The ‘Chatsworth’ Cravat
Clunie will be taking part in a panel discussion this coming Wednesday 28th September at the wonderful Strawberry Hill House as part of the finale of the Grinling Gibbons Tercentenary year.
The talk will be examining Gibbons’ ‘Walpole Cravat’ from the V&A alongside the carved cravat from Chatsworth House (and also the Cosimo Panel), leading specialists will be in discussion as they seek to ‘unravel’ the many knotty questions that these small but beautifully formed examples of artistic genius and technical skill provoke, including how, why, and even, by whom these pieces were made. The panel of speakers will also explore cravats in the seventeenth century, when lace was a revered luxury, and today, how the ingenuity and virtuosity of these works still trigger the incredulous response that they did 300 years ago.
Bringing their expertise and a variety of perspectives, the discussion panel will feature Nick Humphrey (V&A Curator of Furniture and Woodwork 1300-1700), Silvija Banić (V&A Curator of Textiles before 1800), Sash Giles, (Chatsworth House Curator of Decorative Arts) and Clunie Fretton (sculptor, carver and gilder). The panel will be chaired by Dr Martin Postle FSA (Deputy Director The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and Trustee of Strawberry Hill).
‘Unravelling Gibbons’ Cravats’ is part of the culmination of GG300 Festival and organised by the Grinling Gibbons Society. The event will be held at Strawberry Hill House, the house in which Horace Walpole’s famously wore Gibbons’ carved cravat to welcome and deceive his dinner guests.
Tickets include a wine reception and opportunity through to see the home of Horace Walpole - one of Gibbons’ greatest admirers.
Tickets can be purchased HERE