September 2009

At the September meeting of the FARNHAM DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS SOCIETY, Mr Peter Duffy, the Chairman, reminded members of the theatre outings programme.  Bookings were being taken for the visit to the Maharaja exhibition at the V&A on 4 November.  He explained that the membership of FDFAS had been increased by up to fifty new full members thus reducing the waiting list.  He also announced that some inconvenience would be caused over the coming months by building works at the Maltings.  Members were again reminded of the fire regulations.

Susan Stronge, Senior Curator, Asian Department of the V&A, gave a talk on The Court of the Grand Mughal.  The Mughal dynasty was founded in 1526 when Babur invaded Delhi.  The talk covered the period of the Mughals:  Babur, Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan from the 16C to the 18C.  The Mughal empire encompassed much of India as we know it today and part of Afghanistan. 

The Mughals came from Iran and brought with them Persian traditions, language and literacy but found a land full of its own ancient traditions.  These diverse traditions became married together and this was demonstrated in a series of slides.  Babur was famed for his buildings and also left a lasting legacy of Iranian-style gardens, which were evident into the 19C.  Calligraphy and book illustrations were also of great importance. 

Much can be learned about the Mughals from the illustrations and pictures that they have left behind.  There are scenes of historical events that took place, together with great details of the artefacts that were in use in the Court, such as the thrones of the Mughals, their jewellery and weaponry.  The splendour of the ceremony of Jahanghir’s court was shown along with objects such as porcelain and jewels. 

Eventually influences from the west were seen.  Akbar became interested in the Portuguese settlement in Goa and interrogated them to find out about European culture.  In 1580, Jesuits were allowed to present the case for Christianity.  The art of the west resulted in an increasing naturalism in Mughal portraiture.  A miniature of James I of England was brought to India and incorporated into a Mughal illustration.

In 1618, Shah Jahan came to power and wonderful pictures of his time showed great detail of daggers, a conch and scabbard, and the settings for rings.  He built the Taj Mahal, which is a lasting tribute to his architecture.  The metropolitan style of architecture favoured by him was adopted throughout the cities of India and can still be seen today.

As a result of the Persian influence, precious stones were greatly treasured by the Great Mughals and were often decorated with floral patterns or calligraphy.  Shah Jahan was a connoisseur of gems, and had his throne encrusted with jewels.  The most favoured gem, valued above all others, was the Spinel, a red stone. 

Susan Stronge urged members to visit the Maharaja exhibition at the V&A.

Copy by Maralyn Sharpe

Visit to Corsham Court and Lacock Abbey 23 September

The gentle hush of sleepy breathing marked the return journey of the Farnham DFAS visit to Corsham Court and Lacock Abbey last week:   there had been so many corridors and rooms to treck through, so many facts to remember, two lovely gardens to wander in plus a whole village to explore.

First it was coffee and wickedly-delicious biscuits which refreshed both us and the Church Restoration Fund.  Then it was on past the folly built to hide Lord Methuen’s breakfast room from prying commoners and a huge cloud-pruned yew hedge in its third week of trimming by men atop cherry pickers. 

Corsham Court presents a magnificent Elizabethan frontage to the world, but was built on the site of a Royal manor dating back to Saxon times.  However, our first stop was the 72ft room added on by the first Methuen to own it in the mid-18th century in order to display his inheritance of 16th and 17th Old Master paintings.  The architect was Capability Brown, who also landscaped the gardens.

We were intrigued to learn that the crimson silk damask lining the walls and covering the chairs was the original 18th century silk – left in situ when a blip in the family’s fortunes meant that the room could not be modernised in the late 19th century.  We also learnt that the wall behind the bigger pictures was bare since the fabric had been used to patch up the chairs and sofas.

Each room that followed had its own special treasures and stories which were helpfully explained by the informed stewards – not least the large half-moon shaped table set in front of the fire place and featuring a tantalus on rails so that men of the household could imbibe and warm their toes after a game of billiards.

Then it was on to the honey-coloured village of Lacock and lunch in one of the many hostelries and cafes before entering Lacock Abbey itself.  Originally built in the 13th Century by Ela in grateful thanks of her husbands return from the Crusades,  the Abbey fell foul of Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries and became a private home, although many religious features remained.  For example, the medieval cloisters, sacristy and chapter house.  It was notable that, although the nuns slept in Spartan dormitories without heating, the male clerics had a huge fireplace and the walls still showed signs of decorative paintings.  Even so, there were many alterations and additions over the years and, as our guide pointed out, just by stepping from one room to another we had crossed 300 years. 

Until it was handed over to the National Trust in the 1940’s, Lacock Abbey had been owned for many generations by the Fox Talbot family, whose best known son was William Henry Fox Talbot - inventor of the negative/positive method of photography.

To commemorate him there is an exhibition covering his life from early childhood when he was known for the explosions he caused to the work he is renowned for.  There is also mention of his friend Herschel, who coined the words ‘negative’, ‘positive’ in their photographic sense and the word ‘snapshot’.  Currently there is an exhibition upstairs of photographs by contemporary artist Abelard Morell, who has used the old ‘camera obscura’ to surreal effect.

Copy and pictures by Vicky Jackson