1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition Table Cover
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GUEST:
We found it at an estate sale.
APPRAISER:
Here in Boise?
GUEST:
No, no, we're from Washington state.
APPRAISER:
And how much did you pay for it?
GUEST:
Less than five dollars. It was all folded up and it has a few little imperfections. You know, there's some moth holes and so on. And I think they just thought it wasn't worth keeping, unfortunately, and I love textiles. If something... even if something isn't perfect, I'll still pick it up.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
But I really couldn't see it at the time so I just kind of picked it up. I thought, well, for that price, I'll just take a chance.
APPRAISER:
You didn't ask for a discount.
GUEST:
No, of course not. (chuckling)
APPRAISER:
Well, it is from the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition that was held in London in Hyde Park.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
It is documented in a catalogue with full explanation of it. The Crystal Palace is also called the Great Exhibition, and it was really the brainchild and pushed through by Prince Albert. It was a way for London really to show off what it was doing industrially. The Crystal Palace itself is a phenomenal structure because it was made out of steel and large pieces of plate glass, which was quite new. It was put in at Hyde Park so all of London could watch it being built, which really drummed up the excitement. It later got moved to a suburb in the south of London, and unfortunately it caught on fire in 1936. And that was the end of it. What we have here is a woven, felted, wool table cover. It was made by a Mr. Underwood in Oxford Street, London. And it was part of England's presentation. And it is just exuberant. I mean ornamentation to the hilt. There's an emblem. This is the coat of arms of Great Britain in the middle. And these are all the coat of arms of the other major contributors to the exhibition. This piece is both historically and decoratively really important. It shows off what Mr. Underwood could do. The size is significant. There was 232 copper plates that were done. So he's showing off in how he could get the variations of color, and shadowing and everything. You were correct, there is some wool moth holes in the middle here. Not very much. Oftentimes once the moths get to something, they just riddle it through.
GUEST:
Right, right.
APPRAISER:
But they've liked the middle. And like I said, it has historic significance. This isn't the way, necessarily, we decorate anymore. It would really make a significant hold to a wall. This would be of interest to a number of people. It is going to be between $500 and $600 at auction.
GUEST:
Wonderful. I really appreciate all the information.
APPRAISER:
Oh, you're welcome.
GUEST:
It's wonderful.
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