Accession Number

985.030

Description

A standing rosewood firescreen with cross-stitched floral front behind clear glass, the French-polished frame bordered with elaborate ornamental acanthus-motif scroll-work carved in rosewood.

Narrative

The needlework on this screen is Berlin wool work, done in cross stitch. Berlin wool work is a style of counted thread needlework, a technique where stitches are made at regular intervals across the support fabric. Worked in a cross-stitch or tent stitch across the entire support fabric, it creates a strong, durable material that is perfect for upholstery. Uncharacteristically, the stitching on this piece of needlework does not cover the entire support fabric.

Berlin wool work became extremely popular in the mid 19^th century. The pre-printed, easy to follow patterns were accessible to the growing middle class and the development of synthetic dyes allowed detailed shading to be used to depict realistic, almost three dimensional designs.

History of Use

In 1985, the donor of this firescreen, a woman of advanced age, told The Castle Society's Furnishings Committee representative that the firescreen had been used by the Dunsmuirs at Craigdarroch Castle. There is no firescreen description in Craigdarroch's 1909 auction catalogue that matches the appearance of this firescreen. The donor may have been mistaken and confused Craigdarroch Castle with Hatley Castle, though the 1939 Hatley Park auction catalogue also does not list a firescreen resembling this one. It is possible that this firescreen was removed from Craigdarroch prior to the 1909 auction and subsequently acquired by the donor. But in the absence of documentation, it must be concluded that the history of use of this object is unknown. 

Date

circa 1875

Material

Wood, rosewood; Fabric, wool; Glass

Technique

Stitched; Carved