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If there is one word that sums up Victorian portrait photography, it is "solemn". Whether the subjects are sitting, standing, or posed across a table playing chess or cards, they all appear serious - or even grim.

Interestingly, this demeanour can be in marked contrast to the photographers' props. The furniture used by photographic studios during the last decade of the nineteenth century, and the early years of the twentieth, was often made of fancifully decorated, light-coloured wicker.

The presence of such chairs, benches, tables and plant stands in the photographs is deliberate. Many of them, particularly the chairs and benches, were designed specifically for the studios. Wickerwork was a popular high-quality product, both hand-made and natural, and it gave an air of modernity and fashion to the photographer's workplace. It was also lightweight and strong, making it easy to move, and long-lasting.

Just as important, though, was the way in which wicker furniture provided counterpoints to the austere clothing, erect backs and humourless expressions of the photographer's clients.

For instance, the wicker was commonly painted white or cream. It therefore stood out in a black and white photograph where the principal subject was dressed in black or grey.

Similarly, the decorative work was the opposite of the fixed postures of the subjects. This was exemplified by the most common of the motifs, scrollwork. Spirals of wicker were on every aspect of the furniture: down the legs, across the backs, and around the tops.

The scroll theme was also evident in the arms of chairs and benches. A standard wicker photographer's bench would have a curved and rolled arm, sometimes with a second roll emerging from the first. The "Turkish" bench would have a rolled arm at both ends (and unlike a standard bench, would not normally have a back).

As well as curls and spirals, the backs of chairs and standard benches would sometimes have a single motif such as a heart or shamrock, or a repeated pattern of diamond shapes. The diamond form might also be adorned with small wicker balls.

The seats and tops of the furniture were made from tight-weave wicker. Even these functional surfaces that would not necessarily be seen in a photograph usually had patterns worked into them.

The final, and perhaps the most significant, attraction of wicker for the photographer and the subject was its exoticism. It suggested the adventure and mystery of China, India and the Far East, the places from which the materials and designs originated.

Of course, wicker furniture was not limited to the photographic studio. For some sixty years from 1870 onward it was extremely popular in Europe and North America. Manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic produced wicker beds, umbrella stands, chests of drawers, desks, and rocking chairs for inside the home, while for the outdoors they made baby carriages, garden tables and small summerhouses.

Today there is a lively market for all of these antiques. But whether or not you collect such items, do keep an eye out for wickerwork the next time you see what at first glance may appear to be a rather dull Victorian portrait photograph.

Learn more about this author, Kevin Watson.
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