Joanna Booth: The Discerning Eye | Early Textiles, Sculpture, Furniture and Old Master Drawings
The auction of Fine Interiors, on 5th July, includes a substantial collection assembled by the renowned doyenne of early furniture, objects and textiles, Joanne Booth, who traded from London’s Kings Road for over four decades.
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The combination of a desire to operate on an independent basis and her fascination from childhood with historical pieces from the 16th century and earlier, led Joanna to open her eponymous business in 1965 at 247 Kings Road. Her premises, along with several others and owned by the Church Commission, had been threatened with demolition to make way for a shopping precinct, but in the light of massive opposition the plans were rejected and the leaseholders were given the opportunity to purchase the freeholds to their buildings – an important stroke of luck for the development of Joanna’s business. For 45 years, until 2007, Joanna Booth’s shop, close to Carlyle Square, was a permanent fixture in a culturally significant part of the Kings Road.
It’s worth recalling the thriving, influential fashion and music scene to be found on the Kings Road in the 1960s and 70s – the designer of the mini skirt, Mary Quant, had her boutique, Bazaar, at 138a; the Chelsea Drugstore was at 49 – arranged over three floors, featuring bars, a chemist, newsstands and other concessions, it offered a home delivery service of purple cat-suited girls on motorbikes; Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s radical emporium Let It Rock, was at 430, it was later known as SEX, and Granny Takes A Trip sold vintage fashion from number 488 – Joanna bought her wedding dress here. The Kings Road provided the scene for a bourgeoning youth to discover and experience the latest trends.
In the early years of her career Joanna honed her curatorial eye through the study of early pieces found in museum and stately home collections. She frequently visited the Welsh borders, where her parents had a house, and towns such as Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Leominster, along with the Cotswolds, with their wide ranges of early pieces were likewise invaluable, not only for research, but to be acquired as stock for her shop. As the business became more established Joanna made overseas sourcing visits, she travelled to Europe and North America, and took stands at fairs held at Olympia and Grosvenor House, along with Palm Beach in Florida. Joanna notes regretfully that whereas the decorative fairs used to provide rich hunting grounds for interesting and unusual pieces, of late they seem to be mostly dominated by mirrors and lighting.
For many years Joanna has split her time between London and Hay-on-Wye – her connections to the market town go back many years and her brother, Richard Booth, played a key role in establishing Hay as a centre for second hand and antiquarian books. He opened his first business, The Old Fire Station, in 1962, and through his enthusiastic championing of book selling Hay became known as the ‘Town of Books’. The annual literary festival has been held in Hay since 1988 and over the years the event has attracted many well known literary figures.
From her collection Joanna highlights lot 151, a Flemish ‘feuilles de choux’ tapestry, circa 1580 (est. £10,000-15,000). ‘Feuilles de choux’ tapestries are so named due to the volume of cabbage-like leaves which dominate their fields and they invariably feature semi-abstract designs. Ostensibly a hunting scene is portrayed here, but without the gore of the kill, and so one is able to focus on the beauty of the luxuriant undergrowth in which the lions, and their prey, an elephant, are depicted, although the outstretched tongue of the male lion indicates that the chase might be underway soon. In the distance ranges of buildings are set against a backdrop of hills,, the perspective is wonderfully eccentric and the slopes are highly impressionistic – perhaps unsurprising given the topography of the Flemish landscape.
Lot 76, a polychrome wood sculpture of St. Michael destroying evil in the form of a dragon, from Picardy, France, dates from circa 1600 (est. £7,000-10,000). It spans the transitional Gothic / Baroque era, although St. Michael’s billowing drapery is typical of the Baroque. Joanna reminds us that saints, along with religious themes, were extremely popular subjects for three and two dimensional art at this time. We don’t know in what sort of building this sculpture would have stood, but it wouldn’t necessarily have been created for a church, such works would also have been found in civic buildings or in those used by town guilds.
Joanna’s collection also includes three watch stands. The item appears to have evolved in South Germany from the 17th century, and their form was particularly well suited to the Baroque and the later Rococo style of carving on a small scale. As the pocket watch grew in popularity the carved stand came into its own as a practical object not only to show off the watch but to keep it safe overnight. Tourists on the Grand Tour soon snapped up interesting examples to bring home as souvenirs. The concept of a valuable timepiece displayed within an exotic stand spread and watch stands appeared in other materials, such as bone and pottery. Even if unaccompanied by a pocket watch, carved stands such as lot 41, from Austria, circa 1700, a rider on horseback bearing a roundel encircled with gilded rays, continue to appeal to those who admire fine carving (est. £1,200-1,500).
Perhaps the most breath-taking and exotic of all Joanna’s pieces is the ‘Opus Anglicanum’, lot 51, circa 1500, comprising embroidered figures applied to Italian silk (est. £8,000-12,000). This cope – a full length cloak formed of a semi-circular piece of cloth and worn by the clergy – would have been produced in an English workshop for export to Europe. Named apostles line the inner borders of the cope with further half length apostles encircling the outer edge, and winged angels with banderols are distributed throughout the field. The term ‘Opus Anglicanum’ can be traced to the 13th century when it was first used to describe magnificent English embroideries; however, in Latin, the term conveys so much more than the literal translation, ‘English work’. A highly skilled workforce was required to create richly decorated copes, as the one here, both men and women would have been employed and they were well rewarded as these garments would have ranked amongst the most treasured artworks of the medieval era. It is incredibly rare for such a cope to come to auction, and especially so as the Reformation of the 1530s saw the downturn in the production of elaborate vestments.
Fine Interiors Including Joanna Booth: The Discerning Eye | Early Textiles, Sculpture, Furniture and Old Master Drawings
Tuesday 5th July 2022 1pm
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