Room 5
In many rooms on the second floor there are different elements of the collection in dialogue: art objects of various nature and origins, Arts & Crafts furniture, contemporary artworks and the new ceilings by David Tremlett.
Tom Phillips
The main painting is part of a larger work by Tom Phillips called the Mappin Art Gallery. Begun in the 1970s, it reconstructs a wall from the original Mappin Gallery in Sheffield, a museum destroyed during World War II. The artist’s only guide was a picture on a postcard that survived the blast.
Edward William Godwin
Designed by Godwin, all the furniture in this room takes its inspiration from Japan. It is an extraordinary example of cultural assimilation. In the centre of the room is Godwin’s original table designed for Ellen Terry, a famous actress who at 15 years his junior, was also his lover. The corner cabinet with pink mirrors is again from Dromore Castle. Beside this are more drawing by Echaurren. The other larger corner cabinet was designed as part of a line of furniture. In typical inventiveness Godwin experiments with a series of voids and enclosed spaces. This is surrounded by collages by Antonello Ruggeri. The final piece of furniture contains decorative lacquered panels imported from Japan.
Mortimer Luddington Menpes
On either side of this are watercolours and oils by Menpes. These helped shape the English person’s image of the Orient in the early 20th century, evidenced by their appearance in Menpes’ travel memoirs.