The Wallace Collection

The Wallace Collection

Hertford House

Overview

The Wallace Collection is a free to the public art collection that is houes in the once home of the Seymour family. It is located in Manchester Square, in the City of Westminster and is split into six different departments determined by type. The collection started between 1760 and 1880 by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess. In 1897, the private collections were then donated to the nation by Richard Wallace's widow after her death to be a public collection.

Background

Inside The Wallace Collection, one can find works of many different types such as Ceramics and Glass, or Arms and Armor. There are 25 different galleries where one can wooed and impressed by 18th century French paintings and such. The collection is displayed in the private home of the late Wallace's.

Floor 1

Billiard Room

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Oriental Armoury

The collection of the Oriental Arms was acquired mostly by the 4th Marquess of Hertford in Paris prior to his death in 1870 and was chosen by the museum for the relics fine craftsmanship and exotic, Eastern opulence and beauty. Most of the weapons in the exhibit are Indian, Persian and Turkish from the 15th to 19th century while the armour is mostly from Indo-Persia in the 18th and 19th century. These objects were collected since they were highly sought after back in the Parisian society times and today the collection is widely recognized for being one of the largest and finest collections in the UK.

Unlike medieval arms and weaponry, oriental has more colour and more embellishments. The arms used animal tusks and bones like ivory and buffalo horn and were usually silver gilded. The art was detailed and full of bright vibrant colours like pinks, blues and yellows. Many items were gold encrusted with jewels such as vases and tea pots.

European Armory I

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European Armory II

Field Armor and Field Armor of Otto Heinrich, Count Palatine of the Rhine

The field armor was made in 1480 and in the 19th century. It would not be used in it current form because many of the parts were made or modified in the 19th century. The backplate, left counter, and both rebraces are in their original state. The leg armor, lower arm guards, and helmet where modified in the 19th century and the breastplate, pauldrons and gauntlets were made in the 19th century. It is in the German Gothic style and seem to have come from Castle of Hohenaschau in the Tyrol, home of the von Freyberg family. The man's armor Weights 27.161 kg, the horse's armor Weights 30.07 kg, and the mail Weights 10.17 kg. This style was a relatively light and comfortable kind of armor because the kind of steel used allowed to to be made with thin plates.
Otto Heinrich was a powerful German war-leader. The armor comes from a few different sets, which is made apparent by the fact that the designs of the pauldrons and the curass have the same patterns of birds and infants while the rest of the set contains foliage and flowers. The black section was deliberately left rough when it was made to associate it with battle hardened soldiers and the gold sections marks the armor as belonging to a noble man who's armor would be a work of art as well as functional.

European Armory III

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Smoking Room

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16th Century Gallery

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Front State Room

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Back State Room

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Dining Room

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Floor 2

Landing

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Boudior

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West Gallery I

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West Gallery II

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West Gallery III

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Great Gallery

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East Gallery I

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East Gallery II

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East Gallery III

This gallery contains masterpieces by the Artists Van de Velde, Nicolaes Berchem, Karel du Jardin and Philips Wouwermans. The paintings pictured below are pieces from the gallery.

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  The Smithy by Karel Dujardin, Netherlands (1658)

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  "Italian Landscape with Figures by Nicolaes Berchem, Netherlands (1654)"

East Drawing Room

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Large Drawing Room

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Small Drawing Room

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Oval Drawing Room

In the Oval Drawing Rom you will see paintings from the high and late Rocco period in France, and there are two very iconic works from the period. Madame de Pompadour commissioned her portrait from Boucher to promote her public role as Louis XV's confidante. you can also see Fragonards' experiment with the Rocco style which is illustrated by his painting The Swing. The clock not he chimneypiece and the roll-top desk in the room show the rich taste in furniture and gilt-bronze which is a characteristic of royal and aristocratic taste. Known as the Octagon Room, this room was used by the 2nd Marchioness of Hertford as a room for entertaining. The chimneypiece which can be dates to c. 1785 is the only original one to survive in Hertford House. Sir Richard Wallace used this room to display his collection of miniatures.

Study

The Study is a room the is dedicated to the taste in the period of Queen Marie Antoinette of France. There is a group of furniture that is owned by the Queen and it is surrounded by Sevres porcelain and French decorative arts that are from the second half of the 18th century. This is when the new, Neo-classical style came into use. You can see painting by Fragonard and Grease, which also show the transition. The Study was used by Sir Richard Wallace and a private room for writing letters and reading.

Cabinet

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Basement

The Ritblat Conservation Gallery

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Porphyry Court

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References

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External Links

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Image Gallery

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