Collection: The Bowes Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Fine Art

  The painting collection has works covering the period 1400-1900 from England, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy. The Spanish material, 80 works, much from the de Quinto collection is strong in the Madrid School e.g. Carreno, Camillo and Pereda. Other centres are Seville and Toledo and have works from the 15th -18th centuries. Significant are ‘The tears of St Peter’ by El Greco and 2 by Goya ‘Portarit of Melendez Valdes’ and ‘ Prison scene’. French pieces, about 500 include landscapes of 17th – 19th centuries by Allegrin, Boucher, Corot and Robert; 200 works of 1860s – 1870s including portraits by JD Court, seascapes by Baron Gudin, figure studies by Chaplin and genre by Adolphe Cals. A large group of Neo classical works including ‘Duchesse d’Angouleme’ by Baron Gros and studio portraits of Napoleon by Girodet. The Italian School has works from the main centres with the strongest from Naples with pieces by Fracanzano, Vaccaro, Mura, Solimena, and Giordano’ sketch ‘The triumph of Judith’ for the Treasury ceiling in the Certoas di San Martino in Naples. Portraits by Trevisani, landscapes by Canaletto, sketches by Giaquinto, Diziani and Tiepolo. High Rennaisance and Mannerism by Solario, Caprioli, Salvaiati and an early Renaissance work by Sassetta’s ‘Miracle of the Holy Sacrament’ of 1423-26. The drawings, watecolour and print colllection consists of about 3,000 works including some rare examples of French 18th century colour printing, good watercolours of local topography by Hearne, Turner and Girtin and a small (90 piece) collection of minatures, 30 illuminated manuscripts, a run of ‘Charivari’ from the 1840s and 50s with prints by Daumier.

  Fine Art (Portraiture)

  The Bowes Museum’s Fine Art collection contains nearly 1000 portraits including; sculptures, miniatures, oil paintings, watercolours, drawings, prints and metalwork. The collection includes examples of European portraiture from the seventeenth century through to the nineteenth century. The collection includes important works by Anne Vallayer-Coster, Anne-Louis Girodet, Francesco Trevisani, Francisco Jose de Goya, Francois-Joseph Kinsoen, Joshua Reynolds, Philippe de Champaigne and Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

  Arms and Armour

  The collection includes guns, edged weapons and a few pieces of armour.

  Musical instruments

  There is a collection of 70 musical instruments of which the most important is a series of early keyboard instruments by Haxby and Broadmood.

  Numismatics

  The collection includes coins and French commemorative medals dating from the Roman period to 19th century.

  Archaeology (prehistory)

  The Bowes Museum holds a large collection of prehistoric material relating principally to County Durham. Strengths include a large quantity of Mesolithic lithics from the immediate region and the Bronze Age hoard from Gilmonby. Lithics are the major element within this collection, with material coming principally from the local area.

  Costume

  The costume collection of 5,000 items has grown especially since 1950 and covers late 18th century – 1960s. It includes a group worn by Empress Eugenie in the 1850s and 60s, but is mainly English women’s, men’s and children’s garments worn and made in the North East , especially women’s dresses of the 1860s and 70s, haute couture including Paquin, Hartnell, Jacques Fath and Worth, and wedding dresses from 1800 to present with a Hartnell of 1928 with pearls and silver lace.

  Archives

  There are various library collections and an archive of note; a rare books library of local interst including newspapers collected by John Bowes, now has run of the Teesdale Mercury from 1912; periodical runs of The Gentleman’s Magazine, Country Life and Archaeologia; records of Teesdale Local history societies, Parish chest of Mickelton containing 16th and 17th century documents on the lawsuit between Sir Talbot Bowes and tenants, printed books by William Hutchinson, a Durham historian and native of Teesdale, William Shaw’s account book for his academy in Bowes the model for Dickens ‘Dotheboys Hall’; a French library of Josephine Bowes collection of French Literature, plays, revolutionary pamphlets and treatises, printed books owned by Louis XV, Madame Pompadour, the duc d’Orleans, Charles X and Pope Clement XI. The archive also contains extensive documentation of the Bowes purchases of 15,000 objects, furnishings of their houses, day to day social life, dress and furniture bills and archives of the Theatre des Varietes where Josephine performed on stage. 2,000 personal letters of John Bowes, Josephine’s letters commissioning Galle and others, largely uncatalogued.

  Photography

  Mainly from the Teesdale area including a large collection of local historic photographs in particular by Elijah Yeoman for his early landscapes, Rev. James Pattison and other anonymous photographers.

  Glass

  The glass collection of 700 pieces ranges from 17th – 19th centuries including exhibition pieces and a commissioned cabaret set from Emile Galle in 1871. There is a small collection of 16th and 17th century stained glass from Switzerland, Holland and Germany and domestic glass mainly Dutch and Bohemian and German; a set of amber and clear table glass engraved with the Bowes coat of arms and horses attributed to Karl Pfohl, a group by Salviati of Venice, a group of 18th century English drinking glasses presented by Sir William Burrell and a collection of English and Irish cut glass bequeathed by Mrs Norman Field in 1973.

  Clocks

  The clocks, 17th- 19th century, were collected more for design and movement than technical interest and include automatons especially the Silver swan, known since 1774 when it was in the museum of James Cox, a London goldsmith; a group of table clocks includes a lion clock from Augsburg, an 18th century celestial globe, a bracket clock in vernis martin, an imitation laquer clock and watches from the Napoleonic and Second empire period; a musical clock by P J van Bockstael of Rexpoede, another one by James Newton of London of 1754.

  Natural Science

  There are some geological specimens with a Bowes provenance and of local origin, but not a systematic collection. The mounted birds,190 cased specimens some by local taxidermists, British birds eggs, c.650, Molluscs about 500 includes British common water worn marine shells and insects, c 1000 are contained in 5 display boxes in a period room. All acquired at the beginning of the 20th century and there is no intention for active collecting.

  Archaeology

  The collection is in 2 parts; the founders collected Roman metalwork and glass as fashion dictated in the 1850s-70s, but these are not the basis of the main collection which is local and mainly from excavations including finds and archive from Barnard Castle, Piercebridge and Binchester Roman forts. Other material is from minor excavations, especially Teesdale, local donations and the Museum holds collections from across Co Durham and is a recognised store. Specific mention should be made of a late Bronze Age hoard from near Bowes, two Bronze Age swords and a gold hair ornament from Startforth, a group of Roman inscriptions including 2 altars dedicated to Vinotonus found on Scargill Moor and a building inscription from Greta Bridge.

  Wood carvings

  The collection of about 700 architectural and decorative carvings were mostly purchased through the Bowes’ dealers and attendance at the International Exhibitions of London and Paris, reflecting a fashion for collecting in the 1850s also evident in the South Kensington Museum of the time, when collections were made with the specific intention of providing samples for craftsmen to copy. Small domestic items of woodcarving, such as tobacco rasps, nutcrackers and boxes were also collected. Recent research has revealed 2 previously unrecorded marquetry panels by the late 18th century Italian cabinet maker Francesco Abbati and a rare Renaissance panel depicting the liberal arts.

  Social History

  The collections are essentially local history and include material already described under photography, archaeology and archives, but also include coins and French commemorative medals dating from the Roman period to 19th century about 200 in total; arms and weapons including guns, edged weapons and a few pieces of armour also about 200 in total.

  Toys and Dolls

  The toy collection includes cards and counter games collected by the Bowes and later dolls houses(19), dolls(200) and toys(450) including a Bing clockwork car ‘The Spider’. There are two 18th century dolls and a rare swimming doll; 19 dolls houses, some of exceptional quality e.g. a German kitchen of c.1700; also a wooden train owned by the son of Edward Pease one of the founders of the Stockton -Darlington Railway of 1825, probably the first toy train; mechanical toys including model engines, ships and a working model of Crow’s Fairground made in the 1950s.

  Textiles

  The textile collection is important as the tapestries numbering 176 is one of the largest in Britain covering 14th- 18th centuries and from all the major European centres in France, the Low Countries, England, Germany and Italy. 56 large scale works including 2 sets from 17th century Paris (Pre-Goblein) of 1650 4 pieces ‘Dido and Aeneas’ and 5 pieces of ‘Cupid and Pysche’ of 1670-90 from Beauvais; a fragment with coat of arms of ‘The Triumph of Time’ of 1507 from Brussels; 2 panels after prints by Durer; a full piece showing ‘Apollo and the Muses’ attributed to the Paris workshop of Raphael de La Planche woven for the Grimaldi family of Monaco c.1650. A large collection of seat covers form a unique collection of 17th and 18th century French upholstery. Josephine Bowes collected 700 examples. Canvas-work includes a large Elizabethan hanging and valances, a rare 18th century table carpet, 17th century panels e.g. ‘The Judgment of Solomon’ after B a Bolswert after Rubens. The 830 embroideries range from 14th -19th century and include French 17th century bed valances and gaming purses, English 18th century needle paintings by Mary Linwood; English 17th century; ecclesiastical embroideries and vestments include 14th century German orphreys and fine 18th century chasubles and English samplers. There are 200 pieces of lace and a small collection of 130 printed and woven textiles such as the French brocaded satin woven for the Tuileries in 1811-13. The Northern quilt and bedcovers collection is 125 and growing. 30 European and Oriental carpets mainly furnish the period rooms, and there are 19th century Barnard Castle carpets.

  Ethnography

  There is no discrete ethnographic collection as such, but material is scattered throughout the main collections; it includes ivories, metalwork, pottery and textiles from West Africa, the Arabian Gulf, Central Asia, South East Asia, Indian subcontinent, Latin America, Balkans and Mesopotamia. A small group survives from the George Brown collection (qv Hancock Museum) as associated with Barnard Castle. Chelmsford and Essex Museum transferred 61 items , mainly South African and African ,one Naga item in 1961. The Museum Ethnographers Group identified 1,000 objects in a survey of the British Isles in 1986; these included 800 or so oriental ceramics, North American stone implements, 41 Latin American items some Yaqui pots and a small number of mid European and oriental items from the Paris Exhibition of 1867.

  Furniture

  The furniture collection is 500 pieces in total. 17th and 18th century French used to furnish the Bowes houses, contemporary 1850s purchased from Monbro fils aine, Monbro bills, and furniture with original upholstery; European furniture from Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Spain including 18th century beadwork pelmet from Brunswick and 16th century choir stalls from a monastic church in Schaffhausen, Switzerland; English furniture and panelled rococo interiors from Chesterfield House, London with ornament by Nicholas Pineau, palladian panelling from Gilling Castle made by Matthew Ward and a chimney piece from Lanercost Priory with ornament based on a design by Vredeman de Vries, a botanical cabinet of Mary Eleanor Bowes, a bookcase by William Hallett, early hutch table of 1530 with carved armorials of Sir William Calverley and Elizabeth Middleton, early 18th century red walnut seat furniture, large mahogany bookcase of 1800-10 by Thomas Hope.

  Ceramics

  The collection of ceramics is about 4,500 items with the full range of European wares from 1500 -1870. The collection comprises those of Josephine Bowes, Susan Davidson and Enid Goldblait and has Italian Maiolica ( 200 pieces) with a rare potter’s sample plate of 1577; French and German Faience (1,000 pieces-the best outside the V&A); Dutch delftware (500 pieces – again the best outside the V&A); French soft paste porcelain from St Cloud, Mennecy, Vincennes, and Sevres (1,000 pieces) including a teapot of 1758 decorated with a peacock on the rose Pompadour ground, 6 plates from the Marquis de Semonville’s ambassadorial service of 1792; Paris wares from the short-lived factiories of the Revolutionary period and an early documentary cabaret set from Limoges; German porcelain from Meissen, Frankenthal and Ludwigsburg and porcelain from Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Scandinavia, Russia, Switzerland and Britain. Also some exhibition pieces from the Paris and London Exhibitions of 1867 and 1871. The Enid Goldblait collection added 500 pieces of European wares in 1988. There is a small but significant collection of 500 English ceramics from 1700-1850, some rare, and 1,000 pieces of Oriental export porcelain from Susan Davidson, Bowes’ cousin, in 1878.

  Sculpture

  The collection of about 150 pieces is diverse and covers 15th century to 1870s including carvings in wood, alabaster, plaster, bronze and marble in particular a parcel gilt statuette of St Sebastian of 1523, a marble relief of Mars by Antonio Lombardo of early 16th century, marble portrait bust of a young girl by Jean-Antoine Houdon of 1777, a plaster group of the Dukes of Cumberland and Gloucester by Jean-Pierre Dantan of 1834, an undated bronze of Mephistopheles by Emile Hebert and a silvered copper figure of Sappo by James Pradier of 1848. There are several 15th century wood carvings, 3 pieces of 15th century Nottingham School alabasters, a group of European ivories from several periods, 15th century stone ‘Passion and Resurrection of Christ’ from Monk Hesleden Church, Castel Eden, Co. Durham, a terracotta group by Claude Michel called Clodion of 1783 and a mid 17th century gilt-bronze fountain mask of a river god, one of several made for the Chateau de St Cloud, perhaps by Matin Desjardins, c 1650-60.

  Metalwork

  There is a small collection of European silver from 1600- 1850 of about 500 pieces and it ranges from a Jacobean spice box to important 19th century pieces. Most important is a collection of silver and silver gilt given ‘in lieu’ in 1982 from the estate of the 6th Marquess of Ormonde, some purchased in 1808-11 from Paul Storr, Benjaimin and James Smith, William Pitt, William Fountain and others; also Bowes family pieces including a wine goblet, Newcastle of c.1635, of Sir Talbot Bowes and a punch bowl of 1725, also Newcastle for George Bowes, 11 silver dinner plates, London 1699-1725 arms of George and Grizel Baillie, some French plate and a varied collection of Sheffield plate. Other work includes a collection of French ormolu furniture mounts, traditionally from the Tuileries and other Royal palaces sacked in 1871 Paris Commune, several pairs of ormolu fire-dogs or chenets depicting human figures, mythical animals or architectural motifs, a rare signed and dated ormolu plaque by Jean-Robert Mention of 1730 after ‘The Road to Calvary’ by Pierre Mignard in the Louvre. Objets d’art, 500 pieces, include jewellery, 2 documented jewelled snuff boxes, one of 1853 by Charles-Martial Bernard, and objects in iron and enamel, including locks, caskets, door-knockers, finials, a sundial and firebacks, one with the arms of the Dauphin.

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC