All Objects
The Silver Swan
Silver & Metals
1773
The Silver Swan
A mechanical automaton, made in about 1773 in the workshop of James Cox of London, a silversmith and dealer.
THE TEARS OF ST PETER BY EL GRECO
Fine Art
THE TEARS OF ST PETER BY EL GRECO
This painting was purchased by John Bowes in 1869 from the collection of the Conde de Quinto, on the advice of his dealer, Gogué. Bowes was not keen on the artist and El Greco’s work was not much appreciated at...
Cabinet for Botanical Specimens
Furniture
Cabinet for Botanical Specimens
Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and grandmother of John Bowes, was a keen collector of plants; this cabinet was made to house her collection.
A Miracle of the Eucharist
Fine Art
c1423- c1426
A Miracle of the Eucharist
This painting came from the lowest section, or predella, of the altarpiece which was commissioned from Sassetta by the Wool-Merchants Guild of Siena, the Arte della Lana.
Salviati- Murano Vase, Venice
Ceramics and Glass
1867
Salviati- Murano Vase, Venice
Venetian glass has enjoyed enormous status in Europe from medieval times to the 19th century. Venice had a virtual monopoly on the making of domestic glass into the 17th century, and glass workers were not allowed outside the Venetian district...
Evening Dress 1930-1935
Fashion & Textiles
1930-1935
Evening Dress 1930-1935
In 1931 Vogue coined the phrase ‘poured in’ to describe the newly fashionable bias-cut shape. The elegant fit of this crepe, silk-satin sheath dress is indicative of this look. The long bias-cut panels cling to the natural curves of the...
Worcester Teapot – Ludlow Collection
Ceramics and Glass
c. 1760
Worcester Teapot – Ludlow Collection
The Lady Ludlow collection, gift of the Art Fund 2004. This teapot is made with a double wall of porcelain on the teapot and cover.
Beach scene at low tide, Boudin
Fine Art
Beach scene at low tide, Boudin
This beach is on the Normandy coast. Boudin established his reputation as a fashionable painter with atmospheric open-air works like this, in which he observes the manners and dress of the uppers classes.
Italian Regatta on the Grand Canal
Fine Art
Italian Regatta on the Grand Canal
This scene portrays the Regatta Carnival that was held each year on the 2nd February.
Eugenie bodice
Fashion & Textiles
Eugenie bodice
Often dresses had two bodices to match a skirt. The jacket style for daywear has pagoda sleeves, whereas for evening, the short, pointed bodice has short sleeves and a lower décolletage.
Gibside watercolours, Turner
Fine Art
Gibside watercolours, Turner
This watercolour with its pendant, a view from the south, was acquired directly from the artist by the tenth Earl of Strathmore, father of John Bowes.
Interior of a prison, Goya (c 1746 - 1828 )
Fine Art
c 1793-4
Interior of a prison, Goya (c 1746 - 1828 )
Under a gloomy archway are seven prisoners with hands and feet bound by heavy chains.
Josephines Portrait, Antoine Dury
Fine Art
1850
Josephines Portrait, Antoine Dury
Joséphine Bowes sits at a table on which rest the text of several plays in which she appeared when an actress at the Théâtre des Variétés on the boulevard Montmartre in Paris under the stage name Mademoiselle Delorme. Her dog,...
Lace Collar
Fashion & Textiles
Lace Collar
The Blackborne Collection was donated to the Museum by descendants of the Blackborne family in 2007.
Marquetry cabinet, Boulle
Furniture
Marquetry cabinet, Boulle
This cabinet was designed to display the remarkable central panel which is almost certainly the work of André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732).
Mechanical mouse
Silver & Metals
Mechanical mouse
Bought by Josephine Bowes from the London dealer P. Albert for £22 on 12 May 1871, when the couple were in London, sheltering from the siege of Paris.
Meissen scent bottle
Ceramics and Glass
c.1760-70
Meissen scent bottle
Josephine Bowes was determined to form a comprehensive collection of European porcelain. Meissen near Dresden was the first factory to make true ‘hard-paste’ porcelain like the Chinese. It continues to be one of the few factories supported direct by the...
Nevers Plate
Ceramics and Glass
Nevers Plate
One of a pair of plates, each circular, flat with flaring rim terminating in a wavy edge.
Portrait of a Parisienne, P.Helleu (1859-1927)
Fine Art
c.1887-90
Portrait of a Parisienne, P.Helleu (1859-1927)
Paul-César Helleu trained as a painter and entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, in 1870, but quickly formed a group of close friends amongst advanced artists such as Degas, Whistler, Alfred Stevens, Boldini and Sargent.
Portrait of Melendez Valdes, Goya (c 1746 - 1828)
Fine Art
Portrait of Melendez Valdes, Goya (c 1746 - 1828)
This portrait was executed by Francisco de Goya in 1797 and, as the inscription indicates, it is dedicated to ‘his friend’ Juan Antonio Meléndez Valdés, who is here dexterously depicted by the artist.
The Building
Archaeology
The Building
The museum is unique in Britain as being a French designed museum set in its own designed park, providing a distinctive French accent to the North of England!
The Last Communion of St Raymond Nonnatus, Francisco Pacheco, 1611
Fine Art
1611
The Last Communion of St Raymond Nonnatus, Francisco Pacheco, 1611
The painting is one of a series of ten canvases produced by Pachereo and Alonso Vazquez for the cloister of the Merced Calzada Convent in Seville commissioned in 1600.
Evening Gown by Madeleine Vionnet, Model 4763, February 1934
Fashion & Textiles
Evening Gown by Madeleine Vionnet, Model 4763, February 1934
Pale pink silk chiffon printed with a purple and red poppy design, bias-cut, with a purple silk satin sash at waist. Pale pink under-slip of crêpe de chine and chiffon.
Portrait of a Lady, Joshua Reynolds
Fine Art
1760
Portrait of a Lady, Joshua Reynolds
This portrait of an unknown lady was purchased by John Bowes in 1840
Fray José Sigüenza, Carducho, Bartolomé
Fine Art
1603
Fray José Sigüenza, Carducho, Bartolomé
The friar of the Order of Saint Jerome represented in this portrait was an expert in Arabic manuscripts and a counsellor to King Philip II of Spain.
Alterpiece, Master of St. Gudule (c.1460-c.1480)
Fine Art
Furniture
1460 - 1480
Alterpiece, Master of St. Gudule (c.1460-c.1480)
Altarpieces were often made in many parts, combining both painting and carving, and were magnificently decorated.
The Dragon Slayer: Hendrick Jacob Hoet’s Perseus and Andromeda, 1720
Fine Art
1720
The Dragon Slayer: Hendrick Jacob Hoet’s Perseus and Andromeda, 1720
Hendrick Jacob Hoet (c.1693-1733) provides this small oil and panel painting from the Dutch school.
Sevres Porcelain
Ceramics and Glass
1758
Sevres Porcelain
Small in scale and delicate in decoration, these individual items suited Josephine’s taste and purse.
Still Life with Asparagus, Artichokes, Lemons and Cherries, Blas de Ledesma (active 1602 - 1614)
Fine Art
Still Life with Asparagus, Artichokes, Lemons and Cherries, Blas de Ledesma (active 1602 - 1614)
Active in Granada in the first decade of the 17th century, Ledesma is considered one of the pioneering artists of still life painting in Spain. There is little information on his life and career, but he was recorded as a...
Tobias restoring His Father's Sight, Antonio Pereda y Salgado (c 1611 – 1678.)
Fine Art
1652
Tobias restoring His Father's Sight, Antonio Pereda y Salgado (c 1611 – 1678.)
The subject is taken from the Apocryphal Book of Tobit. Tobias restores his father's sight with the help of the Archangel Raphael, observed by his mother Anna.
Chinese Porcelain Figurines C.1700
Ceramics and Glass
Chinese Porcelain Figurines C.1700
Chinese porcelain was hugely popular and prestigious in 17th and 18th century Europe. It was durable, vitrified [glass-like] and [if thin enough] translucent. It could withstand boiling water for the new fashions of tea- and coffee-drinking.
Day Dress 1874
Fashion & Textiles
1874
Day Dress 1874
Donated in 1962 by a Miss O.E Brackenbury so not part of the Founders collection.
Fruit et Fleur, Henri Fantin Latour
Fine Art
1866
Fruit et Fleur, Henri Fantin Latour
Signed and dated 1866 This is a lively and fresh-looking still life.
Local Pottery ‘Bowes For ever’ Mug
Ceramics and Glass
1830 - 1834
Local Pottery ‘Bowes For ever’ Mug
The inscription presumably refers to one of John Bowes' electioneering campaigns during his time in Parliament 1832-49.
Maiolica Dish
Ceramics and Glass
1577
Maiolica Dish
Maiolica or tin-glazed earthenware was made in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries and is often painted with scenes after Raphael or Michaelangelo.
Sisley Port-Marly under Snow, Alfred Sisley
Fine Art
Sisley Port-Marly under Snow, Alfred Sisley
In this painting Sisley features the riverboats and barges on the Seine at Port-Marly.
Piercebridge Face Urn
Ceramics and Glass
Roman
Piercebridge Face Urn
Human faces are often found in Roman pottery, some of these containers contained cremations.
Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France (1778–1851), Duchesse d'Angoulême by Antoine-Jean Gros (1771–1835)
Fine Art
1817
Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France (1778–1851), Duchesse d'Angoulême by Antoine-Jean Gros (1771–1835)
Antoine-Jean Gros (16 March 1771 – 25 June 1835), titled as Baron Gros in 1824,was a French painter who produced history and neoclassical painting.
Pair of Cats, Emile Galle
Ceramics and Glass
1898 - 1902
Pair of Cats, Emile Galle
It is not generally realised that the great French ceramicist Emile Gallé made much innovative pottery as well as his more famous ‘Art Nouveau’ cameo glass...
Portrait of a Dog
Fine Art
19th Century
Portrait of a Dog
It is uncertain whether this is indeed by Joséphine Bowes, the co-founder of the Bowes Museum.
Ceramic Tiger
Ceramics and Glass
17th or 18th Century
Ceramic Tiger
This tiger is a rare model, but somewhat crude in modelling, and not suitable for the decoration of the Imperial palaces in Beijing.
Mme Bigottini as a Bacchante, Jacques Antoine c1760-1831 Vallin
Fine Art
1817
Mme Bigottini as a Bacchante, Jacques Antoine c1760-1831 Vallin
Emilie Bigottini (1785-1858), a famous ballerina, is depicted here assuming the role of Bacchante with grapes in her hair and a leopard skin over her shoulders.
The Martyrdom of St Andrew, Luis Tristán de Escamilla (c 1585 - 1624)
Fine Art
17th Century
The Martyrdom of St Andrew, Luis Tristán de Escamilla (c 1585 - 1624)
Saint Andrew was one of Christ's disciples. He is usually identified by the x-shaped cross, or saltire, on which he was martyred.
Landscape with cows and figures, Léon Victor Dupré (1816-1879)
1864
Landscape with cows and figures, Léon Victor Dupré (1816-1879)
Dupré (1816-1879) was part of the Barbizon School and painted mostly genre scenes and landscapes.
Sewing Companion
Fashion & Textiles
Pair of covered jugs, c. 1760 (Qianlong period, 1735-95)
Ceramics and Glass
c 1735-95
Pair of covered jugs, c. 1760 (Qianlong period, 1735-95)
Porcelain, painted in underglaze blue and overglaze blue, iron-red, pink, turquoise and yellow enamels, height 38.5cms
Pattern plate, c1810
Ceramics and Glass
c 1810
Pattern plate, c1810
This ‘pattern’ plate may not have been made in Paris, but it is decorated with a variety of designs by a Parisian china painter and his workshop.
John Bowes, Esq, Jacques-Eugène Feyen (1815 - 1908)
Fine Art
1863
John Bowes, Esq, Jacques-Eugène Feyen (1815 - 1908)
John Bowes, the founder of the Bowes Museum, is sitting on a boulder with game lying at his side.
François Bonvin (1817-1887), Self-portrait, 1847
Fine Art
1847
François Bonvin (1817-1887), Self-portrait, 1847
Bonvin was a prominent artist in the French Realist movement during the mid-to-late nineteenth century.
Olivia, Mrs Endymion Porter Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641)
Fine Art
C. 1637
Olivia, Mrs Endymion Porter Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641)
The sitter (d. 1663) was the daughter of Sir John Boteler and a niece of George Villiers, the 1st Duke of Buckingham.
Silver Mirror - Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892)
Silver & Metals
19th Century
Silver Mirror - Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-1892)
This mirror is a masterpiece of the 19th century bronze founder, Ferdinand Barbedienne.
A Fruit Stall, Frans Snyders (1579-1657)
Fine Art
1620-1630
A Fruit Stall, Frans Snyders (1579-1657)
A female street-vendor sits at her stall surrounded by fruit arranged on a wooden table and with vegetables in a basket.
Music Manuscript – My Handsome Knight
Archive
Music Manuscript – My Handsome Knight
One of the roles which Joséphine played during her four-year stage career was ‘Nelly’. It was in a comedy-vaudeville play called Les Beautés de la cour (The Court Beauties) on April 19, 1849. The play was based around the story...