The Wallace Collection sits in the former townhouse of of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. It was established in 1897 from the private collection created by Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford (1800-1870). He left both the collection and the house to his illegitimate son, Sir Richard Wallace (1818-1890) and his widow then bequeathed the entire collection to the nation.
It is a very important collection of French 18th century decorative arts- many of them purchased after the end of the French Revolution in revolutionary sales (the selling of property confiscated from the monarchy, the Catholic Church and suspected counter-revolutionaries.)
The museum contains around 5,500 objects, and opened to the public in 1900. It does not try and replicate the house to its state when Sir Richard and Lady Wallace lived there. I've been here a few times before, and entrace is free.
It is a very important collection of French 18th century decorative arts- many of them purchased after the end of the French Revolution in revolutionary sales (the selling of property confiscated from the monarchy, the Catholic Church and suspected counter-revolutionaries.)
The museum contains around 5,500 objects, and opened to the public in 1900. It does not try and replicate the house to its state when Sir Richard and Lady Wallace lived there. I've been here a few times before, and entrace is free.
Hertford House, in Manchester Square, London, is home to the Wallace Collection. It sits not far behind Bond Street Tube station.
In 1872 Sir Richard Wallace presented 50 examples of this model of a drinking fountain to the city of Paris. This later cast was given to the Wallace Collection by the London Borough of Shoreditch in 1959.
The grand staircase inside...
The first room you enter on the ground floor, with a relaxing, plush seating area...
Mirror and candelabra, amongst other things...
A regal fireplace which is quite simplistic in comparison to some of the other offerings in this building...
China collection...
This marble statue (c.1871) is called Love Triumphant, and sits inside a beautiful tiled alcove.
Armoury...
Down the barrel of a gun...
Suits of armour...
Balcony of the first floor, taken on the staircase...
Vain Old Tart in her correct environment (surrounded by opulence, that is!)
Paintings mounted upon plush wallpaper...
These rooms look more 'stately'...
...And perhaps more masculine? They are how I envision traditional gentlemen's clubs to look.
Fruity cabinet. As always in these kind of galleries, I didn't take a picture of every single object or record every name, as I would have been here for an age and-a-half...
A long gallery...
...And another...
The stripy wallpaper is more subtle...
...As opposed to the jacquard wallpaper in some of the other rooms...
Modern staircase at the back of the house...
Downstairs again, to the rooms at the back of the house. This airy, bow-windowed room is elegantly sumptuous, and was my favourite room in the house.💜
Reflections of splendour...
More ostentatious decoration, but is it wrong that textured wallpaper always reminds me of an Indian restaurant?!
The Rainbow Landscape (c.1636) by Peter Paul Rubens.
I took this photo as this was the most eye-catching painting I saw.
I took this photo as this was the most eye-catching painting I saw.
Now on to An Enquiring Mind: Manolo Blahnik at the Wallace Collection, which runs until September 1st.
These 'flower' boots look a bit lost when photographed against the opulent background of the static collection...
My favourites in the whole collection are the shoes at the top of the glass dome...
All of the pieces were personally chosen by the man himself...
The shoes are dotted around the first floor of the museum....
I have to say, it's a luxurious collaboration which is really effective!
Some of the shoes are too over-the-top for me...
But I do hope to own (at least) one of his more simplistic pieces one day (maybe I can start by trawling eBay...)
Manuel 'Manolo' Blahnik Rodriguez, CBE, is a Spanish designer who was born in 1942...
I'm not a massive boot fan (I prefer strappy high heeled sandals) but I adore these sparkly delights...
These pictures are not too bad, especially as the use of a flash was forbidden...
I'm just happy that I was allowed to take photos at all- some establishments are way too precious about such things...
Manolo Blahnik has boutiques all over the world...
...But his flagship store is in Old Church Street, Chelsea, London.
As you can probably imagine, this exhibition is the main reason why I came into central London on this day...
Manolo Blahnik now resides in Bath (which I visited earlier this year).
Pretty daisy boots. As with the Wallace Collection, I didn't hone in on all the given names in the shoe exhibition, or when they were produced, or for which season's collection. Come and see for yourselves!
One of my favourite parts had to be this artistic display of Manolo Blahnik's sketches.
With this part of a very productive morning over, I then made my way up Oxford Street and continued my day.
TTFN
The Miss Elaineous
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