Accession Number

2017.001.006

Description

Shell shaped ceramic dresser tray with blue transfer print of the 1898 BC Legislative Building on a white background. Around the central image is a blue floral boarder. Gilt rim. The back of the tray is marked 'Provincial Parliament Buildings, Victoria BC.' There is also a circular stamp topped with a crown and illegible writing.

Narrative

This circa 1900 dresser tray has been owned by the Bryden family of Vancouver Island for an undetermined period, but probably since about 1900. The family is descended from Elizabeth Hamilton Dunsmuir (1848-1901), who married Nanaimo coal mine manager John Cowper Bryden in 1866. It was added to the museum’s collection to aid in the presentation of the Dunsmuir family story at Craigdarroch.
 

History of Use

This circa 1900 dresser tray was first owned and used by Dunsmuir descendant John William Bryden (1869-1953) and his wife Ellen Gertrude Tarbell (1882-1964) at their Oak Bay B.C. residence at 899 Transit Road, and subsequently at their waterfront house in Royston, Vancouver Island, near Cumberland and Courtenay. It was then inherited by their son Gerald Robert Bryden (1913-1992) in Royston and then by Gerald’s daughter in Campbell River, from whom it was acquired by The Castle Society.

Date

circa 1900

Dimensions

2.5 x 18.5 x 12 cm

Material

Ceramic

Technique

Transfer printed

Country of Origin

United Kingdom