A VIEW ON A ROOM
Antiques expert JUDITH MILLER takes us on a tour of her favourite room from the houses featured this issue – Helen Bromovsky’s dining room
1 CHINESE WARRIOR PICTURES
The portraits of Chinese warriors hanging on the chimney breast are of 19th or early 20th- century origin, and were hand-painted. In contrast to Western artistic conventions, traditional Chinese painting (in terms of technique) more closely resembles calligraphy: the brushes are dipped in black or coloured inks, rather than oils or gouache, and applied to paper or silk, rather than canvas.
2 FIREGUARD
Spanning an open hearth defined by an elegant black-and-white, marble, Regency chimneypiece, is a black wrought-iron fire screen. Its repeat scroll-form pattern – essentially stylised representations of foliate shoots and tendrils – has been employed in the decorative arts since classical antiquity, but in this case was forged in the 20th century by Moroccan ironworkers of Marrakech’s medina.
3 CONTEMPORARY COATS
Displaying apparel, rather than storing it behind closed doors, is an ancient and enduring decorative convention, and has encompassed not only armour and coats- of-arms, but also fashionable costume and millinery. Hung from a large landscape mural (which echoes the countryside around the house), these three pasha coats with abstract geometric pattern were designed by Helen Bromovsky for her fashion business, The Ottoman Collection.
4 GREEN GLASS
In addition to a selection of contemporary drinking vessels, including some clear and striated white glass tumblers made in Murano, the eclectic selection of glassware features antique Bohemian tumblers. They are of a form and pattern – green and gilt conventionalised foliate motifs – popular during and since the 19th century.
5 PLASTER CORNICE
Turn- of-the-19th- century Regency additions and alterations to this originally medieval house include a tripartite division of the walls. This is a typical neoclassical configuration that comprises a plain central ‘field’ above a chair rail-height dado (now in painted, embossed paper), and below, a moulded plaster cornice. The latter features repeat acanthus and waterleaf motifs, of classical Greco-Roman style.
6 GLAZED DISPLAY CABINET
Although this Georgian display cabinet dates from the second half of the 18th century, it is of a basic form that emerged in the late 17th century, when glazed doors began to replace solid cabinet doors so that owners could show off their newly fashionable oriental porcelain. Early examples had small, rectangular panes of glass and relatively thick glazing bars, but as production techniques improved, panes became larger, bars thinner, and configuration more elaborate.
7 DINING CHAIRS
The chairs either side of the cabinet and around the late 18th- century French mahogany table are also from France, but of a style particularly fashionable on both sides of the Channel during the first two decades of the 19th century. Their wooden frames are ebonised, have gilt highlights, and feature top rails depicting putti (small, chubby infants derived from the attendants of Cupid and Eros) playing games.