Category Archives: 1920s

1920s, Agatha Christie

Travelling with Agatha Christie

Cream Tea with Clotted Cream and Scones - a favorite of Agatha Christie
Cream Tea with Clotted Cream and Scones - a favorite of Agatha Christie

I called in to Marks and Spencer yesterday to pick up some of their clotted cream - fortunately it was in stock - it is frequently sold out here in Ireland and hard to find anywhere outside of the UK,  apparently because it does not travel well. I began to acquire an appreciation for the traditional Devonshire cream teas (the cream is not actually served in the tea but on the scones) after I read an account in Agatha Christie's autobiography about her taste for the local Devon clotted cream   Continue reading Travelling with Agatha Christie →

1920s, Antiques, Chinese Pottery, Downton Abbey

The Dowager Lady Violet’s Chinese Foo Dogs

Chinese Ceramic Foo Dogs
Chinese Ceramic Foo Dogs in Lady Violet's Dower House

Lady Violet's Chinese glazed ceramic "Foo Dogs" hint at a traveled past and lend a touch of the exotic in the Dower house. The Foo-dogs do not represent dogs however they are Chinese guardian lions or Imperial guardian lions. Continue reading The Dowager Lady Violet’s Chinese Foo Dogs →

1920s, Antiques, Chinese Pottery, Downton Abbey

Lady Edith’s Chinese Horse Statues

Chinese Pottery Horses in Lady Edith's London apartment
Chinese Pottery Horses in Lady Edith's London apartment

When Lady Edith brings Bertie Pelham back to her London flat in season 6 of Downton Abbey we could not help noticing a pair of large green Chinese tang pottery horses above the bookshelves.
There are some very similar chinese horse statues on eBay currently. large tang horse Click picture to see it on eBay

1920s, Downton Abbey, Perfume

Lady Mary: Crystal Perfume Bottle

Crystal glass perfume bottle on Lady Mary Crawley's dressing table
Crystal glass perfume bottle on Lady Mary Crawley's dressing table

I notice a pretty crystal glass perfume decanter bottle on Lady Mary Crawley's dressing table.  I see a range of similar crystal glass perfume bottles on eBay Click HERE for a selection.

So what fragrances might someone like Lady Mary have worn? In her decanter she may have kept natural floral essential oil based toilet waters. 1912, the year in which the Downton Abbey sereies begins, was the year the fragrance L'Heure Bleue or 'the blue hour' was created by Jacques Guerlain. From the House of Caron in Paris came “N’Aimez que Moi” in 1916, and “Tabac Blond” in 1919, 1920 perfumes include Chanel No. 5 which was launched in 1921 and would have been familiar to somebody like Lady Mary Crawley.  Guerlain’s Shalimar, was launched in 1925 and became one of the most popular fragrances of all time. Guerlain’s Shalimar was named after the Gardens of Shalimar in Lahore, Pakistan, which were built for Mumtaz Mahal, the woman for whom the Taj Mahal was built.

1920s, Downton Abbey, Herend

Lady Cora’s China Breakfast Ware

6 Comments

herend2
Lady Cora Crawley, Duchess of Grantham on Downton Abbey, has fine china pieces on her breakfast tray. The design is Herend Chinese Boquet in the Rust colorway. We see her most notably using it from the Season 1 Episode One of Downton Abbey when she gets the news of the Titanic disaster, and again later in the series when Baxter brings her a much appreciated glass of orange juice to win her favor.

herend1
Cora, Countess of Grantham see with Herend fine china on her breakfast tray
herend
Herend Chinese Bouquet