The Royal Pavilion, Brighton

This two-day conference was kindly hosted and supported by the Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums of Brighton and Hove City Council.

The TPF are particularly grateful to the Royal Pavilion staff whose help in organising the co nference and willingness to take tours and be involved in practical sessions greatly contributed to the success of the event.

Programme
Thursday 26th February:
-Welcome from the TPF: Ian Bristow, Chairman for the Conference
-The Brighton Pavilion: An Overview of the Architecture and Designs: Andrew Barlow
-Orientally Influenced Decorative Effects and Techniques: Margaret Ballardie
-English and Chinese Pigments Used in the Royal Pavilion: Janet Brough

After lunch the delegates split into three groups and, in turn, saw the following:

– Tour of the Royal Pavilion Decorative Effects (including graining and marbling): Jon Latham
– Examined Cross-section Samples, from the Royal Pavilion, under the microscope Janet Brough
– Practical Demonstration of the Stalker and Parker Recipes: Margaret Ballardie
Friday 27th February:
-Chairman’s Introduction: Ian Bristow
-Orientalism: ideas and practices – an overview: Patrick Conner
-Hand Painted Chinese Wallpaper and its Conservation: Alyson McDermott
-The Redecoration of the Chinese Pavilion at Stowe: Jonathon Berry & Emile Debruijn
-Redecoration of the Liberty Cinema, Southwell (London): Louise Henderson

The delegates were then split into three groups and, in turn, saw the following:

– Practical Demonstration of the Royal Pavilion Graining and Marbling: Jon Latham
– Tour of the Painted Glass at the Royal Pavilion: Anne Sowden
– Examination of the Historic Wallpaper Collection at the Royal Pavilion: Heather Wood
Background on The Brighton Pavilion:
The complex development of the Royal Pavilion can be split three principal phases: the Marine Pavilion extension of an existing more modest house by Henry Holland in 1787; enlargement from 1801 with the building of the stables and other alterations with the involvement of Porden, Holland and Repton and, finally, with the engagement of the Architect John Nash in 1815, further extension and transformation until 1823.

A brief outline of just one room will give an indication of the splendour of the venue and its suitability for a conference on Orientalism. John Morley describes the building of the Royal Pavilion under George III in the guide book and, in particular, describes the Music Room as:

“… perhaps the most remarkable of all the rooms in the Royal Pavilion. The prose of a less abashed age does it full justice: “No verbal description, however elaborate, can convey to the mind or imagination of the reader an appropriate idea of the magnificence of this apartment; and even with the creative delineations of the pencil, combined with all the illusions of colour, would scarcely be adequate to such an undertaking. Yet luxuriously resplendent and costly as the adornments are, they are so intimately blended with the refinements of an elegant taste that everything appears in keeping and in harmony.” These decorations, as elsewhere in the building, are in materials that admitted no compromise. All are of the highest quality; the details of carving and painting are superb. The cockleshells of the dome, decreasing in size as they approach its apex, give an impression of loftiness that belies actual dimensions. The wall paintings, said to have been done by Lambelet, are elaborate chinoiserie confections in red, yellow and gold; many details originate from Alexander’s Costumes of China.
Frederick Crace and his firm, who controlled the work done in the Music Room, accomplished the task in a remarkably short time, often working throughout the night. The total effect is somewhat like that of a great lacquer box; some details, especially those of the upper part of the central gasolier, approach in refinement the spirit of contemporary French decoration despite their exotic elaboration. The room is as a whole more “Chinese” than perhaps any other apartment in the Pavilion.
… the total cost of the room was £45,125.15.10 (sums such as these should be seen in their context; the net produce of the whole Kingdom, in the year of the King’s accession, amounted to £74,769,196.4s.3.75d.)”