What was originally a top to an old Victorian English papier macho writer's slope is now a superb wall or shelf frame set with the old original eglomise souvenir painting of an English manor, castle and comes from my own personal collection. Somehow I have preferred it just as I bought it - as a wall art framed painting on backside of a glass panel (eglomize) and never did consider finding a slope to which it might be fitted. I'm a collector of the old French eglomise souvenirs (see final photo) and have long kept a lot of other collectors in them as I rotate my own favorite pieces. This one dates mid-1800s, early to mid-Victorian, and it was very likely the work of Jennens & Bettridge but that signature would have appeared on the bottom half of the writing slope which no longer survives. Sized up, it anchors a collection of these old Grand Tour souvenirs, don't you agree?
Good to very good condition for age and type, no loss to the back-painted scene, no flaking or missing paint sections. There is a gold applied first (painted in for-colors to those behind, a very challenging and creative art, indeed. At angles of light, the gold shimmers and brings an evening light to the scene. The outer frame is thick papier mache, inlaid with mother of pearl (typical of that material) and then entirely overpainted in gold ornamentation. The dserpentine aperture has about a .25" inch deep bevel, as you can see, and the panel is slightly convex. Two outer border corners (bottom) have chips which mostly show from the backside and distract very little from the overall beauty of this piece. Whether hung on wall, resting against the back wall of your display case, or on an easel on bookshelf or tabletop, you'll love the addition of the large English countryside scene to your own Grand Tour items. Even as a bit of a salvage, it's always been one of my favorites.
