Monday, July 23, 2012

Lily Pond Table


Lily Pond table
Photo via here

I am often amazed at how much I learn from my favorite blogs.  While happily reading through some recent postings on the Persephone Post, (part of their larger website which is chock-full of delightful information for book lovers) I spotted this image. It is the Lily Pond table designed and painted by British artist Duncan Grant  for the Omega Workshop around 1913.   I fell in love with this at Charleston in Sussex, England (the home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant) when I visited there last September.  I learned that several of these tables were made by the Omega Workshop and that the one featured above is in an art gallery in Australia.

When I first saw the Lily Pond table at Charleston, I noticed how often the Bloomsbury artists used garden imagery in their creations.  Bringing the garden inside was something that they loved to do.  Because Charleston is in the country and surrounded by nature, it made sense that so many pieces of furniture, rugs, pillows, and wall coverings incorporated this theme.  It is one of the reasons the house is so exuberant -- flowers and leaves are everywhere.  The beautiful garden that is behind the house was often a subject of the paintings done by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant.

The Lily Pond table is in Maynard Kenyes' bedroom at Charleston.  He was such a frequent guest at Charleston that he was given his own room.  Can you imagine having this piece in your bedroom?  I remember that the table was in front of a window which had a beautiful view of the pond and the nearby countryside.  That side of the house would have been covered with beautiful white clematis in the summer.  It seemed like a wonderful room for sleep and a peaceful room for work.   Duncan Grant's design for the table was based on the goldfish pond in Roger Fry's garden at Durbins as seen from above.  The paint was poured in puddles, rather than carefully applied, to achieve a more free flowing effect.   After doing a little research, I wasn't surprised to find out that the Lily Pond table was one of the Omega's most popular patterns for painted furniture.


If you you love beautiful books and don't know about Persephone Books,  you should take a look at their website here. They also have two charming stores in London.   They reprint neglected novels, diaries, short stories and cookery books, mostly by women and mostly dating from the early to mid-twentieth century.  These books are beauties!  All are elegant paperbacks with a dust jacket.  They have dove-grey covers with cream labels and printed endpapers often of a fabric from the original year of publication. The books come with matching bookmarks inside.  You can buy the books on their website or if you are in London, go to their store!  The one I visited was very cozy and English, perfect for lingering and browsing through all the great titles.

A post card I bought when I was there

And by the way, I just found out that they will be publishing "A Writer's Diary" by Virginia Woolf this summer.  Something to look forward to!

Virginia Woolf
Photo via here

Endpaper for the Persephone Post edition of "A Writer's Diary"
Photo via here



14 comments:

  1. I'm in love with that table and chairs.

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  2. I've received the Persephone catalogue in the past, Sunday, and keep meaning to purchase a book or two. This post serves as encouragement.
    What a wonderful table that is.

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  3. I discovered Persephone Books when we lived in England...beautiful and unusual books.

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  4. Your posts are always so informative, however now my bookshelves are at risk for even more overloading. Thanks for this very useful information and destination next time in London. Till then their website will be fun.
    b

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  5. I love Persephone editions. They're really marvelous. I love that they're very uniform on the shelf but each book has its own fantastic endpapers. I'm definitely making a pit stop at their store.

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  6. Sunday, I received my first Persephone catalogue/bulletin a few weeks ago. I was almost certain it was you who had suggested it. Now I am certain....Thank you. I have spent hours browsing and pulling ideas from its pages. I would love the chance to visit their shop. Bonnie

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  7. Everything in this post (along with all of your posts in fact) is something I love. My mother lives Charleston and it's one of our favourite places to visit. Persephone is also my favourite publishers, I love everything about their books from the covers to the interior patterned pages and the fact that they're small and independent. Have you ever visited Petworth Village in Sussex?

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  8. Hi Sarah! No, I haven't but will now google it on your recommendation! I love that part of England. And I'm so glad to hear that you've visited Charleston, isn't it one of the most special and beautiful places?

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  9. Lovely and informative post. The table and chairs are fabulous.
    Wishing you a lovely week! xoxo, B

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  10. Hi Sunday! I think you'd really like Petworth, it's very picturesque and has a really great collection of antique shops, plus lots of lovely places to have tea and the piece de resistance; Petworth House which is a truly lovely National Trust property.

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  11. On a Persephone-related note, I recently read that a film version of Cheerful Weather for the Wedding is coming out starting Felicity Jones (from Masterpiece's Northanger Abbey) and Elizabeth McGovern (from Downton Abbey). I'm intrigued!

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  12. Sunday,

    Hello! It is as you say, there is so much information to be found reading blogs. I often find that my actual reading of books sometimes suffers because I am reading blogs.

    I love Persephone books!

    I hope that you have a wonderful week, thank you for sharing this beautiful table. I was not too knowledgeable about the Bloomsbury Group until you mentioned it several times in your posts.

    Elizabeth

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  13. Love the postcard! And am much looking forward to A Writer's Diary, too. Thanks for the info!

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  14. I really love the idea of 'bringing the outside in' when decorating a house. I am trying to update my home decor right now and will definitely keep the Bloomsbury philosophy in mind while doing it.
    I love Persephone Books. I have just started collecting them and have two in the mail for me as we speak. I can't wait to visit their shop when I go to London next year!

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