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GOTH – Designing Darkness. Objects loaned to Design Museum Den Bosch, Netherlands

Four objects from Parliament’s Heritage Collections are on loan to the Design Museum Den Bosch, Netherlands, for their exhibition, GOTH – Designing Darkness. The exhibition runs from 16th October 2021 to 18th April 2022.

Designing Darkness explores everything Gothic – from the origins of Gothic design in traditional European art, to today’s modern sub-culture.

From our Architectural Fabric Collection and Historic Furniture and Decorative Arts Collections, we have loaned a small set of objects showcasing the gothic design that can be found throughout the Palace of Westminster.

  • Wood chair with x-shaped frame that is intricately carved. The back rest uprights are topped with lion heads. The lions’ tongues stick out. Tudor roses are carved into the wood in the middle of the x-frame. The chair is upholstered in red leather, held in place with brass, berry-shaped nails. The back rest is stamped with five gold Tudor roses.
  • Circular spreading base below thick stem supporting shallow boat-shaped bowl. Decorated in colours of blue, green, pea-green, orange and crimson on a white ground. Base rim decorated with continuous stylised Gothic tracery design interspersed with foliate and flowerhead motifs. This below a narrow band to the stem with flowerhead motifs with a trefoil pattern below. Dish exterior decorated with Gothic tracery border with trefoil motifs, with a triagular reserve to either end containing stylised Gothic floral and foliate pattern within, and a fleur de lis motif enclosed within a reserve to either side. Dish interior decorated with similar design, with square quatrefoil tracery motif to the centre. Photographed against a light blue background.
  • Top of a decorative copper weathervane displayed on wooden plinth. The main flag section of the weathervane features cutwork detail depicting the letter 'V', two arrowhead shapes extending from the centre of the top and bottom edge, and two fleur de lis details in the outer corners. The central column is also topped with a large fleur de lis finial, and has barley sugar twist detail near the base. The base has moulded concentric circle details.
  • Gold coloured inkwell with a central tower on a rectangular base. There are small recesses on either side of the inkwell and a long rectangular recessed tray for a pen along the front edge.
The objects on loan. Historic Chair by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and John Webb © Historic Furniture POW 06570; Dessert Stand by Minton & Co and Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin © Historic Furniture POW 00305; Weathervane © Architectural Fabric AFC 002210; Inkstands, Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott © Historic Furniture POW 03180

Three 19th Century objects designed by A.W.N Pugin, the mastermind behind much of the interior and decorative design within the Palace, are on display. The objects range from a large x-frame chair with detailed carving, to an example of the ceramic objects in our collections, to a weathervane from the exterior of the Palace.

The final object on loan was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who created objects for the House of Commons following its destruction during the Second World War. His 20th Century Gothic design is more simple, but continues to follow the scheme created by Pugin and Barry.

 Find out more about the exhibition on the Design Museum Den Bosch website.

October 19, 2021