Secrets of the Stores

It is extremely rare to find16th-century wallpaper, but this piece was found in situ at Hampton Court Palace during renovation works. It dates to 1550-75, making it one of the oldest examples of wallpaper in England. It is block printed with a series of repeating panels containing the royal coat of arms, Tudor roses, vases of flowers and St George slaying a dragon. 

After the 1986 fire at Hampton Court, fragments of carved wood too damaged to repair were saved and added to the collection. This piece of carved limewood from the Cartoon Gallery is the work of celebrated Anglo-Dutch woodcarver, Grinling Gibbons, who was appointed Master Carver to the King in 1693. 

Tudor architectural terracotta was a popular material for the external decoration of  buildings in England between 1510 and 1530. Literally meaning ‘cooked earth’, terracotta is made from moulded clay.

This fragment  from Hampton Court once formed part of a window transom (a horizontal bar separating windows) perhaps originating from Cardinal Wolsey’s Long Gallery.

These gilt lead oak or vine leaves were found during the excavation of one of the lost Tiltyard Towers at Hampton Court. They formed part of a fretwork ceiling decoration – a type of ceiling ornament popular in the 16th century, comprised of a series of timber battens to form a variety of rectilinear patterns.

This wrought-iron cupped acanthus leaf originates from the decorative Tijou Screen in the Privy Garden at Hampton Court and is likely the original work of  the accomplished French ornamental ironworker, Jean Tijou.

Produced in the late 17th century, the screen was originally designed for the Great Fountain Garden but was later moved to its current position separating the Privy Garden from the Thames.

This c18th-century porcelain figurine was found in the moat at the Tower of London. It may be one of a pair of ‘He-He Er Xian twins’ representing harmony and union, imported from a ceramic factory in Jingdezhen, South-East China. Figures such as this one were popular as part of large porcelain displays in royal residences or wealthy homes. 

This early 19th-century glass water bottle imported from Belgium was found during excavations next to Kew  Palace on the site of a lost wing, where King George III was kept in close confinement during periods of illness. The top of the neck is decorated with a seal embossed with ’POUHON IN SPA ’ around an armorial shield.

An extremely rare find, this hand-carved tobacco pipe bowl is made from the mineral known as meerschaum, which is found in Asiatic Turkey, Tanzania, Greece and Bohemia. This example was possibly imported from Vienna in the first half of the 19th century. It was found during excavation of the New Armouries and the Irish Barracks at the Tower of London.

This plaster roundel comes from Viscount and Lady Wolseley’ s grace-and-favour apartment in the south-west  wing of Hampton Court Palace. When Viscount  Wolseley died in 1913, Lady Wolseley went to great lengths to transform their apartment into a memorial to her husband. In one upstairs room there was an ornate plaster ceiling with decorative roundels like this one depicting Wolseley’s cypher.

This fragment of a Roman ceramic roof tile with the impression of a dog paw print was found in the Inmost Ward at the Tower of London. The tile was formed by setting wet clay into a mould, which was then left to dry before being baked in a kiln. It is quite common to find impressions of animal or even human footprints, made when the tiles were left out to dry.

Possibly a brush pot, this intriguing object is simply made from a hollowed-out ca le femur bone and is decorated with Japanese style paintwork depicting a man walking on stilts in the clouds. It was found during the excavation of Whitehall Palace in 1939.

Widespread in the Western Roman Empire between the 1st century BC and 3rd century AD, Samian ware was a fine pottery known for its red-gloss finish. It was moulded often in highly decorative forms like this sherd found during excavations at the Tower of London. Hercules, the Greek hero is depicted holding a club, a lion’s skin and a snake.

This 16th-century gilded oak rib or batten was removed in sections from the ceiling of Thomas Wolsey’ s old lodgings at Hampton Court during restoration work in the 1960s. The rib has paste-work inserts (moulded decorative elements made from sawdust, brick/chalk dust and animal glue), decorated with gilt on blue/ green paint. 

This rather unassuming 2-foot-long wooden stick is a c17th-18th century workman’s measuring rule from Hampton Court Palace. It is carved with inch notches and has a geometric pattern along the centre. This type of everyday object provides a tangible link with the craftspeople who once worked at the palaces. 

During the excavation of Whitehall Palace in 1939, 65 fragments of green-glazed stove tiles were found in a drain close to the footprint of Henry VIII’ s bathroom. Every tile fragment is moulded in relief either with elements of the Tudor arms or typical Italianate-style grotesque work. Stoves became fashionable in the 16th century for heating rooms, mostly in royal and ecclesiastical settings, their technology introduced from the Rhineland, Germany and the Low Countries.