rich men and their friends were served different food and drink to those of a ‘lower status’. It was a dilemma he felt he could not resolve so in the end he decided the wealthy had better eat privately.

Paul advised the Corinthians [1 Corinthians 8: 9, 10] when asked should they eat meat sacrificed to idols by suggesting they should be careful about exercising freedom of choice in case it became a ‘stumbling block to the weak’. And, that if what he ate caused his brothers to fall into sin then for his part, he would never eat meat again. Powerful words with a meditative deep inner meaning that reflect Paul’s strength of mind and purpose.

There is a huge gap of reliable documentation from the fall of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, when the demise of eating in a reclining position also came about, until about the fourteenth century in Europe. Communal living by Christian monks and nuns meant communal eating, often to strict rules of silence, with an aim of feeding the soul.

Prolonged periods of peace also meant the aristocracy gentry and merchants could establish great houses in the countryside and along with it invented the concept of ‘eating outdoors’ or, having picnics, which became something new and exciting as described by fourteenth century French nobleman Gaston Phoebus Gaston III of Foix and Gaston X of Béarn (1343-1391).

He summarized his life’s achievements: “I have delighted all my days in three things. The one is arms, the next is love, and the other is hunting.” He added, “There have been far better masters of the two former than I am.” Such humility, is definitely to be applauded.

For Kings and noblemen of the fourteenth century hunting was so much more than just a sport. It was a game of chance in which the thrill of the chase was far more important than the desire to put food on the table.

An artful aristocratic diversion, the hunt ended with man proving he held power and sway over the animal kingdom. A complex event involving strategizing for success with highly valued, well trained dogs and fighting fit falcons hunts were often held on religious days.

They started with a feast for breakfast, as well as an analysis of the droppings of the potential prey to ensure it was both fit and worthy to be hunted at all. Then the hunt was on. The glorious day ended with everyone joining together in a celebratory meal and fittingly Phoebus himself died, as he should, during a bear hunt.

Fifteenth century Florentine author and philosopher Marsilio Ficino 1433 – 1499 revealed his thoughts about a meal that it ‘embraces all the parts of man, for it restores the limbs, renews the humours, revives the mind, refreshes the senses and sustains and sharpens reason’.

Throughout the fifteenth century in Italy dining at table was strongly symbolic of a good society one in which strong social relationships were forged, ideas exchanged and mutual respect established.

In England by the sixteenth century the head of a powerful household sat at the head of his table facing a fanciful portal crowned with trumpeters who heralded the exact moment the food, led by the marshal of the hall carrying a white staff appeared.

At the grandest banquets, a household officer on horseback emerged from underneath a screen that protected guests from draughts from the doorway and rode into the hall to announce that dinner was served. What fun.

At Hatfield House, home of the famous Cecil family, the ornately carved screen was crowned with the Cecil crest and family motto Sero Sed Serio “late, but in earnest’, surely one of the best mottos of all time.

Its painted decoration and a great panoply of decorative devices had been plundered from Turkish rugs and old Medieval manuscripts imposing a visual richness.

If a house during the Tudor period in England, included a Long Gallery hung with portraits of the family, famous patrons or friends it was the mark of a settled and civilized house; an Elizabethan magnate could contemplate their character or otherwise be inspired by their virtues. Owning such a house became important to practicing the art of fine living.

By the beginning of the seventeenth century the French court changed its philosophy from an ideal based on chivalry to one of refined manners.

The most influential teacher of architects in France during this period was Germain Boffrand. He revealed ‘the character of the master of a house…can be judged by the manner in which it is arranged, decorated and furnished’.

By now the art of fine living embraced a well-planned sophisticated garden as well. At Vaux le Vicomte Louis La Vau 1612-70 [architecture] Charles Le Brun 1619-90 [interiors] and Andre Le Notre 1613-1700 [gardens] spent five years building a chateau designed by the three for the glory of one, their patron and illustrious client the Minister for Finances, Nicolas Foucquet. It is at his Chateau, Vaux le Vicomte, that the French classical style was born.

Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre created this extraordinary ‘palace of the sun’ as described by the ancient Latin poet, Ovid for his patron, Apollo, The Sun King.

Here at last was the perfect place for a man of substance and his family to dwell; large, imposing, but not huge; with painted wood panelling, colourful carpets, painted illusionary ceilings, carved and gilded furniture, fabulous ceramics, superb textiles all made for the most splendid of man-made environments.  I know that when I visited to view its splendours I could have easily moved straight in. It was not over ambitious, but comfortable, cleverly disposed and in keeping with its times.

At Vaux le Vicomte Foucquet practiced the art of fine living well, eating his meat from a service that included a new fancy fangled invention called the fork, without fearing the accusation of depravity still associated with that practice only a few years earlier.

The publisher Charles de Sercy described Vaux’s gardens in 1652 as the place where ‘Foucquet made art and nature engage in a pleasant contest’. The genius of Le Notre lay not only in his invention of a new style, but in his absolute mastery of a repertoire widely used, at least in its many parts.

It was bringing them together in a controlled harmonious form that was not only pleasing but also a perfect place in which to practice the art of seduction.

Vaux was built for the enjoyment of the countryside while not giving up the pleasures of the city…something England did not emulate at this time as they concentrated on building country houses for sport and display, rather than as a place to practice the art of conversation.

The Baroque style from Vaux le Vicomte became a potent force that influenced the whole of the western world when guided by Louis XIV, he began expanding his father’s hunting lodge nearby the village of Versailles using the combined talents of Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre.

The Kings of France lived in the chateau of Versailles, which became a centre for political life from 1682 until 1789. It is today an amazing place to visit with its some 2,300 rooms and over 60 staircases. In its day it cost the equivalent price of what we would pay now for a modern city airport. It was an object of universal admiration in its time, enhancing French prestige on the world stage.

France’s appearance and way of life changed forever during the reign of Louis XIV the Sun King. Many great towns throughout France underwent metamorphosis and the landscape altered forever as Louis XIV devoted himself energetically to all his building projects. Today little remains of his other splendid palaces at Saint-Germain and Marly?

Well cursed as an extravagance when it was under construction, and accused of having ruined the nation at the time of the revolution, the chateau at Versailles stands today as a monument to French achievement and the many milestones reached in its historical and cultural journey.

Over the years since it was finished the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles has reflected many great moments in the history of the world. At the time Colbert, Louis’ 1^st Minister and master of ceremonies used it to launch the Royal Mirror Company. Its success gave considerable momentum to the glazing industry in France and increasingly the public became aware of the decor possibilities of a mirror. They enhanced the art of living well.

Despite all of the work Louis was to complete at Versailles it was always called le Chateau, (which means Gentleman’s seat) never le Palais, remaining the home of a young man, grand without being pompous, full of light, air and cheerfulness just like a large country house.

According to the Oxford Dictionary the term enlightenment means to be free of prejudice, ignorance or superstition. Grand Tourists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe were busy discovering the ruins at Rome and an expansion of knowledge revealed that ancient artists and writers had been accustomed to free expression, with religion and honour paramount to society’s daily existence.

This revelation affected the social and moral values of many European societies who were travelling in ever increasing circles in ‘search of the truth’. They began striving for aesthetic perfection wanting to emulate a new ideal; classical perfection.

As a result small temples in a landscape became focal points for those wanting a place of ease and repose.

By the turn of the nineteenth interiors as described by Jane Austen in her novels, presented an image of a sublime world. China, glassware and silverware displayed the family coat of arms proving to those who sat at table with you that your lineage was not only important, but also could be traced to ancient (the inference was more important) times.

Simple white starched linens with drawn thread work were surmounted by elegant vases made of glass, filled with fresh flowers picked from the garden loosely, but consciously arranged and placed on great tables. These were made from the new rage timber, mahogany with their elegantly fluted legs inspired by the columns from a Greek classical temple.

Women’s dresses emulated Greek statuary although some, endeavouring to appear like the goddesses on Greek temples by wetting their dresses, succumbed to pneumonia… because by now death was preferable to not being seen as part of a fashionable scene involved in the art of fine living.

William Morris (1834-1896) self-professed leader of the modern movement said ‘If I were asked to say what is at once the most important product of Art, and the thing most to be longed for, I should answer, a beautiful House’.

Building a house in the country made to appear as old and as venerable as the countryside itself, was what everyone was striving for. If you couldn’t build one you clamoured to be acquainted with those who owned a wonderful old pile. The aim was to affect an invitation to join a country house weekend where the art of pleasure was a very serious business and the art of fine living practiced with confidence and style.

‘Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality’ said English author and art critic John Ruskin 1819 – 1900. He resented social injustice and the squalor that was a direct result of the ‘greed is good’ mentality that accompanied the unbridled capitalism of the Industrial Revolution. His influence on the next generation of artists and craftsmen who led the way toward establishing Le Style Moderne was to be profound.

The agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century removed land as the chief source of wealth in England and by 1901 the money to pay for a country house had to be made in urban centres of trade or, somewhere else in the Empire, like Australia, where the English style and way of life had been transported. World War 1 marked a great divide in the age of the moderns bringing artists face to face with an alternative; either a clean sweep or hope of a reformed society, or alternatively the retention of a privileged art in the service of an elite and moneyed class.

After WWII a focus on art and design coming together again was rejuvenated. At Sydney, the unofficial capital of Australia, a quiet revolution in the art of living well has meant that its interior designers have finally come into their own. Stunning textiles instead of paintings are appearing on the very best walls. Smart eye-catching antique carpets are teaming brilliantly with wide plank nailed timber floors.

Despite the GFC, storm and tempest, floods and fire most owners remain optimistic. Good old Petronius, with his eye for detail and best in life, would have loved the whole concept of a one stop shop and having access to a fabulous design resource like Residence Australia.

During the last decade those who have set the scene for an art of fine living have reinterpreted late nineteenth century European Modernism with great enthusiasm, making it appear all brand new.

Great interiors today are innovative, convenient, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, technology savvy and above all energy efficient. Sustainability, recycling and quiet elegance have become hallmarks of an interior that will both inspire and nurture its occupants, so that they can enjoy an art of living well.

Carolyn McDowall, ©The Culture Concept Circle 2011, 2012

*Quote by Aristotle (384 – 322 BC)

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“Jo is like a breath of fresh air guiding us all in fashion and style. Her passion is contagious – she wants us all to feel and look the best we can… She’s the best!” said Dimity Hodge, Head of Women in Leadership at Westpac.

On The Culture Concept Circle you will find many free posts to choose from about art, both visual and performance, antiques, design, fashion, ab fab events, music and society – past, present and future. Costume is all about who we are…where we have been and where we are going. It is a footnote to culture, and remains both a changing and eternal form of human expression.

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The ink, chalk and watercolor painting was believed to be the only surviving impression of this, the favourite palace of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth 1, recording for posterity what it actually looked like. London Auction house Christie’s offered the picture in December 2010 but sadly it failed to sell. They said it was special, because it had originally been painted in situ by Joris Hoefnagel in 1568, as a record of the most important buildings in Europe. There were four contemporary impressions made. The others however were later representations. Apparently this image had only been displayed in public twice before and had last been seen some twenty five years ago in America. The watercolour of the south front facade of the legendary palace was one of the earliest, and most detailed depictions known to exist of Nonsuch – named because it was considered at the time that there was ‘None Other Such’.

Remnant of gilded slate excavated from the site of Nonsuch Palace, there was certainly none other such as it in existence

Due to Henry’s  health, the distance to the planned Palace of Nonsuch could not be too far from Hampton Court. Henry chose a site near the small village of Cuddington, which was surrounded by forests and a wonderful place for the King and his friends to enjoy the hunt. He was very envious of his rival, the French King Francois 1 (1515-1547), who was the last product of chivalry and first modern King of France. Francois collected around him men of letters, thinkers, humanists, painters and architects, each of whom played their part in building up the setting against which the King wished to be seen. Francois’s palace at Fontainbleau in France was renowned for its incredible interiors and its master of entertainments, the ageing artist Leonardo da Vinci. It was also near to a beautiful forest where the King could hunt.

Throughout their lifetime Henry and Francois continually tried to outdo each other by making one more extravagance after another, Henry wanted to provide evidence of his ability to do better.  It had become for him a matter of honour. He was in a good mood at the time as his heir and son had just been born. On completion Nonsuch Palace emerged as a palace known throughout Europe for its unrivaled splendour. Originally built from 1538 the façade we are told, had elaborate stucco decorations and heraldic beasts, while the tower on the left contained water cisterns that supplied the whole house with running water. At Nonsuch the main timbers of the palace were hung with the wonder material slate, as much as one inch thick. Each slate tile was deeply carved and the image gilded and then attached to a timber frame. When complete the whole effect must have been quite sumptuous, as well as dazzling as they glinted gloriously in the sunlight.

The walls of the Inner Court, surrounded by the royal apartments, had three levels of decoration: 32 Roman emperors (above), 30 Roman gods and goddesses (in the middle), 16 Labours and Adventures of Hercules and 16 figures of the Liberal Arts and Virtues (below). All bore mottoes to teach Henry’s heir Prince Edward the duties of a king in- waiting. The use of slate during this period was quite unique.

Ben Taggart and his marvellous model of the demolished Nonsuch Palace

The tiles were so deeply moulded Anthony Watson, the rector of Cheam School when visiting the palace described them as virtually leaping off the walls toward him. He said ‘The stonework was carved with the ‘living image’ of plants and animals, the ground floor walls of stone, the upper storey of timbered construction whose stucco panels were decorated with a variety of classical motifs in high relief’

His important fluid eye witness account of its splendour was recorded between 1582-92 and is valued because Nonesuch was demolished by King Charles II’s mistress Lady Castlemaine, Baroness Nonesuch in 1687. She wanted something much easier to maintain, and live in, and so now Nonsuch is only a historical fact.

Eyewitness accounts reveal that Nonsuch had a simple stone clad outer court, which only emphasized the glories that lay within. This layout view was painted in 1660 when Charles II came back to the English throne. It depicts avenues of trees.

It was Charles, who encouraged intensive tree planting in Britain at this time,  primarily oak, intended at providing supplies of timber for the British navy following deprivations of the forests and parks under the rule of Cromwell and the Commonwealth. English writer, gardener and diarist John Evelyn, who is attributed with introducing the word ‘avenue’ into the English language, was involved.

The view reveals, that unlike other houses of the Tudor period, the central courts at Nonsuch were only approached through a gatehouse and up a flight of steps. Once inside the steps leading to the inner court slowed the approach down in order to heighten the impact of its highly showy and elaborate Renaissance splendour and recorded opulence.In the inner courtyard the visitor found themselves surrounded by huge stucco figures of gods and goddesses from mythology.

Diarist Samuel Pepys visited Nonsuch on September 21, 1665, and wrote in his diary ‘all the house on the outside [is] filled with figures of story, and good paintings of Rubens or Holben’s doing. And one great thing is that most of the house is covered, I mean the posts and quarters in the walls, covered with lead and gilded.’ No contemporary interior views of Nonsuch are known and to speculate one would have to use imagination or study paintings of interiors of the period in order to appreciate the opulence of this Tudor Palace. The publicity surrounding the watercolour did stir up a lot of interest and spurred others into action. Professor Biddle, Emeritus (retired) Professor of Medieval Archaeology at Oxford University, who is now in his 70s, was an undergraduate when he directed the excavation of the site of Nonsuch palace in 1959.

Professor Biddle revealed that the nearest replicas of the corner towers of Nonsuch were found in the castle and palace architecture of northern Italy, and notably had parallels in sketches by Leonardo da Vinci for a tower or towers intended for the Sforza Castle in Milan. He spent years analysing all the available contemporary illustrations, archaeological evidence, written sources, and surviving fragments of stucco and slate excavated from the site of Nonsuch. He has pieced together how it once looked and the huge challenge it posed for craftsman.  This research provided the basis for Ben Taggart’s marvellous model. Measuring 2.2 m by 1.2 m. It was publicly unveiled by the Friends of Nonsuch Museum on 6 September 2011.

An elaborate large-scale model of Henry VIII’s Nonsuch Palace, the model apparently cost more to build than the original palace, not allowing for inflation

Ben Taggart, who is a master modelmaker and has also made models for exhibitions at the Imperial War Museum took 1,250 hours to complete the project.It cost £40,000 to build, £15,000 more than the Tudor masterwork, reputed to be the most luxurious residence in England, if not in Europe back in the day. Applying inflation to the building costs it would now cost about £10.3m. The superb model will be a permanent feature at the Service Wing Museum in Nonsuch Mansion, Nonsuch Park.

There is a group of antique timber chests that also take their name from the palace. The so-called Nonsuch Chests bear images of architectural decoration, which is deeply inscribed. For a long time they were thought to have represented the palace, although it is more likely they were just fantasy creations.

Nonesuch Palace during its time was a centre where foreign artists executed elaborate and very costly work, confirmed by the excavations carried out by archaeologists in 1959-60 of the site where it had stood. It certainly proved there was ‘none other such’ palace in existence by revealing none of the secrets within to those who approached its all encompassing walls.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

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He did this by ruthlessly executing a severe political agenda, which included abolishing feudal ranks and disarming private individuals who may oppose him. He standardized coinage, weights, measures and writing giving authority to a central government he dictated to. He violently imposed systems that kept everyone in their place and in a pecking order established through rank. He then ruled through fear, not unconditional love, which the present western system of democracy is founded on. What we do know from ancient texts and archaeological evidence is that there was no harmony at the first Emperor’s court. Everyone lived in fear of their lives and what would happen to them and importantly, to their descendants for eternity, if they did not obey their demonic despot’s wishes. This latter point goes to the very essence of Chinese culture and its beliefs. No one would want to offend their ancestors or to make life for their descendants unbearable, so they complied.

It is estimated some 700,000 conscripts were involved in the construction of a vast complex underground, which is thought to be as luxurious as any of the palaces the Qin Emperor maintained during his mortal life on top of it. A group of villagers uncovered the first of the terracotta figures that surround the complex to protect its occupant, when they were building a water-well in the Xian province of China in 1974. ‘We thought it was a temple statue – a Buddha perhaps. a spokesman for the group told a USA journalist ‘The women thought it might bring a curse down on the village.’

The terracotta army was originally found in hundreds of pieces. Not one was found intact. Before they could be displayed they had to be completely and painstakingly restored. Today the terracotta army he built for his afterlife have no battles to fight, but rather seek to win the war for China about culture as art.

As part of events highlighting an exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW entitled The First Emperor: China’s Entombed Warriors in 2010/2011 a group of learned academics, working in the field of Chinese art and archaeology around the world, lectured at a symposium held on the first weekend in December. During question time they gathered on stage to collectively remind participants how the west must be careful not to take a romantic view of the terracotta army on display or to seek to glorify it, or the first Emperor of China Qin Shihuang (259–210 BC) and his achievements in any way. They pointed out that while the first Emperor’s vision in constructing a vast universe for his afterlife was in many ways remarkable, that they couldn’t stress enough how it had come at a huge price to humanity.

At Sydney the exhibition featured ten complete ritual terracotta foot soldiers: some generals and a kneeling and a standing bowman. They were shown off alongside a variety of Chinese ritual ceremonial vessels, bronze bells and some ornamental gold and jade weapons, all of which have been crafted with great skill. There were also sets of amazing stone armour, which weigh about 20kg and consisted of approximately 1020 pieces. As archaeologists pointed out the workers making these could add six pieces a day. So that means each piece of armour took about 170 days to complete.

There were two complete bronze charioteers with bronze horses uncovered in 1980. The originals are always kept safe back in China and it is a replica that travels and was on display at Sydney. It still captured the imagination and commanded attention. Also included were the little known about bronze birds.

Discovered during the last decade, they were arranged disported on the banks of a notional river. This had been designed to flow around the symbolic haven created by the first Emperor of the Qin dynasty (221 to 206) for his journey into the afterlife. There are also other ceramics and palatial architectural remains. These included ritual items and bronzes that were crafted by individuals and considered and viewed as works of art.

Sydney was the first city in the world to host the terracotta army in 1983, only nine years after they were first found. I was there and remember the show and its atmosphere well. I also remember the figures were lauded as ‘art’ and as portraits of real people. This supposition is now very definitely retracted by those who first proclaimed it, the archaeologists.

It seems the more they excavate and uncover the remains of the first Emperor’s huge army the more it has been realized that the figures simply follow a hierarchical stereotype. They were mass produced using moulds and are really only objects of propaganda, whose designs are affected by traditions of ritual and symbolism.

To produce the figures in seven parts the hands were produced in the kilns of ceramic workers in one province, the feet in another, the torso, the head and so on. It is estimated 1000 people worked for three years to make the army of 8000 warriors and their horses. The ill-fated workers who assembled and applied their original various vibrant colours, including bright red, vermilion, burgundy, dark green, pastel green, sky blue and ‘Han purple’, more than likely perished along with the Emperor in his tomb, as per established custom. This would seem to be proved by the fact there was nothing like them before, or since the reign of the first Emperor.

The style of figure known as the Generals give the impression they were not men to be trifled with. Originally presented standing on a raised platform, a device that reflected their privileged place at the top of both the food and power chain, they become an even more imposing presence looking down on their subordinates. Robust both in body and facial features, which reflect their rank and that they had plenty to eat, the armour they wear is heavy and foreboding. It acts as a warning they are invincible and, at 2.2 metres tall, they are slightly larger than life.

By way of contrast there was the standing or a kneeling Archer who ranked way down the pecking order. They were much smaller and wore no protective armour, because they were required to be agile and fleet of foot when protecting their master. Their bodies and faces were noticeably thinner than that of the generals and the rest of the army in between. This indicates they were not as well off financially.  There were thousands of them taking the first line of defense surrounding the infantry and cavalry and, as such were expendable.

The Terracotta Army at Sydney 2010

The exhibition allowed Sydney people, visitors and tourists with an opportunity to view the terracotta army up close and personal without having to travel to Xian province. There they stood in a dark, dusky recreated tomb like setting evoking the atmosphere of the mausoleum underground in which they were found. Herein lay the problem for me. A burial ground is something everyone in the west respects so the way they were displayed both affected and informed what the majority of people took away from the exhibition with them. Professionally it was a great piece of staging. However the setting was deliberately designed to get the majority of people’s emotions going.

It demanded from the viewer an almost romantic emotional response the Academics and the Director of the Art Gallery of NSW were warning the informed group, that made up the audience at the Symposium, against. So it begged the question. If it’s not for a diplomatic reason, why didn’t the brief for display require of the designers they put the objects into a setting that allowed them to be viewed by the light of day? And, yes, there are lighting issues in terms of preservation and conservation. But this is only a challenge very clever designers would have surmounted. If the terracotta army were placed in such contemporary setting, rather than one evoking the gloom of the underworld, it would provide a very different and much more dispassionate forum for the community at large to assess them by.

Much of what is believed to be under the surface in China still remains buried and, we were told that if the archaeologists continue to excavate the site of the mausoleum fully it is estimated it will take up to a hundred years + to reveal the full extent of its contents, including what remains of its first Emperor and the setting in which he placed himself.

The terracotta army are fabulous objects. They are of great historical and cultural significance and achievement to the people of China, much like the finds from the tombs in Egypt are for their peoples and so on around the world. This is not something anyone would dispute. But the question needs to be asked. Is the terracotta army art or artifice ? Should they be displayed in an ‘art’ gallery, which is all about presenting fine international and Australian art, or rather in a Museum whose premise is about presenting stories of cultural development and history.

For the simple villagers who found the buried army and the ancient village they grew up in, the entombed warriors have seemingly proved more of a curse than a blessing. While they made history they lost their land, which was reclaimed. Some of the last remaining earn their living today signing books in a gift shop in the Museum of Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, where they are paid for their trouble. The terracotta army is a billion dollar business for China and a great money earner for the galleries that display it.

As a final aside, Edmond Capon reminded Symposium participants that the man who discovered the first piece of a warrior, was only paid about A$5 for his find, although he was issued with a certificate from the government to confirm he was the first man to see the terracotta warriors again after 2000+ years.

Carolyn McDowall The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

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This beaker and its saucer were part of a tea and chocolate service given to Vittorio Amadeo II, King of Sardinia (1666-1732) by Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony, under whose patronage the Meissen factory was established. c1725 Johann Gregor Höroldt (1696-1775 ) the beaker is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at New York

As a commodity porcelain aided the growth of both the east and western world’s economies and benefited their social and cultural development for centuries. Porcelain is a translucent ‘hard paste’ ceramic ware first brought across the old silk road to the courts of Europe, from far-eastern Cathay (China) during the Ming Dynasty ( 1368-1644). The best came from the kilns at Jingdezhen. The secret of how to produce porcelain, as it was named by fourteenth century Venetian traveler to the ancient capital of Cathay Marco Polo, remained a mystery in the west for centuries. An ability to see through something so hard and impervious to liquid seemed magical to the princes of the courts of Europe and England. It represented a refinement of taste and was given silver and gilded mounts to protect its fragility and honour its brilliance and then put on display as a symbol of status, princely power and prestige. This wonder ware was painted brilliantly in cobalt (blue) at first, and then in an ever expanding variety of colours.

By the seventeenth century the English, and various other European trading companies, had increased their trade with China and Japan, who was also producing a rival product for Chinese porcelain. Their ships plied risky new routes, which saw many a cargo end up at the bottom of the sea. Back home in Europe and England local tin glazed earthenware provided the only alternative to the imported magical translucent ware from China, because the many who had tried to manufacture a hard paste style of ceramic had failed.

By the beginning of the eighteenth century however, the rituals associated with tea and coffee drinking were in the ascendancy in Europe, England and America, so the commercial advantages of producing a competitive product, to that of the long standing Eastern trade with China (Cathay), was highly motivating. It was Augustus the Strong (1670 – 1733) Elector of Saxony, a south-eastern state of modern day Germany, who took the risks, funded the experimentation and subsequently reaped the rewards.

During the first decade of the eighteenth century groundbreaking hard paste porcelain wares, produced at the town of Meissen under the patronage of Augustus the Strong would inspire and motivate others by their success. It was as early as 1694 that the German mathematician, physicist, physician and philosopher Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnahaus had discussed the possibilities of local porcelain manufacture with Augustus. He had a clear understanding of what constituted hard paste porcelain and desperately wanted to be the first European to discover the secret of China’s seemingly magically translucent wares, which had fascinated consumers at the European and English courts for centuries.

From 1700 Augustus the Strong was also involved with the fate of a young alchemist of dubious reputation Johan Friedrich Böttger, who was in trouble in Prussia for failing to transmute base metals into gold. Augustus was a powerful prince whose passion for porcelain was all consuming. So he provided Tschirnahaus with a laboratory for experimentation and brought he and Bottger together. Although he resisted at first, Bottger inevitably became involved with Tschirnahaus’s porcelain experiments.

Carrying out trials to test the heat resistance and chemical changes of Saxony’s earths and minerals at high temperatures by 1703 the duo had achieved a hard paste style stoneware, and produced a small range of products in imitation of imported Chinese red wares.

In 1708 Tschirhause died of dysentery, just a year before a report to the King on the 28th March, 1709 which claimed Böttger ‘could make good white, porcelain with finest glazing and painting in such perfection as to er at least equal, if not surpass, the Eastern production’. This was a boast because it took several more years for the porcelain to eventually rival oriental wares. By then the laboratory was too small for growth so in 1710 they moved it into an old fortress at Meissen in Saxony.

At the Leipzig Easter Fair of 1710, the Meissen Factory exhibited their wares for first time. Black glazed red stone wares (right) promoted Saxony’s industries and their  luxury goods. They were described in the Leipzig Gazette as ‘lacquered like the most beautiful Japanese products.’ The painting on these wares is traditionally attributed to Martin Schnell, who was known to have worked for Meissen between 1711 and 1715.

The manufacture of the new European porcelain differed from the Chinese by its relatively high proportion of the mineral kaolin. About 50% against the Chinese of 30%. They were experimenting and it would be wrong to imagine at all that they were very scientific about what they doing. All they really knew was that in order to reproduce porcelain they had to fire the wares at a very high temperature.

This bowl of hard-paste porcelain (left) has two delightful loop handles that extend from its interior. They are formed as twisted rose stems and extend out over the surface in modeled and applied foliage and flowers. The body itself is a creamy paste with a slightly greenish glaze. It was all about trial and error and the construction of the kilns . These remained a carefully kept secret, almost as precious as that of the composition of the paste. European pieces were fired twice, against a single Chinese firing process. After the first firing they were painted and the colours embedded by the high temperatures of the second firing.

The immediate public response was disappointing, because many of Böttger’s original stonewares were left plain, or had minimal gilded decoration, which we would today think was wonderfully minimalist. However at the time they were competing against a highly coloured and sophisticated product from the established market of China, and the burgeoning market of Japan, so this would have been viewed in a different light. Enamelers, outside the factory, often acquired slightly imperfect, or outdated white pieces quite cheaply. They would then embellish them with fashionable designs to sell at a profit. To assist the factory Augustus the Strong asked court Goldsmith Johann Jakob Irminger to provide both designs and ideas for new shapes.

This large jug of Böttger porcelain (right) made c1715 has ‘Irminger overlay’, a technique he developed for applying delicate reliefs, in this case beautiful blossoming branches. This style of porcelain was meant to be fashionable and valuable.

At Meissen they copied the palette of colours of iron/red, bluish/green, yellow and light blue used by Japanese potter Kakiemon Sakaida with sometimes the surface enriched with additional gilding. In this case the additional painted decoration is beautifully restrained and it is easy to see why Meissen would go on to great things.

With improvements Boettger’s red stonewares (left) also became extremely fashionable at court. Much use was made of Chinese models at first, but within a very short time an indigenous style emerged with its own shapes, symbols and styles.

New techniques for polishing and engraving were developed and eventually, with artistic innovation, the appropriate response came from the public. The Meissen Porcelain factory was well on its way to success.

Around 1716 Böttger produced beautiful porcelain wares with pink-lustre inner surfaces. The lustre was achieved by a dangerous technique whose recipe included mercury, which gave a metallic glow to the glaze.

The mixture for making lustre also contained pure gold and enamels and was therefore extremely expensive. Only a few experimental pieces survive where lustre is applied as lavishly as with this tea bowl and saucer.

This tea bowl has a matching saucer and is a now rare example of the earliest type of porcelain developed by Böttger who wrote to the King in 1717 saying

‘these works are, so to speak, my first-born children and I trust you will therefore not take it amiss, when I say that, for myself, I love them tenderly and… I try to bring them into the high esteem and opinion of others‘.

Böttger and his key workers were sworn to secrecy about the many different factory processes they refined, as well as those in development. They were well treated and given reasonable salaries, but security was tight and they were virtually prisoners.

Böttger, we are told, eventually took to drink and bad companions and died in 1719 at the early age of 37.

The coffee pot (left) with its hinged cover is painted in enamels and gilt, with the addition of a silver-gilt mount; It was made around 1720, but the decoration was added in Augsburg, attributed by scholars to the workshop of Johann Auffenwerth, ca. 1725-30.

The colours green and mauve are similar to those of a palette preferred at the court of the Chinese Emperors named for the longest reigning Emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty who ruled on the throne of heaven from 1661 – 1722.

Böttger’s contribution to the glory and fame his princely patron Augustus the Strong enjoyed would live on in the traditions he established at Meissen. At the time of his youthful demise the factory was in the ascendancy in Europe. Appointed manager in 1720 Samuel Stolzel earned respect when he improved the kilns for the factory. He brought to Meissen the man who would take its reputation world wide.

Gregorious Horoldt, who became Court Painter in charge of decorating the wares. Horoldt’s work was so much in demand by 1725 he had ten journeymen and five boys working for him. By 1731 that had increased to twenty five journeymen, eleven boys and two colour grinders

Johann Gottlob Kirchner was put in charge of the modeling. He taught drawing and modeling to the apprentices and recorded all the new and existing patterns in use at the factory at that time. The king’s greed for porcelain never diminished and with these two workers he had the ability to decorate with porcelain the newly bought Hollandische Palais (later renamed the Japanese Palace).

He planned to furnish all the rooms with vases, life sized sculptures of animals, the apostles and, in the chapel, even a ceramic altar, pulpit and organ. Nothing on this scale had been attempted before and new techniques had to be invented and mastered. The enormity of the task was hindered by the impatience of Augustus. Kirchner was the only man capable of undertaking such a daunting commission and he employed Johan Joachim Kandler to help extradite matters.

Joachim Kandler (1706 – 1775) was trained as a sculptor in Dresden and was destined to become the greatest German porcelain modeller, responsible for much of the success of the Meissen porcelain factory during the 18th century. A bust of Gottfried Schmiedel (right) modelled by Johann Joachim Kandler c1739  delights through its virtuosity. It is a work of great skill and invention.Kandler found nothing too difficult to attempt and his efforts were extremely productive.

His works were naturalistic in style and imitated throughout Europe. He joined the factory in 1731 and produced seven large birds about four feet high and one of the apostles for the Japanese palace and was designing its table ware when the King died, his successor vowing to complete the task.

During his forty four years at Meissen the reputation of the factory reached dizzying heights. His elaborate vases were nothing short of sensational. The best known of all Kandler’s works are his figurines of  characters from the Italian Commedia dell’Arte which are among the best works of this kind. They include Harlequin, Columbine and Pierrot, All his figures were engaging and delightful. The production was enormous – more than a thousand different subjects in all including people, animals,  mythological and allegorical pieces.

It was around 1728 that Kandler produced the ‘swan’ set whose embossed decoration on plates depicted swans floating on water surrounded by water plants and bullrushes.

The tureens were in the shapes of enormous shells adorned with mermaid handles and the oil and vinegar cruets, took the form of little putti riding swans. Its new style of floral decoration, inspired by the work of Japan’s wonder ceramicist Sakeida Kakiemon would in the end become a wholly new European concept.

The disastrous Seven Year’s War in Europe 1756 – 1763 heralded the death knell of Meissen glory. The factory was ransacked and pillaged by Frederick the Great. Throughout this period Kandler held the workers together. Following the peace of 1763 the new Elector Frederich Christian attempted to put his country and the factory back onto its feet. But while they were recovering other European and English factories were in the fashionable ascendancy while the struggling Meissen was in decline. Although the porcelain marked with the crossed swords, symbolic of the Elector of Saxony may have been preferred by many, it was not enough to save Meissen from closure. Kandler, whose originality, fertile imagination, skill and determination, together with an unsurpassed artistic talent had given the factory its greatest success died in 1775. Though it was later resurrected and continued it was never again to reign supreme. Today Augustus the Strong’s claim to fame rests on his patronage, his well known passion for porcelain and subsequent ownership of the first European factory to produce porcelain in the west,  rather than on the battles that he fought.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

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Roman Villa Terrace, a place of contemplation and pleasure

The Patricians of Ancient Rome established villa culture in their desire to enjoy the coveted pleasures of country life. In the first century before Christ Horace the poet dreamed of a place far away from the bustle of the capital, one where he was not jostled by crowds, stressed out by his dealings with highly placed persons or subjected to the consequences of trivial gossip.

In his villa he could relax, read the books of the ancients, sleep or rest as his mood dictated while enjoying the excellent wine and fresh food of the region, in great abundance. Despite evolving societies and technology the villa became and remains a place where one can dwell “under the tent of heaven”.

According to Oxford, the word classical pertains to the high standard achieved by ancient Greek and Latin authors or their works, or the culture, art and architecture of Greek and Roman antiquity generally. The main characteristics are clarity of outline and restrained harmonious design in accordance with established forms.

During the medieval period throughout Europe bitter rivalry and warring factions dominated everyday life. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century in Italy art, literature and learning was reborn and under the encouragement and patronage of princes, popes and potentates would rise to new heights of achievement.  Using the rediscovery of their own ancient classical past the all powerful family factions turned their energies and attention to building development in the cities and out in the countryside for themselves, as they had in antiquity seeking the pleasures of villa life.

Andrea Palladio - Venetian Architect

Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) was born in Padua at the beginning of the sixteenth century. He grew up in the republic of Venice, becoming an architect and great traveler. He wore a track up and down to Rome over the years where he avidly studied the architecture of antiquity. He believed ‘the study of ancient remains was the power and moral force behind Roman civilization’. He discovered that the Romans had been skillful at reinterpreting the ideas of others, especially the Greeks. The new style of architecture Palladio would develop during his lifetime would have a sense of calm and order because it was based on his interpretation of measurements gleaned from the ancient treatise of first century Roman architect Marcus Pollio Vitruvius. He also studied the remains of ancient sites at Naples, Piedmont and Provence, often travelling dusty dirt roads on foot until old age and infirmity finally prevented him.

Villa Capra (La Rotunda) - sited on a hill 'to see and be seen'

Andrea Palladio produced a style of refined classical architecture that was in direct contrast to the more elaborate ornamentation and forms carried out elsewhere in Italy at that time. The delightful villas he built in and around Venice and the nearby Veneto were designed to be in harmony and balance with man and nature and of a scale that was acceptable to both. He believed the setting for the villa was at its very ‘heart and soul’.

The plans of his layouts, which still exist,  reveal beautifully proportioned rooms that allowed for flexibility of function and purpose. He included vestibules for receiving visitors, galleries for showing off paintings, sculpture and other precious collections of coins and gems plus the necessary rooms that could be utilized as bedchambers and antechambers.

All the living rooms could change with the seasons…bedrooms could move to the coolest side of the house in summer and warmest side in winter. With the invention of printing and the wider circulation of books as well as scientific studies he designed a special room solely for this purpose. A gentleman’s studiolo was what we would today call a study or library and it was usually adjacent to the bedchamber.

All the rooms in his villas whether large or small had proportions based on the scale, proportion and relationship of the parts to the whole of the human body. These were rigorously applied. These ideas may seem fairly commonplace to us today, but at the time, they were virtually unknown and therefore, revolutionary.

During the sixteenth century any other form of decoration remained subservient to architecture and mural painting was a means of emphasizing the architectural elements. Palladio used the genre of Trompe l’ oeil painted effects to extend space visually and bring the outside in.

Interior frescoed landscapes were framed by white columns and alternated with real windows looking out onto real landscapes. They provided a harmonious connection to the external world, while ennobling the landscape. Artist Paolo Veronese was particularly skilled at this type of artistry and would be employed to complete the painted rooms at the Villa Barbero at Maser.

For Palladio as an architect to reach great heights and be regarded as the best in his field was only possible by gaining both recognition and support.  During the sixteenth century this meant having at least one great patron, one who thought beyond himself and not looking to receive monetary or favour rewards.

He needed to be a true Renaissance man…one whose thirst for knowledge was only exceeded by his desire for more and Palladio found those patrons in the renowned scholarly Barbaro Brothers.

The Villa at Maser he would design for them would become much admired and imitated. He wanted to provide them with building that was all at once functional as well as accommodating to the topography of its site.

An important agricultural villa it had flanking wings designed to house agricultural implements, farm animals and protect the crops from the elements as well as store the wine.

Palladio was concerned with using, respecting and conserving natural resources so at Maser he placed dovecotes in symmetrical towers at each end of the flanking wings, catering to the medieval tradition of attracting doves and other fowl to the Lord’s table. On the façade of one tower a giant astronomical clock tracked the heavens. The villa was sited halfway down a gentle slope with an ancient natural spring servicing its occupants with all their water needs as well as feeding the fishponds and finally irrigating the gardens and orchards. Everything was meant to be recycled.

For his clients the Foscari brothers Palladio designed a small compact villa without flanking wings, a simple country house meant for rest and pleasure.

He raised it up on a rusticated basement 11’ high to prevent flooding from the nearby River Brenta. Its site provided a quick method of communication with the city for the family by boat at little expense and to go there from Venice today by boat is still the most successful way of viewing it and understanding Palladio’s intent.

At the Villa Foscari, the basement acted as a podium for the smooth faced upper stories. The main entrance was under a pedimented portico, which was accessed by way of an external flight of stairs up to the entrance level. This first floor, known as the Piano Nobile or noble floor housed the main rooms of the villa and he used the Ionic capital on its giant columns, uniquely solving a method of turning corners in a handsome way. The internal murals that decorate the walls are by artist Giambattista Zelloti, one of which is reputed to be the mysterious la Malcontenta, a women ancestor who legend has it had been unfaithful to her husband and was locked away in a small house on the site.

Villas in Palladio’s day were sparsely furnished by our standards. Furniture was limited to large marriage chests, which were portable and they were often elaborately carved and exquisitely painted (cassoni). There were tables of monumental proportion often topped with coloured inlaid marbles (pietra dure) and cupboards with doors intricately decorated with intarsia (inlay). Great marriages of state joined families of means together – an ideal route to power. This was especially true if land was added to the equation.

In this context beds became the most important piece of furniture in the  house practically and symbolically because of their importance in begetting an heir to the family dynasty.

For a time the great Alps that surround Italy were a barrier to knowledge with only a handful of travelers braving the elements and hardships by land to visit.  In Palladio’s day the Mediterranean was also ruled by foreign empires and pirates so one had to be very keen, mad, or just plain foolhardy to try.

Over the four and more centuries since his death Palladio’s interpretation of the classical style has influenced many and traveled far. From Europe to England, America to Australia he inspired a dwelling that was simple and solid and one that reflects all our aspirations, needs and leisure requirements.

A villa by architect Andrea Palladio was a place where the owners could feel happy, secure and content, which is after all, what most of us still require and aspire to, a place where one can cultivate the head, heart, body and the soul.

Perhaps a villa by Palladio was the perfect house after all?

Carolyn McDowall ©The Culture Concept 2010, 2011

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The Gothic is always with us. Indeed Kenneth Clark whose essay on the history of the style charted its revival in the nineteenth century, showed its ability to survive through periods not usually associated with the pointed arch and cusped ornament. At the end of the twentieth century, perhaps as a reaction against the brutalism of modernist architecture and the anonymity of our cities, there was a revived fascination with the Gothic as a style and a renewed interest in Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-52) one of its greatest theorists and a forceful proponent of Gothic decoration. Pugin’s influence was felt on a generation of Gothic revivalist architects, the most famous being Gilbert Scott, and his own plans and designs were realised in both Sydney and Tasmania.

Pugin in his book, Contrasts, published in 1836, sought to compare the ‘noble edifices’ that embellished the ideal late medieval city with the dreary structures that dominate the nineteenth century factory town. His aim was ‘showing the present decay of taste.’ Dreaming spires have given way to smokestacks, grass has been replaced by the gasometer and the principal civic structures appear to be the asylum and gaol.

Pugin’s aesthetic didacticism and his romanticised attachment to the middle ages irritated many of his contemporaries, but he brought to the design of tiles, wallpapers, furniture and ironwork principles of design and authentic construction that pointed the way forward for William Morris and others in the Arts and Crafts movement who came after.

The decorative arts were never considered secondary by Augustus Welby Pugin. As an architect he might design the structure of a house, church or institution, but he conceived of the building, its fittings and furnishings as a ‘complete work of art.’ His early training and experience had been as a furniture designer.

When, after a fire, part of Windsor castle was rebuilt during the 1820s in the Gothic style he had produced designs for rosewood and gilt furniture to fill its halls. Then, following the decision of the British parliament to rebuild the Palace of Westminster in the Gothic style, after it also had been destroyed by fire in 1834, Pugin assisted Charles Barry on the massive project for many years and designed furniture, tiles and wallpapers to embellish the building

Ambulatory in St John's Cathedral at Brisbane, Queensland Australia the last Gothic Revival style cathedral in the world to be completed. Designed by John Loughborough Pearson an admirer of Augustus Welby Pugin

Despite his professed abhorrence of the industrialized nineteenth century Pugin was commercially minded enough to realze that the Great Exhibition of 1851, held in London’s Hyde Park to showcase British arts and manufactures, offered him an incomparable opportunity to bring his work to the attention of the buying public. The ‘Crystal Palace’ of Iron and Glass was the least sympathetic of settings for a display of Gothic inspired ecclesiastical ornaments and domestic furnishings, but within this large greenhouse Pugin created an exotic Medieval Court that was to have a significant influence on public taste.

Rich fabrics and papers caught the eye while signs advertising the wares of the craftsmen who collaborated with Pugin hung amidst heraldic emblems. John Hardman of Birmingham, who made brass, iron and gold work to Pugin designs, displayed his door hinges, chandeliers and fire dogs; George Meyers set out his furniture and carved architectural details, and John Crace showed his carpets and paperhangings. For Pugin arts and crafts were complementary. He extolled the virtues of the medieval craftsmen and attempted to resurrect their original processes. Bringing an antiquarian knowledge of Gothic ornament into conjunction with his own powerful design sense, and drawing upon the skills of nineteenth century workers, he was able to produce a range of new Gothic wares- furniture, wallpapers and ceramics.

From the eighteenth century furniture in the Gothic style had been available from most prominent cabinetmakers, and many patternbooks offered a variety of designs ranging from the more historically correct to fanciful adaptations and even exotic hybrids of Gothic and Chinese design. What Pugin sought in his Gothic Furniture in the Style of the Fifteenth Century (1835) was an almost archaeological correctness. Pugin also saw his furniture as part of an overall scheme for interior design but the different needs of the nineteenth century and the lack of useful models for certain pieces saw him freely adapt and interpret ornament taken from a variety of sources, often Flamboyant French or Flemish Gothic. An octagonal table designed by Pugin for the Palace of Westminister, for example, has no medieval prototype behind it. In this case Pugin takes ogee arches from late Gothic architecture to support the board.

The polychrome decoration of the lower area of the Sainte Chapelle at Paris, recently restored by Eugène Viollet le Duc, as well as rich late medieval textiles, were major influences on Pugin and on John Crace the interior designer who executed Pugin’s lavish schemes, which he elaborated from sketches. Because hand painted wall treatments were so expensive to attempt Pugin and Crace created wallpapers for the interiors of Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire and Lismore Castle, County Waterford.

They also employed such papers in the Palace of Westminister where enormous walls had to be covered. Pugin favoured stongly patterned wallpapers in a richly ornamented style.He sought a two dimensional medieval flatness and avoided attempts at false perspectives that might be suggested by shading.

For Pugin the pattern of forms and repeated devices were enough and he sought to create his effect using striking contrasts of colour. He also took a great interest in natural forms as his 1848 publication Floriated  Ornament shows and this allowed him to create sophisticated patterns based on stylised flowers such as the lily or the cabbage rose.

Pugin Cross

For the Palace of Westminster alone Pugin designed over one hundred different wallpapers utilising Italian textile designs, traditional English motifs such as the Rose and Portcullis , as well as fleurs-de Lys and Pomegranates.

These papers were block printed in a variety of colour ways but this process was both labour intensive and expensive. However, even today, papers such as Pugins’ Gothic Lily are still being produced in small runs from the original blocks. In a manner that anticipates William Morris, Pugin still believed that the Gothic could be popularised through the commercial production of cheap papers for domestic decoration.While he himself did not live to implement these plans, several wallpaper companies in the 1860s produced Puginesque papers for a wider commercial market.

Tiles and ceramics to Pugin’s Gothic designs were produced from the 1840s by the potter Herbert Minton at Stoke-on Trent in Staffordshire. Pugin had a developed interest in medieval ceramics and was particularly intigued by the encaustic thirteenth century tiles in the floor of the Chapter House, Westminister Abbey. It was Minton who developed a means for reproducing tiles by the same encaustic process. He produced a moulded indented base tile and onto this  slip of a second colour was poured to produce a striking two-tone effect.

Pugin did much to popularise the use of brightly coloured tiles, using them to enliven both walls and floors.In the decoration of St Giles Church, Cheadle, Pugin used tiles to create jewel-box effects in small spaces. Some of the tiles placed there were hand painted or overprinted after production. Pugin-designed tiles were used in 1850 to decorate the Palace of Westminster and displayed in the Medieval Court at the Great Exhibition. Later, Minton’s employment of the new Collins and Reynolds process for printing tiles with transfers saw a mass production of Pugin inspired designs.

Tableware to Pugin designs was produced by Minton for special commissions and for general sale. A simple printed blue trefoil pattern known in the Minton catalogue as Pugin Gothic, pattern 8659, was produced from mid 1840s down to the 1920s and is much admired. It was for Minton also that Pugin designed a series of multicoloured ornamental plates with foliated Gothic designs and French or Latin mottos.

Most celebrated of all the motto plates, and the most Victorian in its sentiment, is the ‘Waste Not Want Not’ Bread Plate, which dates from 1849. Produced by an encaustic process using inlaid coloured clays, the plate features strong Gothic lettering, the words nicely balanced, stylised foliated bands of ornament and appropriately a wheel of wheat.

Pugin’s legacy of rich decoration documents for us one aspect of the Victorians’ fascination with Medievalism and it finds many admirers. In 1994 the Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition, Pugin: A Gothic Passion, drew enormous crowds and the V&A gift shop promptly sold out of the reproduction china and the stationery decorated with Pugin’s designs. It appears that another generation has discovered Pugin’s sumptuous decorative patterns as well as his theoretical writings that find a new resonance in our post-modernist times.

Author: © Dr. Brian Brennan, MA (Hons) Phd (Macq) Dip Ed (UTS) 2009 – 2011

* Quote Kenneth Clarke, The Gothic Revival

Bibliography
M. Aldrich, Gothic Revival ,  Phaidon, London, 1994.
M.Archer, ‘Gothic Wallpapers-An Aspect of the Gothic Revival,’ Apollo 78 (1963), pp.109-16.
P. Atterbury and C. Wainwright, Pugin. A Gothic Passion, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1994.
K.Clark, The Gothic Revival, reprint, John Murray, London, 1962.
J.Jones, Minton: The First Two Hundred Years of Design and Production, Swan Hill Press, London, 1993.
C.Wainwright, ‘Furnishing the New Palace: Pugin’s Furniture and Fittings,’ Apollo 135 (1992), pp.3-3-7.

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World War 1 was a great divide in the new age of modernity. By the 1920’s vast social and community changes crystallized into an era of care-free release, which was initiated by the end of the first global warfare. Women, in some cases rebelliously, cut off waist fabulous waist length hair and sported a fashionable bob, traumatizing Victorian generation parents for whom symbolically the loss of such beauty went hand in hand with a loss of virginity, and possibly the soul.

From the pyramids of Egypt to the beat beat beat of the African tom tom a new fashionable modern style emerged across all the arts. This included architecture, interiors, fashionable couture and fabulous works of art. This is the period when function over form began its rise to be at the forefront of contemporary design.

Russian-born French painter and designer (1892-1990) Erte however, expounded romanticism. His witty lyrical flowing visions of the human figure achieved a striking effect His aesthetic message linked blazing colour with a tantalizing taste for the exotic, erotically tinged… begging an answer to the question. Who is in the cage? The confirmation of ‘design as art’ appeared in the aftermath of an International Exhibition of Arts held at Paris from April to October in 1925. Its protagonists, according to Modernist author Alastair Duncan, were escaping the’ tyranny of historical styles and a calcified culture’.

Did they succeed? Were their styles original as claimed? And, are they still informing the evolution of art, design and style? In the 1930′s, lured by the romantic classicism of Paris, many people arrived on luxury liners and locomotives. These had been reduced, by graphic artists, to fabulous fashion statements of line, form and colour. They were seductive images all about speed and power. Paris, the home of those who lived life as art, became a meeting ground for both the ‘ancients’ and the ‘moderns’. The future was now.

Many people, who have not enjoyed an arts education are often astounded when they discover that the modernist movement borrowed from the past in order to fashion the future. It was how its designers enthusiastically interpreted its individual elements that was the change, as they effectively made art design and style appear new.

While everything may have appeared new a style that has been, or is indeed now is, successful in its aesthetic has usually conformed and complied with the ‘rules of taste’ of its time, which is in its turn is governed by fashion.

British author John Edward Horatio Steegman (1899-1966) brought out his publication ‘The Rule of Taste’ in 1936, when he was employed at the National Portrait Gallery (London).  He was examining the Georgian era in England. [1714-1830] and had great difficulty in defining what constituted “taste”, claiming it ‘expresses both an immutable quality of discernment, criticism and perception’, and… ‘an active sensitivity to temporary fashions’.

James Laver, who wrote the forward for its 1966 re-publication, posed the question ‘How can “Taste”, which is sensitive to temporary fashions be described as immutable? [not changing or be able to be changed]. And, are taste and fashion mutually incompatible?

Internationally, and con-temporarily a mixture of art, science and technology is informing fashionable design, art and architecture, especially the construction of buildings both domestic and commercial, from Dubai to downtown L.A, from London to Melbourne.

For many just their clever creative conception is hard to comprehend, like a Dynamic Tower planned for Dubai, which will be perpetually in motion. It will also be the first skyscraper designed to be self powered, having a care for the environment.

Materializing out of the societal revolution of the sixties, where flower power was all pervasive, the environment and its conservation is now of global concern.

Recycling clothing and all those other objects we value and enjoy in life as much as we can is the new way of moving forward.  To ensure that it happens we just have to make them fashionable and especially palatable to potentates, princes, politicians, priests, patrons, poseurs, partners and plebians.

Maximalism, as the name itself suggests, presents all sorts of design possibilities and will perhaps help us meet the challenge. Works of art and design, admired for centuries, reflects the evolution of humankind spiritually, socially and culturally. They will continue to work effectively and be recycled just as long as their proportions please the eye, their subject challenges the mind, engages the spirit and connects with the soul.

Today in many chic wine bars and restaurants around the world antique crystal chandeliers illuminate the contemporary scene. Stunning recycled textiles, such as the extraordinary Kaitags (Hali) from Dhagestan, which are masterpieces of craft as well as powerful statements of culture, are appearing instead of traditional paintings on all  the very best walls.

Smart eye-catching antique oriental carpets are a manifestation of a weaving tradition that dates back to the ancient empire we know now as Persian. They work brilliantly over tables, on walls, or on timber floors,  such as the wide plank boards seventeenth century European society admired.

The world of costume has been busy re-fashioning its folds and foibles to suit simple style statements, reducing the amount of fabric used as in the fifties following World War II, although that has not always translated to a reduction in price for the consumer.

Costume encompasses all that we wear. Jewellery fashioned from recycled gems, seeds from nature or other fashion items are now becoming many a bosom, while hats have gone from being extravagant pieces of fabulous fluff to being just plain fancies.

Shoes have also been transformed, from extreme platform stilettos to elegant ballet flats, which as Karl Stevanovic on the Australian Today Show pointed out ” takes a confident woman to wear”.

Costume includes the previously unmentionable undergarments and they have been on show on a scale far beyond those who founded the world of fashionable couture could have ever possibly imagined.

From skinny self sacrificing super models to those demanding the use of ‘real people’, costume accommodates a desire to be noticed. It is the look at me, look at me syndrome, which has been in play for thousands of years.

Today ‘fashion’ collectively reflects a western society in which privacy has been stripped completely bare.

An original modernist the Swiss born French architect Le Corbusier (1834-1898) ensured that space became a recognized aspect of design. Those who inhabited his buildings experienced its reviving spirit.

I am not so sure however that he wanted space to become a fashion statement of luxury, power and status. This means it needs to be well managed in the future so it can benefit the greater good in an already overcrowded world.

Fashion needs to now drive the social consciousness of our creators, connoisseurs and collectors world wide. It needs to challenge the responsibilities we carry as individuals and as members of a global society.

Fashion wants us to understand and discover what we owe; to ourselves and to others. And, as it changes in this century and for this generation, fashion must become an attitude, a way of life that we choose.

Yes, today, fashion is definitely more than a frock.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

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