This frame can be compared with the Watts frame, made by W. A. Smith, London, on Watts’ Alfred Tennyson,(p.312.9-1) which entered the collection in 1888. This Thallon frame might be modelled on the Smith frame. Though the basic form of both frames is similar, the ornament differs. A more fundamental difference in the frames is the construction of the corners. The flat of the Smith frame joins in the vertical along with the veneer, a common form for this style of frame. The Thallon frame runs the veneer over a mitred chassis: the look is correct, the construction flawed. In a number of Watts frames made by the Sydney framer Callan, both the veneer and the underlying timber of the flat are joined with a mitred corner.
Note
1 Hilary Maddocks, ‘Picture Framemakers in Melbourne c. 1860–1930’ in Vol. 1, Frames, Melbourne Journal of Technical Studies in Art, University of Melbourne Conservation Service, 1999.
The frame is made from cast plaster decorative elements on a wooden chassis. The veneer on the flat is joined along the vertical line at the corners, rather than following the mitred corner of the underlying flat. With shrinkage of the chassis at the corner, the veneer has been put under considerable stress, resulting in cracking and buckling. The surface of the flat is gold leaf on oak veneer. The outer frame is oil gilded.
In good original condition and retains original surfaces throughout.