Pre 1897 thumbnails

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YARBOROUGH, COUNTESS OF
Neg. No: (GP) (L) 1493-232
Neg. Size: 15"x12"[ck]
Neg. Date: 26-7-1897

copyright V&A

Sitter: Marcia Amelia Mary, Countess of Yarborough (1863-1926) née Lane Fox.(1) [see below for costume enlargements]

Marcia Amelia Mary, Countess of Yarborough (1863-1926) née Lane Fox.(1) [see below for costume enlargements]

Biog: O.B.E. 1920; eldest daughter and co-heiress of 12th Baron Conyers; m. (1886) 4th Earl of Yarborough.

Role: Countess Tchoglokov, a lady at the Court of Catherine the Great.(2)

Date: 26 July 1897.

Occasion: The Devonshire House Ball, 2 July 1897.

Location: The Lafayette Studio, 179, New Bond Street, London, W.

Descr: FL standing.

Costume: -

Costume details:

"The Queen Catherine Quadrille: The set quadrilles were most remarkable, and were watched by the spectators, the royal visitors being specially close observors. That consisting of ladies and gentlemen styled after the style of Queen Catherine II's court, was one of the showiest. Many of the gowns for these spectacular dances had been made by Mrs Nettleship... White satin was worn by Lady Yarborough, heavily embroidered with emeralds, eagles, and scrolls copied from an old picture. The jewelled train was of emerald-green velvet lined with gold and edged with sable and she wore a high collar of gold lace embroidered with emeralds and diamonds. In her hair she had two lovely ostrich feathers with a diamond aigrette." The Daily Chronicle, 3 July 1897, p 7g

"the court of Catherine II of Russia was decidely one of the most imposing groups among many, each with a special characteristic of its own. The feature of this court was splendour... The Countess of Yarborough , as Countess Tschoglokof, was in a green velvet train, lined with cloth of gold with dashes inbetween, and bordered with sable, over a dress of white satin lavishly wrought in gold and studded wtih emeralds, the double-headed eagle appearing int he device on skirt and bodies." The Daily Telegraph, 3 July 1897.

Costume Supplier: Mrs Nettleship, 58 Wigmore Street, London, W.

Furniture & Props: Painted backdrop; studio Jacobean-style mock staircase.

Photographer: Lafayette Ltd., 179 New Bond Street, London, W.

Evidence of photographer at work: Studio assistant and sea-scape backdrop partially visible behind pillar to right of plate.

No of poses: 4.
1493-232.jpg (63682 bytes) 1493-232.jpg (63682 bytes)
1493-232.jpg (63682 bytes) 1493-232.jpg (63682 bytes)

Copyright: V&A

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Provenance: Pinewood Studios; acquired 1989.

References:

Biog: Burke's Peerage; The Complete Peerage; The Times, 18 November 1926, p 19a & photo. p 18.

Role: Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball, July 2 1897: A Collection of Portraits in Costume of Some of the Guests, privately printed, 1899, p 124, (National Portrait Gallery Archives).

Occasion: Sophia Murphy, The Duchess of Devonshire's Ball, London, 1984.

Costume: The Daily Chronicle, 3 July 1897, p 7g; The Daily Telegraph, 3 July 1897, p 10a; The Morning Post, 3 July 1897, p 7g; The Standard, 3 July 1897, p 4c; The Lady, 8 July 1897, pp 44 [line drawing] & 46c; The Court Circular, 10 July 1897, p 264b; The Court Journal, 10 July 1897, p 1247a; Lady's Pictorial, 10 July 1897, pp 47 [line drawing] & 53b; Madame, 10 July 1897, p 69a; The Queen, 10 July 1897, p 76a.

Costume Supplier: The Lady, 8 July 1897, p 46c.

Reproduced: (Version) Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball, July 2 1897: A Collection of Portraits in Costume of Some of the Guests, privately printed, 1899, p 124, (National Portrait Gallery Archives).

Acknowledgements: -

1. Also Baroness Fauconberg and Baroness Conyers in her own right.

2. Maria, Countess Tchoglokov (1724-1756); daughter of Simon Leontievitch Guendrikov and niece of Empress Catherine I; m. (1742) Nikolaï Maoumovitch, Count Tchoglokov; 'Grande Maîtresse' at the court of Empress Elizabeth I and governess to Empress Catherine II (reigned 1762-1796) when Grand Duchess. (See La Noblesse de Russie, Paris, 1961 and also Catherine the Great: Memoirs, London, 1927).