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Penelope: C.3-1922

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Penelope

Maker(s)

Maker: Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.
Painter: Faulkner, Kate
Designer: Burne-Jones, Edward (After)

Entities

Categories

Description

Circular tile. Buff earthenware, slip-coated, glazed and painted in blue, yellow, sage green, flesh-pink and black enamel colours. A head and shoulders painted portrait of a woman, drawn in black, set on a deep blue ground. She wears a turban-style head-dress, which unwinds to fall over her right shoulder conceals most of her light brown hair, and a sage green bodice, and holds a needle in her raised left hand. At the top, right-hand side of the tile is a white ribbon label inscribed 'PENELOPE'. The glaze is dull, the sides are unglazed and the back of the tile is flat and rough.
The cut down 6 inch tile.

Notes

History note: Ernest Barnsley, by whom given

Legal notes

Given by Ernest Barnsley

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 15.2 cm

Place(s) associated

  • Bloomsbury ⪼ London ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1922-10-01) by Barnsley, Ernest

Dating

19th Century, third quarter#
Victorian
Production date: circa AD 1865

Note

Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) adapted the design for this roundel from his series representing the heads of Chaucer and six of the author’s 'Goode Wimmen'; four of these drawings are in the collection of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. It was not unusual for designs to be adapted for different commissions, and Burne-Jones also used this series in designing an embroidered frieze and stained glass roundels: ‘Penelope’ appears as the central roundel of a stained glass panel shown at the Exhibition of Stained Glass at South Kensington in 1864 and now in the V&A collection, and in another roundel held by the collection of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. According to Homeric legend, Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, was the model of domestic virtue. Tradition has it that this tile and that of Saint Cecilia (C.2-1922), were painted by the Kate Faulkner (d. 1895), who worked for William Morris (1834-96) and others as a painter and designer, as did her sister Lucy (see Robinson). Their brother Charles Faulkner (1833–92) was a partner of Morris and Burne-Jones in the firm Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co from 1861-74, though not actively involved after he returned to academic life in 1864.

The tiles were given by the Arts & Crafts furniture maker Edward Barnsley (1900-1987).

School or Style

Arts and Crafts (movement)

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels clear glaze

Materials used in production

Earthenware

Techniques used in production

Painting

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: PENELOPE
  • Location: On ribbon label on front
  • Method of creation: Painted in black
  • Type: Title

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.3-1922
Primary reference Number: 15390
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 6 August 2020 Last processed: Wednesday 13 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Penelope" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/15390 Accessed: 2024-03-29 09:48:37

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/15390 |title=Penelope |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-03-29 09:48:37|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-15390

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<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa36/c_3_1922_1_201702_mfj22_dc2.jpg"
        alt="Penelope"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Penelope</figcaption>
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