Accession Number

2020.008.004

Alternate Name

photograph frame

Description

An oval silver and fabric picture frame with a hinged arm on the back to facilitate table-top display, the blue moire silk interior water-damaged and bearing the gilded mark for the retailer “Challoner & Mitchell Jewellers Victoria, B.C.”, the thick glass bevelled, the black leather back heavily worn and soiled, the front of plain undecorated smooth silver and attached to the wooden support, the hallmarks indicating manufacture by Synyer & Beddoes of Birmingham, England in 1905.

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 John William Bryden (1869-1953) and his wife Ellen Gertrude Tarbell (1882-1964) sometime after 1899 and used at their house on Gartley Beach at Royston, Vancouver Island, B.C. After their deaths, the frame was used by their son, Gerald Robert Bryden at his house in Royston, and then donated by his daughter to Craigdarroch Castle in 2020.

Date

1905

Dimensions

28 x 20 cm

Material

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

Technique

Stamped; Repoussed; Tanned

Country of Origin

United Kingdom