Mystery Object No. 5 - the Solution

 This pretty little thing is actually a lipstick case!

(c) Geffrye Museum, London



As the clue we posted gave away, it was made in the US. The text reading 'Exotic 2' is the shade of lipstick it was made to hold.

This particular lipstick was made between 1920 and 1960, but lipstick was used far earlier than that. It's thought that people started wearing lipstick as long ago as 5000 years. It's thought that ancient Mesopotamian women invented it by crushing semi-precious jewels, and it was very popular among Ancient Egyptians: Cleopatra wore lipstick made from crushed insects!

Lipstick wasn't used in England until much later, when Queen Elizabeth I first made it popular for upper class women in the 1500s. But it wasn't until 1884 that the first 'modern' lipstick was sold in Paris, made from deer tallow, castor oil and beeswax, and sold wrapped up in silk paper.

At first, all make-up had to be stored in small containers like pots and dishes - you can see many of these in museum collections of ancient objects - but this did make them quite tricky to use. The 'push up' lipstick everyone knows today and which makes lipstick much easier to use wasn't invented until the 1920s and 30s,  which is when manufacturers started producing make-up in many different shades. That was when objects like this one arrived - perfect pretty cases for telling your different shades apart!

You can read more about this particular lipstick case here.

Congratulations to anyone who guessed right on this or any of our other mystery objects - personally, I think some of them were quite tough!

Mystery Object No. 5 - Something Silver

Yes that’s right, Mystery Object hasn’t gone away! This will, however, be our last instalment as our project is drawing to a close very soon – we’re very sad about this!

Anyway, here’s your last mystery object:

(c) Geffrye Museum, London

Simple question: what do you think was kept in this object?

And of course we’ll give you a clue - you get an extra picture this time!

(c) Geffrye Museum, London

Post your answers in the blog comments or via our Twitter feed.

You can check whether you got it right on Monday.

Mystery Object No. 4 - the Solution

This week, we asked you to guess what this object would have been used for in the eighteenth century:

Hot water urn, c.1790 (c) Geffrye Museum, London

When first seeing this object in the Geffrye Museum, we did something of a double take. It looks familiar – rather like a sporting trophy – yet the tap sticking out of it would suggest that it is intended for something quite different.

It is, in fact, a hot water urn, to be used to replenish a teapot without the need to interrupt a tea party by calling for a servant, made in around 1790.

When tea first started to be drunk in English homes from the late 1600s, it was hugely expensive. In the 1690s, the Countess of Argyll paid over £10 for 6 ounces of tea. That’s £26 per pound, at a time when her estate’s lawyer earned £20 a year.

Given the expense and mystique of the imported oriental leaf, tea was not kept in the kitchen stores but in the mistress’s closet in a locked canister or caddy. When tea was to be drunk, it would not be prepared in the kitchen, but in the room in which it was to be served. Servants would bring the required equipment to the room, and the lady or gentleman of the house would brew the tea and serve it to their guests or family.

Hence the need for our hot water urn; a servant would deliver the crucial supply of boiling water and pour it into an appropriate vessel, to be used as required.

See the real thing in the Geffrye Museum, in Information Bay 4.

For more on the history of tea in English homes, look out for our digital story, which will be available on the Geffrye Museum website from early May.

Mystery Object No. 4 - Something Shiny

Have you been missing our mystery object posts? If so then we have excellent news - we have a new mystery object this week!

Can you tell us what this object would have been used for?

(c) Geffrye Museum, London

It is made of silver-plated copper and dates from the eighteenth century.

Answer in the blog comments of via our Twitter feed, and we'll post the solution on Monday. Happy guessing!

Mystery Object No. 3 - the Solution

This week we asked you where this object was made:

Corner cupboard, 1720-1760 (c) Geffrye Museum, London

Lose ten points if you said Japan (sorry). Congratulations to those who answered with European countries!
 

Despite its oriental appearance, our mystery object was actually made in Europe sometime between 1720 and 1760. Experts can't tell exactly where because these sorts of objects were so popular throughout the continent.
 

Oriental lacquer objects were first imported into Europe in the late 1500s, along with spices, silks and porcelain. Such goods were only imported into Britain in large quantities after the formation of the East India Company in 1600.
 

As demand for oriental lacquer objects outstripped supply, European craftsmen began to experiment with their own materials to imitate the style, producing a technique known as ‘japanning’. This is a finish achieved by applying several layers of varnishes and glazes.
 

Attempts at japanning were first made in England in the early 1600s, but the boom in popularity of oriental and japanned objects started during the reign of Charles II (1660-1685). The style was applied to all sorts of things, from tea trays to coaches. At the height of its popularity, japanned ware was present in every middle-class home.
 

The scenes picked out in gold leaf and bronze paint on our cupboard are not an accurate imitation of the pictures on Asian lacquer, but a fanciful European version of them. The cupboard was originally blue, but the layers of varnish have discoloured over time. The original gold leaf picking out figures, foliage and decoration, however, is still largely intact.
 

Even though this object itself did not travel from Asia, it’s a good example of how techniques and practices can travel across the globe.

 

See the real thing in the Geffrye Museum’s 1745 parlour.

1745 parlour (c) Geffrye Museum, London

See here for more information from the Geffrye's collections online.

Mystery Object No. 3 - Something Oriental

It’s time for our third ‘mystery object’ from the Geffrye’s collection!
 

(c) Geffrye Museum, London



(c) Geffrye Museum, London



(c) Geffrye Museum, London

Can you take a guess where this eighteenth-century corner cupboard was made? 

It is made of wood (possibly pine), is 90 cm (around 3 feet) high, and would be mounted on the wall of a parlour.

Here’s a clue: we haven’t given away the answer!
 

Answer in the blog comments or via our Twitter feed.
 

Look here for the correct answer this Saturday.

Mystery Object No. 2 - the Solution

This week we asked you to guess what people in the 1700s would have used this object for:



Rushlight and candle holder, 1700-1800 (c) Geffrye Museum, London

Thankyou to everyone who guessed - those who went for anything along the lines of candle holder were closest, and 'space flute' was the furthest out!

It’s actually called a rushlight holder: the part which looks a bit like a pincer holds a strip of a plant called a ‘rush’ (shown in the picture) which had been dipped in fat (usually the drips from cooking meat) and was then lit like a candle wick.

This one can hold candles too, but rushlights were cheaper and easier to make. Most people in the 1700s would have had to use tallow candles, which were expensive, messy and didn’t smell very good. Rushlights were not very bright, but at least they didn’t make as much mess or smoke as candles.

Light from a rush would last about 20 minutes, but if you wanted a bit more you could light both ends. This meant that the rush wouldn’t last as long. This is where the saying ‘burning the candle at both ends’ comes from!

Rumour has it if you had a visitor you didn’t like very much, you could light both ends so the light would burn out sooner and they would have to leave – sneaky!

You can see this object on display in the Geffrye Museum of the Home, or find more information about it online.

Mystery Object No. 2 – Something Irish

It’s Wednesday again, which means it’s time for this week’s mystery object!

(c) Geffrye Museum, London

We can tell you that this metal object is from Ireland, but can you tell us what people in the 1700s would have used it for?

Here’s your clue: the use of this object is where a famous British saying comes from

Post your answers in the blog comments or via our Twitter feed and check whether you got it right in this Saturday’s blog post.

Mystery Object No. 1 - the Solution

The waiting is over! Thankyou to all of you who guessed, and apologies for driving one or two of you a little mad. We can now reveal the true identity of our mystery object: congratulations to those who guessed it was a tea cup!

(c) Geffrye Museum, London

One of the things we are currently in the process of doing is putting together a digital story on the history of tea drinking in English homes (available on the Geffrye Museum website from early May), so we will be looking at a lot of teacups in the next few weeks!

This one is part of a set manufactured by Royal Worcester in 1876, and is decorated with the ‘Variety’ pattern, which includes a scroll pattern, stylised flowers and a bamboo design.

The decoration is influenced by both Japanese and Middle Eastern designs, and is our first example of how styles and techniques from across the globe have appeared in English homes.

Mystery Object No. 1 – Something Square

We are proud to present our first ‘mystery object’ from the Geffrye’s collection.

In this mini-series, we shall be posting pictures of some of our favourite objects from the Geffrye – and asking if you can guess what they were used for, where they came from, or just simply what on earth they are.

We thought we’d start with an easy one:



(c) Geffrye Museum, London



Can you guess what this object might be?

Here’s a clue: you probably have a few of these in your home, but they might not look quite the same as this one.

Post your answers in the blog comments or via our Twitter feed.

Look for the answer in this Saturday’s blog post!