Accession Number

2020.008.001

Alternate Name

photograph frame

Description

A silver and fabric picture frame with a hinged arm, the blue moire silk interior water-damaged, the glass missing, the blue velvet back heavily worn and soiled, the front velvet worn and soiled, the repouseed and embossed silver on top of it in an ornate acanthus pattern and attached to the fabric and wood support, the cartouche at the centre-top bearing the initials "MJC" for Mary Jean Croft (nee Dunsmuir), the hallmarks indicating manufacture by Henry Matthews of Birmingham, England in 1898.

Narrative

This picture frame was designed to be placed on a horizontal surface such as a mantle or table. Its history within the Dunsmuir family makes it a highly desirable object in The Castle Society’s Primary Collection.

History of Use

This picture frame was acquired by Mary Jean Dunsmuir (Mrs. Henry Croft) sometime after 1898 and used by her at Mt. Adelaide, her residence at West Bay in Esquimalt, B.C. After her death in 1928, it was taken by her sister Elizabeth’s son, John William Bryden (1869-1953) to his house on Gartley Beach at Royston, Vancouver Island, B.C. After his death in 1953, the frame was used by his son, Gerald Robert Bryden at his house in Royston, and then donated by his daughter to Craigdarroch Castle in 2020. In the late 20^th Century, the fame was damaged in a basement flood at the Royston home of the donor's father's sister, Lucy Lenore Bryden (also known as Mrs. John Ryland). The photograph inside the frame was destroyed at that time.

Date

1898

Dimensions

32 x 22.5 cm
tapers to 20 cm wide at top

Material

Metal, silver; Fabric, silk, velvet; Fabric, silk; Glass; Wood

Technique

Stamped; Repoussed; Embossed; Engraved

Country of Origin

United Kingdom