- Figure 1
Our recent acquisition of a set of chairs after a model by an Italian female carver, has piqued our interest in the activity of 18th century female artisans in the male-dominated field of furniture making. This particular intagliatore, or carver, was named Lucia Landucci and her set of ten giltwood neoclassical klismos chairs was just one of several important commissions that she executed for the Villa Borghese, Rome (see our blog of June 11, 2009).
Lucia was the daughter, or perhaps widow, of Antonio Landucci, principle carver for the Borghese family during the refurbishment of the palace, whose earliest mention appears in 1773. He continued to work for about a decade at which point his name ceases to exist on inventories and is replaced by that of Lucia. Not much is known about Lucia, but there exists documentation of payments made to her for furniture commissions for the Borghese Palace, including payment for a table made for the Stanza di Apollo e Dafne in 1785. The table unfortunately no longer exists, but was recorded in drawings by French architect Charles Percier, who visited Rome circa 1786-91 (Figure 1, the table stands on the right side of the room).
- Figure 2
It was not uncommon for a wife or daughter to learn a trade from the patriarch of a business and either work alongside him, or continue the business upon his death. In 1726, Daniel Defoe first published The Complete English Tradesman in which he encourages a tradesman to “let his wife be acquainted with his business”1 for the advancement of the business and/or its preservation for his son(s), should he die before they are able to take over.
- Figure 3
The widow Elizabeth Hankins (Hawkins) carried on her husband’s cabinetmaking and upholders (upholstery or sometimes interior design) business as evidenced by her 1767 trade card, to which is attached a bill: “Bought of Eiz. Hawkins” and dated Nov. 23rd, 1767 2(Figure 2). It is also known that some daughters of Upholders’ Company members “were admitted by patrimony during the century and clearly carried on their deceased father’s business.”3
- Figure 4
Elizabeth Godfrey is an example of a daughter trained by her father. Godfrey was an outstanding goldsmith active circa 1720-1758, who was presumably trained by her father, Simon Pantin, a distinguished London silversmith. Her trade card read “Goldsmith, Silversmith, and Jeweller, [who] makes and sells all sorts of plates, jewels, and watches, in the newest taste at the most reasonable rates”4 (Figure 3). She married twice, each time to silversmiths, and worked for many nobles, the Duke of Cumberland being most notable. A silver tea caddy by Godfrey, c. 1755, can be seen in figure 4.
Footnotes:
1. Defoe, Daniel. The Complete English Tradesman. Edinburgh, 1893.
2. Heal, Sir Ambrose. London Furniture Makers 1660-1840. London: Portman Books, 1953. 78.
3. Edwards, Clive. Eighteenth Century Furniture. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1996.48.
4. The Women’s Museum. Artist Profile: Elizabeth Godfrey. National Museum of Women in the Arts, 2009. http://www.nmwa.org/collection/Profile.asp?LinkID=297
Figures:
1. Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar. The Stanza di Apollo e Dafne in the Villa Borghese. The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 137, No. 1109. (Aug. 1995), p 534.
2. Heal, Sir Ambrose. London Furniture Makers 1660-1840. London: Portman Books, 1953. 75.
3. O’Connell, Sheila, Roy Porter, Celina Fox, and Ralph Hyde. London 1753. Boston, Mass: David R. Godine, 2003. 253.
4. The Women’s Museum. Artist Profile: Elizabeth Godfrey. National Museum of Women in the Arts, 2009. http://www.nmwa.org/collection/detail.asp?WorkID=5113
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