New Zealand designer, David Trubridge's Float Bed Designed for Dreaming

Since ancient times men and women have had a very real need for sleep, love and dreams. Over the centuries the bed gradually became the most important piece of furniture in the house, and a very real symbol of rank, wealth and power through its association with fertility. The idea of ‘ making a bed ‘ evolved from the early Saxon tradition of filling sacks with hay, and it is a term we have used ever since.

The whole idea of occupying a single chamber to sleep in became a reality during the so-called middle ages, a period in history that spans from the fifth, to the end of the fifteenth century. It was a luxury enjoyed only by a privileged few. The main ‘ chamber’ was about receiving guests, conducting business, as well as a hundred and one other activities, which included sleeping in a set up similar to our modern idea for ‘open plan living’. People traveling in regions previously frequented by outlaws and marauding tribes sought shelter in great castles where sleep became a communal affair – the sharing of rooms, or beds, recognized as a mark of political esteem or as a symbol of arms laid to rest.

Detail late nineteenth century wool embroidery on a linen bed curtain

By the sixteenth century producing an heir to carry on the family name, increase its wealth and uphold its traditions was of increasing importance, as was the obligation for offering hospitality. During this time the bed gained a great deal in importance and as privacy became an issue long curtains, suspended from hooks on the ceiling,  protected occupants from the gaze of others or servants who bedded down on straw pallets nearby.

Curtains aided warmth and repelled horrendous draughts in vast stone former strongholds struggling to become noble dwellings, rather than just bastions of defence. Textiles were an expensive commodity and bed curtains a ‘luxury item’ and very prestigious.  If fabric covered the whole bed it was a symbol of absolute nobility and wealth. Early bed hangings were often made of wool, embroidered with flame or crewel stitch with heavy tapestries also popular. Canopies evolved, attached to the ceiling, enabling curtains to be suspended underneath. During the day they were tied up or ‘bagged’ out of the way.

Infamous Great Bed of Ware, now restored

During the sixteenth century Diane de Poitiers the famous mistress of Henry II of France associated herself with Diana, the Roman goddess of women and childbirth. The crescent moon was her symbol, intertwined with the initials of her famous lover, decorated the wooden paneling on her bedchamber’s walls. Diane, like all well educated women of her time, knew to heighten her desirability by contrasting the whiteness of her skin against the black satin sheets on which she lay.

Next to Diane de Poitiers bed was the symbol for her lover, King Henri II in the panelling.

Sixteenth century beds had four posts to support a wooden canopy with a headboard and footboard, elaborately carved, our ancestors lavishing great funds on this piece of furniture that nurtured life from conception to birth through life and finally, death.

Many a sixteenth and seventeenth century man embarked on a ‘business trip’ leaving his wife behind, to enjoy the spectacular orgies held in the Great Bed of Ware. Originally housed in the White Hart Inn in Ware, England it could accommodate some 15 people including on the pull out beds hidden underneath the great bed.

A high degree of comfort and convenience would become a priority in grander homes during the seventeenth century and the bedchamber was often used to receive guests. Some bedchambers gained a close stool ensuite and mirrors, with glass now being able to made in larger pieces, were becoming an essential requirement for any lady of style.

From the beginning of the Renaissance to the French Revolution the bedchamber and the bed flourished along with the fortunes of Central Europe.

Seventeenth century Dutch Bedchamber, note the interior close stool in its own recess with a door - very avante garde

In the seventeenth century Louis XIV, The Sun King led the way. From 1701 his bedchamber occupied the exact centre of the chateau as he was the Sun King, and around him everything revolved. He devised ceremonies and elaborate rituals to keep his nobles at court, out of mischief and well entertained, so they could not plot against him. In his bedchamber he held his famous state rising and retiring ceremonies.

The bed was designed to stand out from the centre of the wall, which became known as the aristocratic position. It was placed behind a balustrade where the King could only be attended by men of noble blood. The elaborate hangings were changed from winter to summer and it was here you presented petitions and ask for jobs or favours.  The crowd approached the great man hopefully via the official path progressing along the axis of honour (the enfilade), which could take days to achieve.

More than often, those he really wanted to talk to intimately were quietly brought up the backstairs into the privacy of his closet, a small room off the bedchamber, where favours were generally secured. At Versailles a gilded carving above Louis’ bed represented “France watching over the King in his slumber” and in 1715 he, who had made the bedchamber ‘the sanctuary of royalty’, finally died”.

The great tradition of State Beds in England was established late in the seventeenth century when Charles II returned from an exile spent at the courts of France and Holland. The bedchamber gained additional furniture with chairs and stools upholstered ensuite, a mirror, table and stand, often in walnut, marquetry or lacquer.

Looks like a lover has fled the seventeenth century bedchamber after a confrontation with a husband?

The Melville Bed designed by Daniel Marot, upholstered by Francis Lapiere London 1700 Oak, pine. The bed was an extraordinary commission, made in 1700 for George, 1st Earl of Melville for the Apartment of State at his new Palace. V & A Museum, London

The Melville Bed is one of the most spectacular exhibits at the V & A Museum at London.

Designed by French Huguenot Daniel Marot, the son of a distinguished French architect and engraver it still retains its original luxury hangings of crimson Genoa velvet, backed by ivory Chinese silk damask linings embroidered with crimson silk trimmings

Marot had left for Holland a year before Louis XIV revoked the continually controversial Edict of Nantes. He had worked in the French royal drawing office in his youth and because he was in Holland when the Edict of Nantes was revoked he was exiled from his homeland and so could not return.

He settled, entering the service of William of Orange in 1686 and becoming his Master of Works responsible for the decoration of the Palace at Het Loo, bringing his knowledge of Parisian design and decoration in the most advanced form. He went to England with William and Mary when they accepted the invitation to rule jointly on the throne of England after James II had fled the country in 1688. At first beds were brought over from France, but within a short time Marot had appointed upholders and manufacturers to fulfill his design commissions.

Marot’s genius lay in his ability to view a complete interior and demonstrate how unity of design could be applied to the decoration of a room as a whole, and he was one of the first designers to do so. His work in England was to have  a profound effect on the history of interior design.

The Canopy at Hardwick Hall, note the Oak Tree to the right and left of the coat of arms. It signifies the strength and endurance of the indomnitable, Bess of Hardwick

Beautiful English needlework used for hangings were masterpieces of the upholsterer’s art, as at the first English Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole’s house, Houghton Hall and at Hardwick Hall the embroideries on the canopy of the State Bed were among the finest in the country.

Bess of Hardwick outlasted four husbands, becoming wealthier on each occasion. Her bed hangings were embroidered with all manner of flora and fauna, including the oak tree, a symbol of her own personal fortitude and strength.

Now bed bugs are not usually associated with the Age of Elegance, however, they plagued Europe for centuries. In the seventeenth century authorities suggested linen overalls should be worn over the clothes in bed and undergarments made lice proof by lining them with taffeta!

Samuel Pepys, the English diarist recorded ‘ he had found a bed, good but lousy’, which sounds rather odd, and poor Lord Herbert lamented ‘he saw hundreds of bugs on their march home, full of prey’, as he had been bitten ‘on a very tender part, which I shall forbear mentioning and which we Brittons think the best part of the bullock to make steak of’.

During the eighteenth century seasoned travelers on their Grand Tour of Europe sent their servants ahead to attend to such matters. Bed pests did not have any respect for rank. Bug men abounded, and a certain Mr. Tiffin secured precedence over all others through his advertisement in Bell’s Weekly Messenger of 1814

May the Destroyers of Peace
Be Destroyed by Us
Tiffin and Son
Bug-Destroyers to her Majesty

An eighteenth century French bedchamber from a detailed painted picture on porcelain

‘I mostly find the bugs in the bedsteads’, he said, ‘but if left unmolested, they get numerous and climb to the tops of the rooms, they’re very high minded and prefer lofty places’.

The formal layout of houses with the main bedchamber at the end of a succession for rooms was breaking down by the middle of the eighteenth century. The increasing desire for families to seek privacy away from the public gaze, the introduction of a room for dining in, were factors in altering the structure of how houses were laid out.

In France by the mid eighteenth century a luxurious bedchamber featured superb parquetry flooring and gilded mirrors whose candles were disposed on the frames to refract the light.

The Bed had gained silk hangings with the addition of ‘tie backs’ as well as huge pillows and bolsters for comfort.

The bed would also feature a counterpane (bedspread) . Young mothers received their friends following the birth of a child and they brought the traditional French gift of cone paper packages filled with delicious, delicate confectionary (dragées).

Scottish architect Robert Adam completed his Grand Tour and introduced his neoclassical taste into England on his return in 1758, setting up shop in London. The neoclassical movement has been likened to a new Renaissance particularly in terms of house layout and decoration. Instead of living life on one level important reception rooms moved down to the ground floor with bedchambers remaining on the first level. His predecessors would not have understood the term ‘going up to bed’.

Bedchamber Nostell Priory with original furniture by Thomas Chippendale

Cabinet Bed designed by Scottish Architect Robert Adam made by Thomas Chippendale for Actor David Garri

Adam and Yorkshire cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale were an eighteenth century phenomenon. They worked in many houses together and the bedchambers were embellished with beautiful Chinese wallpapers, festoons, garlands of flowers and classical motifs, with furniture and furnishings becoming lighter and more elegant.

The bedchamber at Nostell Priory originally decorated by Adam and furnished with polished or painted timber and upholstered furniture by Chippendale has had its original hangings replaced.

Nostell Priory in Norfolk is home to one of the largest and most diverse collections of furniture by Thomas Chippendale in the world, all of which was made especially for the house.  A floor of bedchambers not ever seen before have, in 2009, been handed over to the trust for viewing from 2010.

Adam also designed a piece of furniture that looks like a bookcase, but originally was made to contain a bed, which folded up inside.  Attributed to Chippendale’s workshop it was later converted into a wardrobe. A folding bed allowed a bedroom to be used as an extra living room during the day.

This bed is part of a group of furniture preserved because it belonged to the celebrated actor David Garrick (1717-1779). It was made for the guest bedroom at his country villa at Hampton, Middlesex.

Josephine's Bedroom at château de Malmaison

The room also contained armchairs, a sofa, a dressing-table and a wardrobe, all painted blue and white to match with blue silk upholstery and curtains. Contemporary Americans admired furniture designed by Chippendale and Neoclassical architect Robert Adam’s designs as well as the French idea of changing hangings from winter to summer and they were all taken up with great alacrity becoming part of an ongoing tradition.

Early in the nineteenth century, during the reign of Napoleon as Emperor of France, the severity of the Empire style was softened by the use of exquisite silks, sheer and opaque fabrics.

Empress Josephine had official architects Charles Percier and Pierre Leonard Fontaine design a magnificent bedchamber in her country house at Malmaison, after she had been put aside by Napoleon so he could marry again in order to gain an heir.

Her bedchamber was a triumph. The bed was raised on a dais for maximum effect, an eagle atop the canopy.

The walls hung with drapery, tent style, with slender gilded columns holding up the richly embossed ceiling painted with clouds and using Napoleons’ preferred colours – Scarlet red, for blood perhaps? and Gold, undoubtedly for Glory!

Bedchamber of Juliette Recamier

The Empire style of Napoleon and Josephine was enormously influenced in its early stages by a beautiful young woman who moved in elite circles Madame Juliette Recamier (1777 – 1849).

Contemporary descriptions tell us, ‘walked like a goddess on the clouds and her voice thrilled the senses’. She dressed in a cloud of diaphanous white mousseline, never wore diamonds only pearls, and appealed to romantic sensibility, wearing crowns of real pansies and cornflowers on her head and posies on her gown. Juliette was married at 15 to the wealthy banker Jacques Recamier.

In 1798 he bought a house for her on the rue deu Mont-Blanc, which he employed the architect Berthaut to furnish in the Greek Style.

Juliette insisted on having flowers everywhere, even on the stairs, and would greet invited guests with a charming smile and invite them to see her famous bedroom.

The bed itself was raised on a dais, and declared the most beautiful in Paris, against its background of mirrored walls, draped as it was in a froth of transparent gauze, a white vapor falling from the ceiling, surrounded by vases and candelabra, and an artificial rose tree.

Her bathroom was described as ‘rich and choice’, the bath itself hidden under a red stuffed top when not in use.

After 1830 in Europe cities became overcrowded with little or no suitable restraints on birth control. Coupled with advances in medical practice survival for large families was ensured and elaborate beds once again stood in the main chamber being used for a whole range of family activities

Early Oak Bed in Kelmscott Manor designed and worked by May Morris, daughter of William Morris, Morris & Co Embroiderers. The Bedcover was embroidered by Jane Morris, William Morris's wife

In Victorian England increasing industrial wealth meant country houses expanded.

William Morris La Belle Iseult 1851

Self-contained bedchambers accommodated guests at weekend parties with clever hostesses arranging their occupation to suit the games played ‘ after dark’.

Walter Scott’s tales of Knights of the Round Table had every late nineteenth century woman panting at the thought of Sir Galahad arriving on his white charger to carry her off!

Love was considered superior to sex, conducted on a higher plane involving much talk of the ‘passion of the soul’.

Arts and Crafts Designer William Morris, leader of the Arts and Crafts movement, depicted his wife Janey Burden, as Le Belle Iseaut in 1858 in her bedchamber, her bed in disarray, its bed hangings ‘ bagged’ as in the middle ages.

Janey became, like all the other women of her age, guardian angels of the hearth and upholders of the sacred values of the Victorian home. Her husband William’s ideal of womanhood exemplified the treasured image shared by most men for that of a medieval damozel at work upon the hangings for her castle bedchamber.

Mae West

The aesthetic movement towards the end of the nineteenth century in Europe and England preached beautiful surroundings, promoted spiritual and mental health.

The rose motif and white paint became popular with followers of Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who was a very influential designer during this period, especially in Germany and Austria.

It also became fashionable for the modern women to assert themselves and become involved directly in the decoration of their homes; a display of taste as important as dressing well and looking beautiful.

In America following World War One Hollywood movie stars became guardians of our morals. They were required to keep one foot firmly on the floor during scenes taking place in what was now known as the bedroom.

Popular star Mae West, fearful of the damaging effects of sunlight and fresh air on her beauty, kept her blinds permanently drawn, the air conditioner humming and those lucky enough to come up to see her sometime discovered that her mirrored’ boudoir revealed all!

Contemporary Zen Bedroom courtesy Robertsons Furniture

The bedchamber or bedroom today is a comfortable and familiar friend, one in which the most significant thresholds of our experiences are crossed, enveloping us in its warmth and security.

It provides a place in which we are free to consider the consequences of our days while we progressively plan for the happiness of all our tomorrows.

‘ and so to Bed, pray, wish us all good rest!
Sleep tight, oh, and don’t let the bed bugs bite!’

Carolyn McDowall The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

Related posts:

1. Women of Influence, Marquise de Pompadour
2. Love Jewellery – Rome to Renaissance
3. Love Jewellery – Romantics to Retro

Sensational Etruscan Jewellery - Metropolitan Museum of Art New York

900 years before the Christ event someone of unsurpassed literary ability wrote this superb line from the Song of Songs, a book of the Hebrew Bible,  Other evidence that jewelry and love were associated in the ancient world is found in the House of Vetti excavated at Pompeii from September 1894 to January 1896. On the house’s walls a detailed fresco depicts a goldsmith’s workshop in which a group of amorini, or cupids, whose very name means desire, are engaged in making jeweled ornaments intended to wound their victim’s heart. Jewelers had a ready market at Pompeii where the elite in Roman society went for a holiday and to enjoy the company of friends. The cameo technique thrived and they were made of different materials such as rock crystal, sardonyx, agate and glass and they were very popular.

Cupid and Pschye Cameo - British Museum

Subjects ranged from portraits to portrayals of deities and mythological episodes. One of the most famous depicts the family of Emperor Augustus. Down the centuries a naughty mischievous Cupid became an icon shooting his bow to inspire romantic love. Over time he became the personification of love and courtship in general.

In the fashionable world of nineteenth century England young ladies of the classical school of ornament wore Cameos. The fashion for them began soon after Napoleon’s Italian campaign of 1796 when cameos were brought back to France from Italy. Many of these were of Greek or Roman origin. Their beauty and perfection fascinated Napoleon. He had some mounted especially for his own use and, for his sister the very beautiful Paolina Borghese. Cameos were so popular they were set in all sorts of jewels such as tiaras, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, usually mounted in simple gold collets

Lady School of Ornament - Punch 1859

During the last 50 years of the nineteenth century, on the basis of a mounting interest in archaeology any lady of fashion visiting Italy would consider her tour of Rome incomplete if she did not call into the Castellani’s shop near the Spanish Steps to acquire one of the famous pieces of Italian archaeological revival jewellery offered there.

It was 1859 when an article appeared in England’s popular magazine Punch.  A satirical sketch, it had an amusing extract attached that made the point on how just hard it was for fashionable ladies to wear the jewellery inspired by the archaeological remains of ancient Roman culture.

‘You know the Randoms have just returned from their long residence on the Continent. I spent a day last week with Imogen Random, who kindly showed me her jewel casket. The only drawback to her classical arrangements is her small and diminutive stature… the weight of her gladiator’s necklace is positively distressing to the collar bones; her hair is visibly diminished since she took to wearing Greek daggers and Roman pins, both of which are so pretty and so antique, … and her poor little ears, well they suffer martyrdom with the weight of her earrings, exquisite flying figures of Victory, which are supposed to be constantly whispering joyful tidings of new conquests…employ every art with your Papa Maude to induce him to bring you to the Eternal city where we may have the inexpressible happiness of shopping at Castellani’.

When people today talk about jewels, jewellery, gemmology and gems it is clear the vocabulary has become confused. Gemstones are treasured minerals found in the earth. ‘Gems’ are the objects fashioned from them. Jewels are gems ready for mounting into jewellery, and other objects of art. And, jewellery – well it is the finished product that if its designer has succeeded, adorns its wearer well.

Be sure to read our four surveys about the evolution of love jewelry from Cupid to Cartier. They are Rome to Renaissance, Restoration to Revolution, Regency to Revival and Romantics to Retro.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

Related posts:

1. Love Jewellery – Rome to Renaissance
2. Love Jewellery – Romantics to Retro
3. Love Jewellery – Regency to Revival

A Rose smelling a Rose by John Williams Waterhouse

A human desire for more than a subsistence level lifestyle is fulfilled to a large degree by the beauty and visual satisfaction we find in gardens. The organization of gardens at different times in history and in different places has been based on assumptions about ‘man’s relationship with nature’ and they are often seen as an allegory for the cycle of human life and death. Gardens can have a divine, inspiring or animating influence. They are a complex form of visual artistic expression we can enter physically and an observant visitor will never see exactly the same thing twice.

Rosa St John Brisbanensis Rubra

From January 2000 – July 2005 it was my privilege to live in an apartment atop the historic St Martin’s House in the precinct of St John’s Cathedral at Brisbane during the last and most important phase in the final completion of its great west end (2008). St Martin’s House was a building whose architectural design was inspired by the romance and charm of the nineteenth century English arts and crafts movement. The space where I lived became a meeting place for many. It had a Juliet balcony and somehow it always seemed particularly appropriate to me to look out from it, as if from a castle’s Turret, onto a garden filled with roses and lavender.

To aid the completion of the cathedral The National Trust St John’s Cathedral Completion Fund commissioned internationally renowned Ross Roses of South Australia to produce a rich red rose as a fundraiser and to celebrate all those people who had contributed to its completion. A competition produced its botanical name Rosa St John Brisbanensis Rubra and a colleague and I planted dozens of the St John’s rose in the main Cathedral gardens and under planted them with one of their companion plants, French lavender. Also invited by the Dean of the Cathedral David Thomas at that time to write the script for the launch of the St John’s Rose, the text was read out at a special church service by a former Precentor of the Cathedral the Rev. John Cuffe, which was presided over by Archbishop Hollingworth. Discovering it while browsing some old documents on the computer it is copied here as a reminder that the rose is really much more than just a flower…

The Rose symbolic of the Virgin Mary

Said the Passionate Shepherd to his love

‘Come live with me and be my love
And we will all the pleasure prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields
And all the craggy mountains yields…

… There I will make thee beds of roses
With a thousand fragrant posies
A cap of flowers and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of myrtle’*

The rose, that glorious flower we all admire, crosses all boundaries of culture in its quest to win you to its favour. With its dramatic combination of beauty and fragrance it reminds us of war and peace, of Ancient Greece and Rome and, of Pagans and Christians.

The Rose, delicate and ephemeral, represents the frailty of the human body and the transitory nature of human life. In the language of flowers the rose has many characteristics, including simplicity and beauty.

Medieval legend asserts that the first roses appeared miraculously at Bethlehem as the result of the prayers of a ‘fayre Mayden’, who had been falsely accused. She was sentenced to death by burning but saved, by the Grace of God…the brand that lit the fire transformed into a red rose, while the brand that remained un-kindled was transformed into a white rose.

In Christian symbolism, the rose was appropriated to the Virgin Mary, one of whose titles is the Mystic Rose, as it is emblematic of a paragon or, one without peer.

The Rosary, whose beads were originally made of ground rose petals and rose oil, is used as a meditative discipline, focusing on the mysteries of the incarnation, the passion and the resurrection. When praying The Holy Rosary you can meditate on the mysteries of joy and on the sorrow and glory of Jesus and his mother Mary.

The Persians considered the rose the most beautiful of flowers and for century’s writers, poets and artists sung its praises.  The Phoenician saint, who established Christianity in Persia, carried the Holy Rose or Rosa sancta, as it became known, to Abyssinia where it is still found in churchyards today.

Fossil Rose Leaf

Traders along the old caravan routes carried it to Kashmir, Afghanistan and India. In 1187 the Sultan Saladin used 500 camel loads of rose water from Damask Roses to purify the Temple of Omar, which had been used as a Christian Church.

The citizens of the island of Rhodes, the name of which comes from Rhodon, the Greek word for Rose, adopted it as their symbol.

The earliest written record of a rose appears on Sumerian tablets 5000 years ago, with a sculpture of the same period depicting a golden ram caught in a thorn bush, on which blooms a rose. Rose leaf fossils have been retrieved in many intriguing places.

Botticelli's lovely Venus scattered liberally with Alba Roses

The first recorded painting of a rose was on the walls of the Palace of King Minos in Crete at Knossos.

The rose was the symbol of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, who chose it as her personal emblem. In the Iliad the legendary Greek poet Homer described the shield of the Greek hero Achilles as being decorated with roses and, how Aphrodite came by night to anoint King Priam’s son Hector’s body with rose oil before it was embalmed, after he had been slain by Achilles.

The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra, it is said, soaked the sails of her ship with rose water so that as she departed from her lover Roman politician and general Mark Antony, ‘the very winds were lovesick’.

The Romans are attributed with introducing the rose to England. A Benedictine monk and English historian known as The Venerable Bede possessed a copy of Roman author and natural philosopher Pliny the Elder’s work on natural history, in which he states that the Isle of Albion as England was known in the 1st century, might have been named for the white roses that grew wild all over that isle.

Love is like the wild rose-briar;
Friendship like the holly-tree.
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms,
But which will bloom most constantly?**

Romans lavishly celebrated the rose.

Heliogabalus, a wealthy citizen strewed rose petals over the couches, porticoes and grounds of his palace. He scented the air with fountains of rose water when entertaining. The Emperor Nero showered rose petals on his guests from the ceiling of his dining hall where they had been received on a carpet of rose petals. He also asked that the seashore near Naples be strewn with roses when he visited and Roman heroes were glorified with crowns and garlands of roses. When the rose was out of season, unable to endure its absence, they imported them from North Africa, as well as rose scent from Arabian and Indian merchants.

Petra, the ancient capital of the Nabataean Kings, was celebrated in verse as the Rose Red City.
Match me such marvel, save in Eastern clime
A rose-red city – half as old as time

In twelfth and thirteenth century France stained glass ‘petals’, in the shape of a rose radiated from a central figure in the legendary Rose windows installed at Chartres Cathedral. Rose windows were repeated in various configurations in Gothic cathedrals all over the world, including St. John’s at Brisbane.

In England in the fifteenth century the warring factions of York and Lancaster were united when Henry Tudor married Elizabeth of York.

This union was symbolized in the Tudor rose, which flaunted both red and white petals.

Golden rose Biblioteca apostolica

The Rose became a symbol of papal benediction at Rome and a golden rose bush was presented to the Italian City of Sienna by Pope Pius II in 1459.

Rose coloured vestments may be worn by the clergy on Rose Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent when golden roses, are still to this day, blessed by the Pope and sent to foreign powers saying…

‘Accept this rose at our hand, who, all be it unworthy, holds the place of God on earth, by which rose is typified the joy of the heavenly Jerusalem…’

The rose chosen for St. John’s Cathedral at Brisbane to celebrate its completion is a rich red rose….the rose triumphant.

Red is the symbol of passion

The Rose is the flower of passion

St John’s Gospel is the gospel of passion

The Turret atop St Martin's House and its Juliet Balcony viewed from the South Porch entrance to St John's Cathedral at Brisbane

…

While living at St John’s my contribution was to design, donate,  plant out and tend the main courtyard and cathedral front gardens. This included the lovely roses, the lavender and many of the plants in its gardens. In the courtyard before I left I planted an olive tree, because besides having Homeric style, grace and gravity, symbolically it represents the hopes and aspirations of humankind and I am an eternal optimist.

Now I am living in Melbourne it is my hope the communicants are tending the gardens at St. John’s and looking after the roses and all the other plants. After all gardens are at the meeting of heaven and earth.

For that mist may break when the sun is high
And this soul forget its sorrow
And the rose ray of the closing day
May promise a brighter morrow**

Carolyn McDowall ©The Culture Concept Circle 2009 – 2011

*The Passionate Shepherd to His Love was written by the English poet Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593). In addition to being one of the most well-known love poems in the English language, it is considered one of the earliest examples of the pastoral style of British poetry in the late Renaissance period.

** Love and Friendship and What Use is it to Slumber Here are poems by Emily Brontê (1818 – 1848)

Related posts:

1. For the Love of a Rose – The Beauty of Creation
2. The Culture Concept Circle – You Tube Channel
3. A Cultural Conundrum – Melbourne vs Brisbane, the new Black?

Ancient Greek Philosopher Aristotle said ‘The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law’

The early nineteenth century in England, Europe and America was a period of extraordinary political change, of revolution, scientific discovery, dazzling artistry, literary excellence, military milestones, political and social scandal. From the dandyism of Beau Brummell to the romantic exploits of Don Juan from the abolition of the slave trade to Catholic emancipation, from revolution to the romantics, this was an age that had an engaging cast of characters. The disappearance of the powdered wig in the early 1790’s marked a revolution in polite society and in London wild hairstyles exploded onto the Regency scene. They included the central curl, crimped or cropped locks of long, lanky and languishing dukes and dandies.

This is a period dominated by men so it seems most appropriate to start by viewing the dashing portrait of Spencer, 2nd Marquess of Northampton painted by Scottish portrait painter Sir Henry Raeburn and exhibited at the Royal Academy at London in 1821. Born in 1790 by the time he was 30 Lord Northampton was a respected connoisseur of the arts and literature, particularly poetry. As President of the Royal Society in 1838 he worked tirelessly, with British politician William Wilberforce,  to ensure the abolition of the slave trade as well as campaigning for law reform. His portrait by Henry Raeburn, one of the era’s distinguished painters is a fine example of the new style of portrait ‘realism’. Its bold, simple approach reveals an enduring structure of both character and experience.

The subject himself is a man history may not have celebrated very much. However in his own quiet way he contributed to its growth, intellectually, socially and practically. There is an intensity that leads us to believe the Marquess is a vividly romantic personality, a quiet brooding style of hero. His pose is very contained. His hands folded. The tightly wrapped cape creates an enclosed silhouette, one that lends dramatic effect to the white of his collar and cravat as well as the brilliant red of his cloak lining. If we had to choose a colour that epitomizes the period of historical events that encompasses the time span of our romantics and revolutionaries from 1760 – 1830 it would have to be ‘red’, the colour of passion, which not only symbolises romantic love but also revolutionary blood.

Red was London’s most favoured colour. It was the colour of Roman tiles that paved the houses of first century Londinium, and the colour of the original wall surrounding London, which was built from red sandstone. It was used to make crosses on the doors of houses in the Middle Ages when plague invaded households. It was worn by Henry VI and his nobles when they made a triumphant entry into London in 1432 and the warring factions of York and Lancaster were united when Henry Tudor married Elizabeth of York. This union was symbolized in the Tudor rose, which flaunted both red and white petals.

The pensioners at Chelsea Hospital all wore red, and still do. It was the colour of the royal mail box that allowed fast and easy communication between friends and foes and, eighteenth century maps of London marked street improvements and indicated the areas of the ‘well to do’ or wealthy, in red. Most of all for Londoners red was the metaphor for the great fire, the formative event in London’s life, which set in concrete London’s identification with the colour red.

From the buckets you filled with water to quell the flames, to the engines the firemen used and the coats they wore, everything was red. Paradoxically, the greatest effect the great fire of London had was to promote the advancement of science. The Royal Society established in London in 1660 prompted members to find ‘scientific’ or ‘objective’ causes for such violent events so that such pestilences and conflagrations might be averted in the future.

The era of romantics and revolutionaries is also all about the continuing themes from ancient Greece and Rome for that of liberty, religion and justice. Liberty was the freedom to think or act without being constrained by necessity or force; freedom from captivity or slavery; and of the political, social and economic rights that belong to citizens of any state, or to all people.

It was then, and is now, the most potent of all western ideas and ideals and its theory should be constantly challenged. It was also about elevating creativity as a means of critical authority. Many wanted to free art from those who wanted to put rules in place to restrict its production.  It sought to validate strong emotion as an authentic source for an aesthetic experience, providing new ways for people to perceive the nature, beauty and creativity of the world they lived in.

It was about the poets and their poetry, the philosophers and their thoughts, the playwrights, the authors and their words as well as the fashions, passions and perceptions of London and its people. Authors like Jane Austen and her family, who lived during this time, more than likely fell into a category of middling people, a term coined by literary wit, social commentator, and son of England’s first Prime Minister Horace Walpole. On his return from the continent in 1741 he said “I have before discovered that there was nowhere but in England the distinction of being middling people. I perceive now that there is peculiar to us middling houses; how snug they are”

During the eighteenth century in England a new class of people emerged, the country gentry. They actively supported the ruling and upper classes by cultivating an ambience of politeness, a keen, though delicate sensibility, which was always balanced by displaying a great deal of practical common sense.

Their gentrification was reflected in how they dressed, dined, performed and were entertained, in a fine selection of social settings. They rotated from the socially competitive atmosphere of London’s elegant drawing rooms to the cheerful gaiety of Bath’s assembly’s room and onto the more robust attractions of popular coastal resorts like Brighton, which were after 1792 also frequented by the Prince Regent and his entourage. They strove for aesthetic perfection urged on by their awareness of the ‘antique’, while striving to emulate the ideal – classical perfection. The classical ideal flowed over into the landscape and small temples, originally designed as refuges from the hot Mediterranean sun, became focal points of beauty set as they were in a natural setting ordered from the centuries famous gardener, Capability Brown.

For centuries in Europe Continental monarchs ruled absolutely, whereas in England, for both good, and not so good reasons, the King’s council had over the centuries gradually circumscribed monarchical power by parliamentary institution.

In response to a ‘glorious revolution’ that deposed his wife Mary’s father, King James II, who threatened to restore Catholicism in England, William of Orange negotiated with Parliament to succeed to the throne of England and rule jointly with his wife.  They acknowledged that their power came from legislature rather than from any divine right. They confirmed and guaranteed freedom of speech and religious toleration in England and the 1689 Bill of Rights they signed exercised a great deal of influence in America during its fight for independence.

By the last forty years of the eighteenth century the English system of government with a controlled monarchical head, two houses of parliament and a voting system had gained the admiration of most, liberal minded European philosophers and considered great thinkers. However, if you read accounts of the parliament of the day it seems a wonder democracy managed to flourish at all.

A Swiss Pastor, who bribed his way into the House of Commons with a bottle of, undoubtedly red wine, reported ‘that Members of Parliament wore no special dress and…came in boots and greatcoats and kept their hats on.’ Scandalous behaviour.

Many an MP ‘lay prone upon a bench eating oranges or cracking nuts during a debate’. Bad speakers were laughed out of the chamber while good ones were heard in ‘perfect silence’ and approved of by calls of ‘hear him’. Real democracy in action for the pastor was a frightening thing. He was completely horrified by much ‘open abuse ‘ and the rude remarks that its members indulged in. He did testify later however ‘that the lowest and meanest members of society take an interest in everything of a public nature, whether high or low, rich or poor. It was to be admired that a carter, commoner, ‘nay an Englishman has his rights and privileges defined and knows exactly what is going on as well as his King or the King’s ministers’.

Noted French author of Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire (1694 – 1778), after a short spell in the Bastille for daring to challenge a French nobleman, lived in England from 1726 to 1729 where he was totally astonished by its people’s many freedoms. He found it completely amazing that Englishmen were able to virtually say and publish what they liked without fear of prison or exile; he was further astounded there was no torture or arbitrary imprisonment; and that noblemen and priests were not exempt from certain taxes.

In England he discovered it was the poor who enjoyed exemption from taxation, whereas at the same time in France it was the rich. On top of all of that he discovered that different religious sects were allowed to flourish. Protestant non conformists were allowed to gather in their own places for worship and become teachers etc.

They were subject to swearing certain oaths and declarations that they would not act against the crown or Parliament but they took that in their stride. Any further restrictions in place for Roman Catholics were finally removed in England by 1829. The wider expertise and experience Voltaire gained while in England meant his works and ideas became the embodiment of the European ‘enlightenment’. Although he died some time before it, he irrevocably laid the foundations for a French revolution in the minds of his peers.

The so-called Enlightenment is one of those rare historical movements that managed to name itself. Certain thinkers and writers, primarily in London and Paris, believed they were far more enlightened than their compatriots. So armed with only their own self confidence they set out to enlighten everyone else.

They believed human reason could be used to combat ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and build a better world. Their principal targets were religion (embodied in France in the Catholic Church) and the domination of society by a hereditary aristocracy (Europe and England).

Up until the eighteenth century on the Continent, as well as in England, the Court had been the main centre for high culture. It was less a set of discrete works of art than a unique phenomenon shaped by circles of conversation and criticism that were conducted by its creators, distributors and consumers.

The superiority of any court was clearly visible in the architecture of its magnificent buildings, the woven designs of its precious tapestries and the exquisite collections of its paintings. They provided a backdrop for the high drama surrounding monarchs and their reign. However without a proper stage it was difficult to perform the traditional rituals of power and eventually the court could only serve as a cultural focus for arts and literature as long as it was large, visible and fashionable filled with courtiers, hangers on and admirers.

Artist and designer Charles Le Brun had depicted Louis XIV on the ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors as a person, rather than a deity, but any good intentions Louis had in his youth and middle age, from time to time, were swept away in the sadness of old age and his revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

This document, formerly put in place by Henry IV the Great in 1598,  had granted religious toleration to the people a policy that had proved beneficial to France’s economic growth during the early part of Louis’ reign as the majority of artisans, who worked to produce the trappings of his reign, were Protestant. (Huguenot).

The court of Louis the self-styled Sun King at Versailles, during the most fruitful time of his reign, had fulfilled everyone’s expectations mainly because Louis himself uniquely and cleverly managed its private and its public face concealing many of its faults and its sexual license behind a heroic façade.

This was in direct contrast to England, where in the second half of the seventeenth century, the Whig junto, a self-appointed committee with political aims whose members constantly surrounded and supported the King, gradually assumed positions of power distributing the resources of the crown in the form of places, pensions and perquisites and further circumscribing the power of the monarch.

This would mean that by the second half of the eighteenth century the King at London was being treated as a human being. Once that had happened something quite unique began to take place. High culture, an integral aspect of the court began to move out of its narrow confines and into other diverse spaces within London becoming an attribute of the people.

From palaces to coffee houses, to reading societies, debating clubs, assembly rooms, galleries and concert halls over the next 60 years high culture became a partner of commerce. Art, literature, music and theatre was transformed into thriving and popular endeavours and enterprises.

That the first two Hanoverian Kings George 1 and George II disliked England and its people was really neither here nor there. Before leaving to take up residence in England the first George calmed his Hanoverian subjects fears of the English chopping off his head by saying ‘I have nothing to fear – for the king killers are all my friends’.

By the time of the succession of the George II to the English throne in 1727 when asked to describe the character, habits and customs of the English a visiting Swiss Protestant, César de Saussure tackled the subject bravely in letter seven of his collection now entitled A Foreign View of England when he said…

…‘I do not think there is a people more prejudiced in their own favour…they look on foreigners in general with contempt and think nothing is as well done elsewhere as in their own country’ and he continued endeavouring to justify their self satisfied and smug attitude, ‘certainly many more things contribute to keep up this good opinion of themselves, their love for their nation, its wealth, its plenty and its liberty’.

The Georgian era in England began on horseback and ended in a railway carriage. As to the countryside, where its majority nearly 6 million people lived it was still, according to a contemporary description, a country of ‘champion fields, sprawling common, waste and woodland‘.

In reality the marshland, bogs and moors were all very treacherous places and much of the land under cultivation was still tilled as in medieval times. In the north the country was mostly barren due to the poverty of the soil, impassability of the mountains and scarcity of population and the roads, well they were truly vile. It is understandable that a man might spend his whole life and never go further than the village market.

The gurus of taste and style considered the fine arts, painting and sculpture, addressed the so called Pleasures of the Imagination individually, collectively and corporately. Everyone wanted to experience great emotions of taste and become a voyeur of the interiors of city and country houses. Remarkably, with the right introductions,  these could began to be arranged to suit your purpose.

Archibald Alison, a Scottish retired cleric of the Church of England, first coined the phrase the pleasures of the imagination. Like many others of his generation he indulged himself by writing elegant fragments and well turned sermons. He seemingly enjoyed a pleasant country life in Shropshire and Hampshire, prior to moving back to Edinburgh in 1800 to benefit his son’s education. Alison was just a one person who was part of a large movement of people, a groundswell inspired by the works of enlightened writers such as Voltaire. They were all busily expressing their own views through writing essays, hoping they would influence the leading figures of the so-called European enlightenment.

To understand why this movement became so influential during the eighteenth century, it is important to revisit sixteenth century French Humanist Michel de Montaigne who asked a single question over and over again in his essays: “What do I know?” By this he meant that we have no right to impose on others dogmas, which rest on cultural habit rather than on the understanding of an absolute truth. Powerfully influenced by the discovery of thriving non-Christian cultures in places as far off as Brazil, he argued morals may be to some degree relative. ‘

Who were Europeans to insist Brazilian cannibals, who merely consume dead human flesh instead of wasting it, are morally inferior to Europeans who persecute and oppress those of whom they disapprove? This shift toward cultural relativism, though based on only a scant understanding of newly discovered races of people would continue to have a profound effect on European thought right through to the present day.

Just as their predecessors had used the tools of antiquity to gain unprecedented freedom of inquiry enlightened thinkers used examples of other cultures to reshape not only their philosophies, but their own societies. This line of thought paved the way for the justification of a French Revolution. If we cannot be certain our values were God-given, then we have no right to impose our ideas by force on others. Inquisitors, popes, and kings alike in this train of thought had no business enforcing adherence to particular religious or philosophical beliefs and it is one of the great paradoxes of history that radical doubt was necessary to arrive at a new sort of certainty, one that was labeled scientific.

In the second half of the eighteenth century a good scientist wasn’t just dabbling with test tubes or looking at the sky. He willingly and patiently tested all assumptions as he was challenging traditional opinions with an aim at coming closer to the truth.

The strength of science then maybe at its best when it is aware of its limitations, when it is aware that knowledge is always growing and always subject to change – never absolute. By our retired cleric’s way of thinking knowledge depended on evidence and reason. Archibald Alison’s Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste were published in Edinburgh in 1790 and were destined to impress many men of both refinement and cultivation.

When King George II died in October 1760 his 18 year old son George III came to the throne. He was the first Hanoverian monarch to be born in England and speak English at court as his first language, (not French as his father and grandfather).

As we can imagine patriotic fervour on his succession new no bounds. Huge crowds welcomed the young King’s bride Charlotte of Mecklenburg to England and cheered them both at their coronation to the resounding sounds of the German composer George Friderick Handel’s fabulous composition Zadok the Priest, originally composed for his father and traditionally performed since during the sovereign’s anointing.

And all the people rejoic’d, and said:
God save the King! Long live the King!
May the King live for ever,
Amen, Allelujah!

The times were briefly helped by a fine summer whose good harvests came from orchards whose trees were heavily laden with fruit and they became symbolic of a nation at ease. This was a moment that felt right for a new King, new projects and new adventures. And, at this point England’s high society considered itself the most civilised in Europe.

George III’s family, as it grew up in the public eye, setting an example for that of a life of domestic felicity, which was taken as a model of propriety by the population at large.

This was a great change from George I and George II’s horrendous examples. George 1 had divorced his wife on a trumped up charge in 1694, locking her up for life in the fortress castle of Dahlen in Hanover. Their only son, later George II loved his mother and hated his father and his father hated him…in fact the first two George’s both reputedly ‘hated their sons’. George II treated his wife Queen Caroline abominably; he was rude, snubbed her constantly, fell into vile rages and expected her to treat his mistresses with great civility, and to keep the peace she obliged him.

A great contrast to his role models George III was a thoroughly modern man. He lived very cosily in the snug bosom of his family. He was the first ‘middling people’s monarch who distinguished his private residence from his public office.

He and the Queen retired early, forbade their daughters to read romances and offered his equerries barley water as a refreshment. He openly condemned his aristocratic subjects for their lack of piety, as well as exceedingly lax morals. Poor George he was constantly lampooned by the press and the cartoonists at Punch for penny pinching sententiousness, which meant they were inclined to moralize more than was merited or appreciated.

George III was, by all accounts also stubborn and obstinate although described as a good man but a bad king. He attempted a style of personal rule, which did not really work. In his day political parties were thought of as ‘factions’ that needed reconciling rather than opposing ideologies. His father and grandfather set a precedent by favouring the Whigs. However for George III that would have been quite unthinkable as he believed the monarch had to remain apolitical to offer his best advice.

No monarch however since the Restoration of Charles II was greeted with such popular enthusiasm and affection by his people. The Duchess of Northumberland, one of the Ladies of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte wrote in her diary about his first speech ‘Went to the House of Lords, much crowded to hear ye King’s speech. The Crown like to fall, sat down on his nose and misbecame him greatly. He faulter’d a little at first but afterwards spoke like an Angel’.

Early in his reign, George III like most of his subjects, enjoyed delightful diversions and amusements. He became a patron to musicians, painters, the theatre, the opera and less frequently, to men of letters. However the value of his royal patronage did not lie in the rewards it gave but on the social cachet which could be parlayed into rich commissions. In short the British monarch operated as a private patron now, not as a national one and this was a great change.

There was clearly a motif to this act and its aims were very simply laid out in a long dedication in 1762 by Lord Kames in his Elements of Criticism to George III. pardon me but shortened here so we don’t doze off.

The Fine Arts have ever been encouraged by wise Princes, not simply for private amusement, but for their beneficial influence in society…and it ends... the Fine Arts; riches employed, instead of encouraging vice, will excite both public and private virtues.

Lord Kames believed culture was important as a means of controlling and legitimating commercial society. A cynic might say that he saw the pursuit of art as a means of justifying an accumulation of wealth. However in defining the fine arts in relation to the world of commerce, not the realm of kingship, he was endeavouring to make his point.

By mid century London was the largest city in Western Europe with 750,000 inhabitants. (Edinburgh at the same time had 57,000 and Dublin 90,000). It offered a different quality of life. Nowhere else in Britain was so urban; no other city so exciting and so sensationally shocking!.

Variety, energy, noise, colour, enthusiasm – you could go for a walk and gape at the antics of the beau monde out for an evening’s fun at Vauxhall, Gardens, which occupied about 12 acres across the Thames from Westminster Abbey.

Class distinction did not apply at Vauxhall and fashionable ‘men of the ton’ thought that while it was slightly scary it also seemed very glamorous. Meanwhile rascals, ruffians, pimps and prostitutes saw it as a place where they could earn a lucrative living, and did so.

Those who were neither haute nor bas, but somewhere in the middle found that it was definitely a place of excitement, and to coin a real Georgian phrase, a great gaze. There were wonderful walks, through triumphal arches, erected in 1752 so you could enact your own Roman odyssey. There was something for everyone at Vauxhall.

Musical Bushes were a great lark. As you strolled by they emitted music, due to a band concealed in a nearby hole in the ground. Sadly when it rained the hole filled with water and this happend so often that finally it had to be abandoned.

At Vauxhall the orchestra after this experience preferred to play Handel’s popular Water Music on the dry stage of the Rotunda, where concerts of songs, sonate and concerti lasting four hours were frequently given.

You could also go up the river to Ranelagh Gardens where the Rotunda there was thought by contemporaries to compare favourably with the Pantheon at Rome. That much admired relic of antiquity had survived the centuries and was inspected by every Grand Tourist during the eighteenth century. Its London copy was a place where everyone promenaded about to see and be seen and the great English writer, critic and renowned conversationalist Dr. Samuel Johnson said Ranelagh produced  ‘an expansion and gay sensation’ such as he had never experienced anywhere else before.

It certainly must have been wonderful to be in London when, on June 19^th 1764,  the remarkable child prodigy from Austria 8 year old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert playing his own compositions on the harpsichord and organ. The young genius and his father and sister stayed in London for just over one year, not departing until 17 September 1765. While residing in Chelsea at London the young Mozart wrote a set of sonatas K10 – 15 dedicating them to Queen Charlotte for which she sent him fifty guineas.

An account of their first appearance on the 28 May 1764 relates how Wolfgang together with his father and sister spent 3 hours with the King and Queen, who treated them so warmly they could not believe they were in the ‘presence of the king and queen of England’. ‘What we have experienced here surpasses everything’ his father reported in a letter home. A week later Wolfgang, his father and sister were walking in St. James’s Park when the King and Queen drove by. Again they were astonished, that while differently dressed, the King and Queen actually recognized them. The King, from all accounts, threw open the carriage window and put his head out of the window laughing out loud while greeting them ‘ both with his head and hands’ wrote the elder Mozart, particularly Master Wolfgang. They were given 24 guineas for performing privately for George, Charlotte, the family and friends.

On the 19^th May they spent a further four hours with their majesties performing for a small group that included two princes, the brother of the King and brother of the Queen, receiving another 2 guineas on going away. On the 5th of June the King gave a benefit. He placed before the young genius a selection of pieces of music by Bach, Carl F. Abel, a virtuoso viola da gamba player and composer who had arrived in London in 1757, as well as works by Handel. This concert was most fashionably patronised and very profitable and Mozart, it was reported, played all the selections on the King’s organ in such a manner that everyone was enchanted. Wolfgang also accompanied the Queen in a duet playing an air and then brilliantly improvised on one of Handel’s airs, playing a melody so beautiful that it astonished everybody.

Carolyn McDowall ©  The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

Related posts:

1. Revolutionaries and Romantics, Byron the Rock Star Poet
2. Revolutionaries and Romantics, The Regency
3. EVOLUTION OF ART, DESIGN & STYLE
   Course Outline

Cupid and Pschye - Sculptor Antonio Canova in Le Louvre at Paris

The story about the classical pairing of Psyche and Cupid is about the soul being pursued by desire. What more inspirational work of art could we have for artisans making love jewellery than this superb sculpture in the Louvre at Paris. Commissioned by Colonel John Campbell in 1787, purchased by Joachim Murat in 1801 and carved at Rome by sculptor Antonio Canova in 1793 when he was 36 years of age, this amazing work captures our imagination provoking an emotional response. Surely his skill at injecting stone with human emotion is rivaled only by that of old master sculptor Michaelangelo.

Realism is the antithesis of Romanticism. Romance is not about being ‘rational’. It is all about being ‘emotional’, which was at the heart of most aesthetic creative experiences during this time. The arts, architecture and timeless traditions from many other cultures were also held up to scrutiny for their noble and uplifting characteristics, as well as for exploiting their picturesque qualities.

Brooch by Rene Lalique 1904-6 Gold, enamel and fire opals. V & A Museum at London

The Romantic era originated in the second half of the eighteenth century in Europe, peaked around the middle of the nineteenth century and then petered out, albeit slowly until the advent and establishment of the movement known as Modernism. This gained momentum in the latter part of the nineteenth century, had its first creative climax in the Edwardian period and again in the 20′s and early 30′s following World War I, especially in America.  There it evolved into becoming an important aspect of pop art and the advertising world set around Madison Avenue, New York where in the late 40′s and early 50′s there was a great need for graphics that were easy to produce, eye catching and simply stylised.

Style movements in the evolution of creative art, design and culture do not neatly end one day so that the next one can start a day later. The late eighteenth and nineteenth century in England, across Europe and America was a period overlaid with many complex movements in art, literature and music. Intellectual ideas and social change also impacted on their development and ensured that the whole period was a melting pot of creativity. The revival of the ‘classical’ ideal with the acceleration of considered archaeology during the latter half of the nineteenth century, elevated notions of goodness, unrequited love and the pursuit of perfection. An admiration for the ancient Medieval past in England espoused Gothic notions of horror and awe of vampires and the undead.

Embracing the exotic had a boost, especially following the opening of Japan to the west by American Commodore Perry (confirmed with the Treaty of Kaagawa in 1854). Designer Rene Lalique researched mediums of glass and enamel, producing a design dialogue exclusively his own. He worked in a new stylistic languaged, which was based on sinuous interpretations of forms in nature we now know as Art Nouveau. He also championed non precious materials, producing dramatic pieces that influenced and inspired others

Rene Lalique’s early production was retailed by famous jewellery houses, including Boucheron and Cartier and he dedicated himself to developing a personal and completely original style. Art nouveau was short lived in jewellery design lasting from about c1895 to c1910 and his pieces clearly prove that he had a complete grasp of the style in which nature and its association with femininity was the leitmotif-  the aim was to evoke, rather than realistically portray or copy nature.  The human form, minutely sculpted in gold, was an important theme and personifications of the idealised female beauty were particularly popular meant to portray carefree elegance.

Love Jewellery in the V & A Museum at London

Romanticism was all about escaping the mundane aspects of real life and burgeoning industrial ugliness, especially in England. There the sleek tenets of Modernism were trying to take hold amongst the confusion. Led by luminaries such as arts and crafts genius William Morris and his Pre-Raphealite associates, jewellery design used materials that provided an alternative to what many believed were flashy diamonds.

The delightful ring illustrated was a romantic present donated to the V & A by authors Geoffrey and Caroline Munn. Curators tell us the French word ‘pensées’ means both pansies, as painted on the bezel of this ring, and ‘thoughts’, although in this case the pansies stand for ‘pensez’, meaning ‘think’. The flowers and words taken together read ‘Pensez à votre ami’, ‘think of your friend’. Geoffrey is the BBC’s expert on Jewellery for the Antiques Roadshow and has written many definitive books on jewellery.

Cupid & Pschye Cameo British Museum

This final in our series about Love Jewellery has us now entering a world well on the way to becoming global …

…one in which cameos had yet another revival. Carved from various materials  lava, conch shells, coral, various man made materials as well as sardonyx and chalcedony – comprising of semi precious gemstones such as moss agate, carnelian, heliotrope and onyx they were surrounded in a gold frame to be worn as a brooch or pendant on a gold chain. They were an indispensable aspect of any lady of quality’s costume.

Stunning Collection 19th century archaeological Jewellery V & A Museum London

During the last fifty years of the nineteenth century any lady of fashion visiting Italy would consider her tour of Rome incomplete if she did not call into Castellani’s shop near the Spanish Steps to acquire a piece of archaeological revival jewellery.

Early in the eighteenth century a retail premises for fine archaeological jewellery had been founded by Roman antique dealer, goldsmith and designer extraordinaire Fortunato Pio Castellani (1794-1865). He pioneered the classical revival in his Roman workshop and he and his sons would inspire others to produce stunning examples throughout the century.

Detail of Brooch by Castellani, Glorious Antique Jewelry NY

Superb Bracelet by Castellani Glorious Antique Jewelry NY

Castellani approached antiquity with an open mind and together with his sons, Alessandro (1822-1883) and Augusto (1829 – 1914) became world famous. Their jewellery was enormously popular in England, extensively imitated there as well as in Italy, France and the United States.

Concerned at declining standards of craftsmanship Fortunato Castellani had become interested during the late 1820′s in Etruscan jewellery, seeking to learn the method of producing its granulated gold.

This was gold used as decoration on the surface of jewellery by fixing minute round grains to the metal base. The grains were made by pouring into water molten gold, which formed drop like granules. An alternative method was placing gold cuttings in a crucible with charcoal and heating and rotating it so the gold formed small spheres.

They were then soldered onto the object by a technique that meant the soldering was invisible. In the finest Etruscan examples minute gold granules sometimes only 0.25 mm were sprinkled on the surface. The technique had been long forgotten and people were fascinated with its rediscovery.

Pendant by Carlo Giuliano V & A Museum London

Agate Scarab Pendant by Giuliano in the Egyptian taste

In his workshops Castellani trained many new goldsmiths and they produced outstanding works. It is disputed by some scholars that Carlo Giuliano was perhaps one of them.

Curators at the V&A Museum at London, which has a collection of Giuliano jewellery, have published that he accompanied Castellani to London after probably training in his workshop at Rome. Whatever the story about these two jewellers they are now renowned for the superb quality of the objects they produced and collectors clamour to find them.

Carlo Giuliano and his sons Carlo Joseph and Arthur Alphonse arrived in London c1860 and at first opened a manufactory in Soho before opening a retail premises in 1874 in Piccadilly, producing exquisite jewels in the neo-Renaissance and archaeological revival taste.

One of his most colourful English patrons was the wife of the Prime Minister.  Margot Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith was a socialite, wit and author whose works were not always critically accepted.

The most famous review of Asquith’s work came from New York wit Dorothy Parker, who wrote, “The affair between Margot Asquith and Margot Asquith will live as one of the prettiest love stories in all literature”as well as wife of the Prime Minister. She certainly horrified Giuliano’s London staff by sitting on the table swinging her legs when considering new additions to her own jewel collection.

An interest in Egyptology was greatly enhanced in England at this time by the work of the indefatigable Miss Amelia Edwards, who founded the Egyptian Exploration Society. Carlo Giuliano and his sons over the years brought vast numbers of impressive antiquities to London, including Egyptian scarabs and faience, which were collected by Carlo Giuliano and mounted in jewellery.

Art Nouveau Snake Motif Locket

Arthur Alphonse Guiliano not only inherited his father’s business but also left his wife to live with the woman he loved and whose children he had fathered. When Carlo Giuliano died (1895), the business was handed down from father to sons, remaining open until 1914.

For many of the jewellers of this time the return to nature resulted in a rejection of the antique and metaphors for love rejected in favour of an often morbid eroticism, in which women were associated with the insect world, sleep and death, metamorphosis and sapphism. These were considered at the time extremely risque and quite without precedent in the history of jewellery design.

Bow Brooch in the Garland Style by Cartier

Louis Francois Cartier (1819-1904) opened his shops in London and New York in 1902 and 1909 respectively. His jewels were delicate, had finesse and complemented the clothing designed by the Worth Brothers, the most fashionable of all the Parisian couturiers. They dressed all the most fashionable women of their day in delicate softly coloured silks; lilac, pink, yellow, mauve, straw and hydrangea blue.

Cartier encouraged his designers to consult original eighteenth century pattern books and also wander through the streets of Paris taking sketches of eighteenth century architectural detail.  This type of inspiration resulted in the garland style, one he made his own and others copied, with swags, bows and trails of diamond set flowers characterize it.

Platinum was also coming into wider use. It didn’t tarnish, was useful in that it contributed to the development of jewellery that used a minimum of metal as it was quite a bit heavier and stronger than gold. It maximised the use of diamonds as in Cartier’s Bow Brooch, which was inset with panels of carved quartz crystal

Edwardian Garland Paste Necklace

Garlands, laurel wreaths, bow knots, tassels and lace motifs were among Cartier’s most favourite decorative devices and his royal, aristocratic articulate, light and insubstantial creations were received with great enthusiasm by his clientele on both sides of the Atlantic and copied by others in semi precious stone and paste.

World War 1 began in 1914 and profoundly changed society. A new mode for living emerged – lets live and forget the past, The fashions and values of pre war society changed with freedom of expression a new rule. When the war ended women, proud of their emancipation also stayed on in their jobs favouring a masculine look, characterised by a thin, flat silhouette and short hair cut. Cutting a woman’s hair at this time was a dramatic social change, as they were encouraged to keep it long until they were married. Accompanied by the emergence and flourishing of a revolutionary style of fashion, design and illustration the reality of this change was a great deal for many people to deal with.

Actress Gertrude Lawrence

Gone was the overpowering opulence of the late Victorian period and the quiet gentle elegance of Edwardian times. In its place were clear, clean lines of angular geometric shapes, refined detailing and super draftsmanship and craftsmanship. It was the beginnings of the jazz age with racy music, retro design and the emancipation of women now looming large.

Brooch by Cartier Rock Crystal, platinum and diamonds

The ideal jewel of the 1920′s  had to complement a particular dress, or a particular woman and was chosen to suit her tastes, lifestyle and features. Actress Gertrude Lawrence was photographed by Cecil Beaton revealing the sense of drama and confidence women of the age exuded. The popularity of pearls encouraged a group of Japanese scientists, led by Mikimoto, to develop the technique of pearl cultivation.

The first cultivated pearls appeared on the market in 1921 and notwithstanding the strong  opposition from natural pearl merchants, quickly became a typical feature of the 1920′s. Worn both day and night either alone or combined with precious or hard stones important technical advances facilitated superb combinations of surfaces, metals, gems and colours. Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Moderns in Paris in 1925  lent its name to the terminology Art Deco.

The aim of the exhibition was to promote a ‘social art’ or better still, establish a closer working relationship between art and industry. The war effort advanced technology quickly so designers found many new avenues for surmounting the challenges of production, paving the way for imagination and innovation. While Cartier always embraced new fashion the aim was at maintaining moderation, style and balance to meet the tastes and requirements of a privileged elite, their target market

Coco Chanel Fashion Leader

An avant-garde woman during the 1920′s and 1930′s wanted a style of jewellery inspired by designs such as those of the exciting Ballets Russes, exotic forms of Oriental, African and South American art and other contemporary movements in art that reduced each object to utilitarian lines. The new standard for excellence in jewellery design was led triumphantly by the trusted and established firm of Cartier. Coco Chanel was the rage designer in France at this period. Her classical two piece suits were accompanied by yards of strings of pearls, natural or imitation.

Gold and gilt chains also became the indispensable accessory for all fashionable women. In some ways the modern movement that began c1880 was endeavouring to correct the retrospective phase of the nineteenth century but in the end ended up inspired by finds from antiquity began returning to it.

Fueling the change was the discovery of King Tutankhamun’s tomb in November 1922, which set the western world on fire. Carter’s excavations would reveal stunning jewellery especially his famous gold mask, gold pectoral, armlets, diadem and rings among all the other wonderful objects.

Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef and Arpels were all firms strongly influenced by a fascination with Egypt and they inspired gem cutters to experiment with new shapes.

Silver and Lapis Lazuli Sautior

The favourite necklace of the 20′s was the sautoir, a long rope decorated with a tassel of a pendant. Produced in many materials; diamonds, pearls, coral and so forth and it was the ideal accessory for the low waisted dresses of the time.

This stunning example is silver, with lapis lazuli beads, silver scarabs moonstones, sapphires & diamonds.  The pendant opens to reveal a watch

Silver and Lapis Lazuli Sautoir Open to reveal Watch c1920

Lapis Lazuli is a gemstone with a grand past. Archaeologists have established that this deep blue stone was popular thousands of years ago with the people of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome. In the Middle East it was thought to have miraculous powers. It was among the first gemstones worn as jewellery.

The Egyptians loved it and even crushed it to a powder that when mixed with water could be painted on the ceiling of their tombs with the addition of gold stars. The Far East, India and Persia continued as very strong influences on Jewellery throughout the 20′s and 30′s and Chinese mother of pearl inlaid plaques were often used in creations of oriental inspiration. American socialite and divorcee Mrs. Wallis Simpson married her King in 1937 and became the Duchess of Windsor. An enthusiast of jewellery, fashion and the prevailing modern style she led fashion the world over.

Duchess of Windsor

He had stunning jewellery fashioned for her by Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels, Belperron and Harry Winston and gave it to her in love.  First as a Prince, then as King, and finally as a Duke the inscription ‘My Wallis from her David’ says it all. What more could any woman want than a man who would give up being a King for love.

The Wall Street crash of 1929 in New York and the consequent economic crisis changed life dramatically all around the world. The creations of the mid 1930′s before World War II exhibit an opulence of gemstones and designs unknown in the previous decade as jewels became larger and bolder as consumer confidence returned. After the War designer, wholesaler, retailer and diamond cutter Harry Winston became the world’s largest individual dealer and leading connoisseur of diamonds.

Elizabeth Taylor wearing the Taylor/Burton Diamond set by Cartier

Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor set the world on fire when they met on the set of the movie Cleopatra. They became a world famous celebrity couple when they met, and married, divorced and married again with Richard showering Elizabeth with jewellery, including a wonderful array of diamonds, some purchased from Harry Winston.

The most stunning single 69 carat stone that became known as the Taylor/Burton diamond was originally owned by Cartier Inc. who paid the record price of $1,050,000 for the gem at auction. Richard Burton bought the stone the next day for Elizabeth Taylor as he wanted to give to her with love for her 40th birthday present.

Renamed the Taylor-Burton diamond she first wore it publicly at a party for Princess Grace’s 40th birthday in Monaco. It just had to be diamonds…as they are forever and,  after all, everyone knows they are a girl’s best friend. In 1978 Elizabeth Taylor sold the Taylor/Burton diamond to build a hospital in Botswana.

…and if I give away all I have and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing…Love is patient and kind; it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love…1 Corinthians 13

Carolyn McDowall©The Culture Concept Circle, 2009, 2010, 2011

This is the final part of a four part series. Read the rest of this series.

Read the 4 Installment Series in Chronological Order

Love Jewellery – Rome to Renaissance

Love Jewellery – Restoration to Revolution

Love Jewellery – Regency to Revival

Love Jewellery – Romantics to Retro

Bibliography

The Bible
Memoirs of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette by Madame Campan 1823 Henry Colburn & Co & M Bossange & Co
The Last Medici Harold Acton Macmillan 1980
The Triumph of Love Geoffrey Munn Thames & Hudson 1993
Louis and Antoinette Vincent Cronin Harper Collins 1974
Works of Jane Austen Jane Austen Folio Society 1975
Mme de Pompadour Nancy Mitford Hamish Hamilton 1968
Six Wives of Henry VIII Antonia Fraser Weidenfeld & Nicolson1996
Folio Golden Treasury Various Poet Folio Society 1988
Madame du Barry Joan Haslip Grove Weidenfeld 1991
Understanding Jewellery David Bennett David Mascetti Antique Collectors Club
All the Queen’s Men Neville Williams Cardinal 1974
Elizabeth 1 From Contemporary Documents Maria Perry Folio Society 1990
Treasures of the Medici Anna Maria Massinelli Thames & Hudson 2000
Gem Kingdom Paul Deautels Grossett & Dunlap 1971
Henry VIII and his Court Neville Williams Chancellor Press
Splendors of the Roman World Anna Maria Liberati Thames & Hudson
Civilization Timothy Potts Australian National Gallery 1990
Meditations on Love Sister Wendy Beckett K Publishing 1995
V & A Museum Website

Related posts:

1. Love Jewellery from Cupid to Cartier
2. Love Jewellery – Rome to Renaissance
3. Love Jewellery – Restoration to Revolution

It’s finally all over. William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are wonderfully wed in the sensational setting of an ancient Abbey at Westminster. Duchess Kate is already a style icon and woman for the future.

The avenue of trees were a special touch. They looked spectacular in the Gothic space, and historically were very appropriate. The pointed arch of Gothic architecture is said to have been inspired by the sight of ancient trees arching together.

Kings, queens, statesmen and soldiers, poets, priests, heroes and villains have all featured in the evolution of the 1000 year old Abbey, a must-see living pageant of British history for the visitor to London. Benedictine monks first came to this site in the middle of the tenth century, establishing a tradition of daily worship, which continues to this day.

Its real name is the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster and, it is a ‘Royal Peculiar’. This means it is a free chapel of the Sovereign and as such is exempt from any ecclesiastical jurisdiction other than that of the Sovereign.

All in all this ancient religious house has only hosted fifteen royal weddings in its long history of reigning monarchs or those who, had it been established at the time, were entitled to be styled “Royal Highness”. Marriage is an important issue in a Christian life, meant to be held in honor by all. It is about the way of love, the giving and receiving pleasure from one another. The great love passage written by the apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians is the most important of all wedding passages.

‘Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends’. 1Cor:13

During the past few months we have been treated to the ultimate in romantic relationships, the engagement and pre-nuptial outings of the young adult Royals, who seem to be just right for the new age. Just how long the public love affair with this young couple lasts is anyone’s guess.

It’s been fairly full on here in Australia. The TV networks sent a number of media contingencies overseas to keep us well fed on the food of the wedding feast at London. Interestingly ours look pretty small next to the American contingents, with some networks sending more than 100 people to our 40. Culturally this is a very interesting phenomenon from the country that couldn’t wait to rid themselves of the royal yoke, but now they all seemingly want to worship at its font. In many respects there has been a lot of positives come out of the frenzy.

It has highlighted just how important the institution of marriage still is to the majority of people and how many really seek to stay with one person for the whole of their lives. Dr. Richard Chartres, Anglican Bishop of London delivered a Royal wedding Homily that expressed beautiful sentiments to help this young couple make a new life together.

Let’s hope the new Duke and Duchess completed their Marriage 101 journey and understand that living together and being married are different. Living together is a preparation that includes sharing and sex, which is important. But marriage, well that’s a whole new reality with companionship and intimacy at the heart of its success, especially if the two meld together and become as one.

Where true Love burns Desire is Love’s pure flame;
It is the reflex of our earthly frame,
That takes its meaning from the nobler part,
And but translates the language of the heart…Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Just surviving the media blitz on their honeymoon will be enough for this young couple to go on with. Then settling down to a normal life, whatever that is for the world’s most fashionable royals, will surely be short lived. The media will be gearing up for a baby announcement and that’s another frenzy that will continue until Kate produces the heir and the spare. But hey, no pressure.

Congratulations to William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. We have enjoyed toasting your good health with a few bubbles and celebrating the joie de vivre with you. Thanks for sharing.

Watch them Take their Vows

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RFL4iyoi4s

Download Royal Wedding Program 29th April, 2011

Homily, Royal Wedding 29th April, 2011

Carolyn McDowall, April 29, 2011

Related posts:

1. The Romance of the Middle Ages @the Bodleian Library
2. Arts & Crafts Movement – William Morris the Art that is Life
3. Duchess Kate, a Style icon and a woman for the future

At Easter have a bunch of chocolate bunnies become a metaphor for what we are on about?

It always seems appropriate to talk about Jesus, the Christ at Easter. Far more than at Christmas. These days if you believe what you see on TV Santa is for many people very real. What we can admire about him though is that he is founded on the tradition of St Nicholas, who was about goodness and giving, which is a major aspect of many world faiths, creeds and cultures. His role though in the life of a modern community at Christmas seems to have become all wrapped up in a box and tied neatly with the burgeoning bow of consumerism. Christmas is also about having a break in middle of the business year in the northern hemisphere, and celebrating at the end of one in the southern hemisphere. This ensures many people in Australia will be far more prone to just collapsing and chilling out with a chardonnay rather than thinking of calling on Christ.

At Easter our only adversaries are seemingly a bevvy of chocolate bunnies. They are not nearly in the same league as Santa. All it takes from us to get rid of them is a touch of sun or, a big mouth. As a visual metaphor more than a bevvy of bunnies can be scary. While cute, they are in some contexts, also about destruction. So if this were true are the chocolate bunnies a reflection of humanity? Or are we better than that?  Surely trying to do our best is what is at the heart of the challenge of Easter.

If we believe the newspapers in Australia Easter is the busiest long weekend of the year. So perhaps people can take some of the time out to think about why they are having such a long break- six whole days off.  And, this year they need to think long and hard because of the way the dates work. In Australia and New Zealand Easter 2011 encompasses Anzac Day, the day of the year we remember those wonderful men and women from our own countries, and those from our allies countries who contributed, served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. ANZAC is all about human qualities. Courage, mateship, and sacrifice, which continue to have more meaning and relevance today and are at the very essence of a sense of national identity.

So perhaps it would be good to close our eyes and remember those young men who died with hope in their hearts…

One of the most illuminating images of the crucifixion in art is that of Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). Called the Deposition from the Cross and painted around 1602-3 it depicts Jesus being taken down from the cross to be conveyed to his tomb. It is full of intense emotion not withstanding the high drama of the scene itself, which he depicts with intense realism. The painting highlights the shift from classical idealism in art at the time to naturalism, for which he became famous.

‘…father forgive them, for they know not what they do’.

A friend reported on Facebook on Good Friday that Channel 9 ‘just told us Easter Day celebrates the birth…?’ Another example of careless reporting?

Easter is the central tenet of the Christian faith. Perhaps watching the 2004 movie of the Passion of Christ may be helpful for many. Certainly it will for media reporters based on the above. MEl Gibson’s take on what happened in the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem is very close to the bone and very real. And its not just about Jesus being flogged. Its about betrayal, about losing faith, lack of trust and a denial of friendship. So that is why it probably made many people squirm.

Jesus probably felt something akin to what those boys felt who fell and died so valiantly on the beaches in the trenches of lands otherwise unknown to them. “Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?” he said, which translated is “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The boys in the two major World Wars died for King and country, that’s at least what they probably believed if they had read the recruiting posters of the day. They called on young lion to help old lions and the Empire to defy its foes. They joined knowing war was dangerous and indeed, many joined precisely because it was such a very real threat to their home, their district and country. It was also more than just about winning. It was about how well you committed to your beliefs and showed courage in the face of cruelty and adversity.

There is a splendid example of what real belief means drawn by a minor character, Lord Sutherland, in the movie Chariots of Fire (1981).

This was the story of two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian who are to compete in the 1924 Olympics. It is more than poignant as Sutherland muses on a decision with Lord Birkenhead affecting the athletes they are travelling with on their way to the Olympics at Paris. While boarding the boat train one of the team mates, the Scottish runner Eric Liddell, learns the event for his 100 metre race will be held on a Sunday. Liddell refuses to run, despite strong pressure from the Prince of Wales and head of the British Olympic committee, Lord Cadogan. Liddell’s Christian convictions prevent him running on the Christian Sabbath (Sunday). And Lidell it seems has the courage of his convictions. Thank heavens is the sigh of great relief breathed when Lord Andrew Lindsay brokers a solution

Duke of Sutherland: A sticky moment, George.
Lord Birkenhead: Thank God for Lindsay. I thought the lad (Liddell) had us beaten.
Duke of Sutherland: He did have us beaten, and thank God he did.
Lord Birkenhead: I don’t quite follow you.
Duke of Sutherland: The “lad”, as you call him, Liddell, is a true man of principles and a true athlete. His speed is a mere extension of his life, its force. We sought to sever his running from himself.
Lord Birkenhead: For his country’s sake, yes.
Lord Birkenhead: No sake is worth that, least of all a sense of guilty national pride.

In 2011 the Christian church is an outrageous statement of faith. It is about people with all their flaws and foibles striving together to survive in a world that so often only invests in self to the detriment of others. They are not perfect and have never purported to be so. The fact is that they are acting together, helping out their neighbours, helping out perfect strangers, offering a hand out, or a leg up to the needy, to the homeless, to those who come to the church for help, beaten, betrayed, bruised and battered, those who are denied love and charity.

Every day their faith is tested. They are continually required to put theory into practice and, if we are being honest, for many it’s hard. But they do just keep on trying and while they may never reach the end of the journey, it is for the majority of Christians certainly worth the climb.

Today’s enlightened societies are supposed to be all about respecting other people’s beliefs and each other’s traditions. In Britain ‘The Big Society’ is about a big vision for the future. It’s about more than just Britain, it’s an argument for hope. It’s all about re-connecting people in community. We should not have to wait for disaster to happen to achieve that aim.

The Archbishop and Primate of Australia Dr Phillip Aspinall in his Inauguration as Primate of Australia speech on 29th September 2005 reflected through the metaphor of the dragon and the vocation of the church as dragon-slayer.

‘Where, then, lurk the dragons of our day? What shape do they take? Where is the fire that consumes individuals, that destroys communities, that threatens goodness? Where are we deceived into choices that destroy? Well, their name is legion!  There is that dragon called materialism which flies in company with its siblings secularism and consumerism…

…Christians are custodians of an alternative vision of what it means to be human. A vision of a meaningful, satisfying, fulfilling way to live. This vision is an antidote, a cure. It does not remove human frailties or vulnerabilities. It certainly does not make church people mistake free. The dragons of today are no respecters of distinction between church members and others. They wreak their havoc within the church as well as everywhere else’.

Whether personally involved, or not, the major natural disasters that have plagued our planet recently have many people rethinking their attitudes and their take on life. In the future perhaps a new sign of wealth may be about living a quality life, although without so many of its trappings, and using the extra we have for benefaction.

Easter is a good time for this reflection and Easter eggs a metaphor for new life. Easter Sunday is a day of celebration because it is the day Christians believe their Messiah rose again as a symbol of hope, trust love and faith and what it can mean.

As a Christian if you have journeyed through all the services the church holds to commemorate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection then you are talking one harrowing experience. And when Easter Sunday comes it is more than a relief for many it is a joy. Why? It is about the hope of re-birth, about being allowed to have second chances, about being given another opportunity to begin living life anew, which is a very potent and appealing idea.

Easter, Anzac, Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies – calling on Jesus, the Christ for clarity. Has it become more difficult for us today because we have known the fear of losing so much that now we are almost too frightened to win?

Carolyn McDowall, Easter reflection 2011

Ref: The Holy Bible, IMDb – Chariots of Fire (1981) Quotes from the Movie

Primate Inauguration Sermon 2005
Delivered: St Michael and All Angels 29 September 2005
The Most Rev’d Dr Phillip Aspinall
Daniel 7.9-10, 13-14
Psalm 138
Rev 12.7-12a War in heaven, dragon thrown down
John 1.45-51 ‘You will see … angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of
Man

Related posts:

1. The Christmas Message – Caring, Courage, Compassion and Love
2. Towers – Symbols of Hope and Freedom
3. Celebrating Christmas – a Feast for the Mind, Body and Soul

When I was first married in 1965 the mere mention of Valentine’s Day turned most Aussie blokes livid. They saw it as ‘commercial crap’. No true blue Aussie bloke would give roses red to his Sheila, at least on a day set by another country and in a different time and place. If he were going to give roses, red or otherwise, he would do it on his own time. That may have meant never, but there it is. That is how it was.

What does Valentine’s Day mean for you I asked an eighteen-year-old niece of a friend recently. And she said, “well why do we need to put aside a day of the year to tell people we love them. It should happen ever day”. Wisdom has nothing to do with age.

Originally named for an early Christian martyr St Valentine, like many other Christian festivals established a long time ago (500) celebrating St Valentine’s Day changed with the passing of the years. Eventually the Pope at Rome ended it as a universal liturgical veneration in 1969, because of a lack of factual information about this popular saint. Records had been lost, and although scrubbed off the official calendar he remained on the church’s list of saints.

So what does love mean and, what is love? I am sure everyone has experienced this infuriating, often frustrating emotion in one form or another in his or her lifetime.

The ancient Greeks were good at understanding that there were many different kinds of love. Indeed they had many different words to explain it. Love for a sibling, a parent, or any member of a family was very different to erotic or sexual love, where physical attraction held sway.

Then there was unconditional love, the very best kind.

The ultimate example of unconditional love was the sacrifice of a carpenter from Nazareth named Jesus who died crucified on a cross believing he was taking the sins of all the people in the world upon himself so that they would know, and experience, everlasting peace and love.

For me it is food and water that fuels our bodies; wisdom, belief and beauty that replenishes our spirit; trust, faith, hope, and unconditional love that feeds our soul.

Unconditional love is shared by people in a long-term relationship, whether man to woman, woman-to-woman or man-to-man. It is deep and meaningful and, also involves friendship.

It is without doubt the hardest type of love to sustain because it needs a great deal of patience, an enormous amount of understanding, tenderness and, some wisdom.

Being best friends involves forgiveness, which is an integral aspect of true friendship and love. Real friends are very different to those of the social network kind. They are those that will tell you what you don’t often want to hear, or know. Without forgiveness there cannot be love, because someone who is your friend and professes to love you would give up his or her life for you without hesitation.

The ultimate example of love in this way, at least in the literary sense,  is Sydney Carton who died in the place of his friend Darnay in the classic Tale of Two Cities, by nineteenth century English author Charles Dickens. This awesome tale was set at the time of the French Revolution and involved death by guillotine.

Carton’s last words as he was led out to die are indeed prophetic ‘It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.’

Personally the phrase being ‘in love’ has always been a worry for me. Being in love, is often based on a more immediate mutual attraction that once consummated, doesn’t stand the test of time. This involves falling ‘out of love’ and, thousands it seems do this every day.

To truly love someone means putting up with all their faults, irritating habits and shortcomings, as they do with yours. When this happens it is possible to establish a lifelong relationship. If the people involved are also soul mates, then surely this relationship would be very close to a type of heaven on earth.

Wisdom about love is expounded by The Prophet himself, Lebanese born American poet and philosopher Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) who said

…And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Today the word ‘love’ seems to have almost become a catch phrase, used by people who have met only once. It has come to the point that this word, treasured throughout the ages, is an almost blasé term expressed accompanied by much hugging and cheek kissing. Romance, understanding, forgiveness seems nothing really to do with it at all.

The challenge is to reflect on what love means to you in 2011 and then express it to someone you cherish on Valentine’s Day and, every day thereafter.

© The Culture Concept, Carolyn McDowall, February 2011

Related posts:

1. Heart, Soul and Spirit – Garden Art in Japan
2. A Chinese Garden – The Rhythm of Nature Refreshing the Heart
3. Love Jewellery from Cupid to Cartier

The year is off and running and I’m writing this from Brisbane in Queensland. Travelling north in eventful times has meant that I have seen the evidence of the flood that devastated the city two weeks ago for myself. It has indeed been a heartbreaking time for many, but their spirit prevails.

The music of friends seems to be to the fore in this month of Love.  Be sure you take a bite of the apple.

A four-day event at Kings Place, London, Celebrating Grainger 2011, will feature that young talented pianist from Dalby in Queensland Jayson Gillham, who together with friends John Lavender and Penelope Thwaites will present this controversial and interesting composer’s works in his 50th anniversary year.

At Brisbane the renowned keyboard virtuoso Christopher Wrench together with cellist Louise King and friends will feature in the Chamber Music Series.

It may surprise some people to know The Aussie Baby Boomers are the generation still thinking outside the box

If you are into gardens you may enjoy our three part series on Japanese Garden Art. Then there is our two posts in January about French artist Claude Monet and his contemporaries First Impressions and Lasting Impressions at his garden at Giverny.

If you were away and missed our announcement in January, read all about the splendid Downton Abbey coming to Channel 7 in Australia soon.

The Big Society, is about so much more than just Britain, it is an ‘argument for hope’.

At London the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) is one of a number of organizations discussing this unique government initiative. During its history of two hundred and fifty plus years the RSA has led a great deal of citizen change so it has a wealth of experience to offer.

Revitalized in recent years by enthusiastic CEO Matthew Taylor, the RSA has just announced the Duke of Edinburgh at his 90th birthday this year will step down as President after a 59 year tenure and a whole new chapter of this important society will begin.

Carolyn - Photograph by Antoine matarasso

You can download a PDF of Muse News from the Home Page. Each issue is packed with a diverse collection of posts and there is also a bevvy of Conversations each few days about topical subjects to consider.

Love, is more than a fragment of life’s heart and a good note to end our February issue on with Valentine’s Day coming up quickly.

Do make sure you are Sleeping Stylishly in your Chamber of Love.

All best, Carolyn

Carolyn McDowall
Creative Director
The Culture Concept Circle

Related posts:

1. Editorial – Muse News January 2011
2. Muse News Editorial – April 2011
3. Editorial – Muse News March 2011

OPERAPOLITAN Team Brisbane City Council and Westfield Sponsored 2006 - 2008 L - R Mezzo Soprano Kathleen Procter-Moore, Tenor Andrew Pryor, Accompanist Christian Gante, Baritone Sean Brown, Coloratura Liza Beamish at Sponsors Theme and Variations, Steinway Showroom

Nowadays we have the best of all worlds in music…there is something for everyone.

I just love opera. Its stories of love and life are always fashionable. A great many young people are being won over by its beauty and charm.

There isn’t a human culture, no matter how remote or isolated, that does not sing. Singing is both ancient and universal and the voice the original musical instrument.

Singing is associated not so much with entertainment and frivolity as with those matters vital to the inner well-being of every individual, social or religious group.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music tells us that Opera is an abbreviation of the term Opera in Musica, meaning a work, or story that is a social comment on its time set to music.

The very essence of opera is that the music is integral, not incidental, as in a ‘musical’ or, a play with music. Opera then as an art form reflects the very essence of our culture, its attitudes and philosophies, its fashions and passions.

You definitely need to wear Cartier Jewellery to the opera

An opera tells a story. It can come from many sources, including history, current events, magical, Bible, and fairy tales, legends, literature, poetry, and mythology. Opera can be funny, sad, scary, dramatic, mysterious, imaginary, or a combination of the above.

Like Disney movies opera is a powerful combination of fantasy, live action and music.  Great parallels exist between the story of courtesan Violetta in nineteenth century composer Giuseppi Verdi’s much-loved opera La Traviata and the lovely Vivienne, that opportunistic hooker in the 1990 feel good movie “Pretty Woman”.

We certainly all feel part of Vivienne’s experience when, in a ravishing red gown and dazzling Cartier necklace she is whisked off to the opera on a private jet by her charming prince Edward to be captivated and cry over a performance of yes, you guessed it, La Traviata.

The original story of the opera was based on the tragic short life of the nineteenth century voluptuous and popular Parisian courtesan Marie Duplessis [1824-1847] reputedly unable to endure the scent of any flower but the camellia.

Marie was described as delicate, animated, with the loveliest teeth in the world and, one of the last and few courtesans with a heart. To have an opera written about you within a few years of your death was at the time ‘to achieve such immortality as art can bestow on anyone’.

In today’s culture however no one wants to die tragically for love but rather live to experience it. Opera remains a significant tradition in western culture because it is about love and life. It is for everyone, communicating ideas and emotions at the very heart and spirit of Australian culture.

Enjoy the Drinking Song from La Traviata with Placido Domingo and Teresa Stratas

Carolyn McDowall 2010

Related posts:

1. Showcasing Opera: Taking the Music of Love & Life to People
2. Music, Churches and Chivalry – Choirs, Crusaders and Courtly Love
3. Changing Opera Culture in Australia: Vision & Taking Action