In the corner of Eastnor Castle’s Great Hall, beneath the gaze of gilt-framed portraits and flanked by Gothic columns, stand two gleaming brass peacocks. At first glance, they appear ornamental – majestic silhouettes among many treasures – but look a little closer and you’ll find they are far more than just decorations. These are incense burners, crafted in late 19th-century Iran during the Qajar dynasty, and they have a story as rich as the perfumed smoke they were once designed to carry.
In the 1870s, peacocks were popular. They were symbols of opulence and allure, associated with the so-called “exotic east” (a fascination for many late Victorian collectors, spurred on by the increased ease of travel) and the Aesthetic Movement’s celebration of beauty for beauty’s sake. They became common motifs in western decorative arts – and therefore an essential part of any gentleman’s art collection.
At Kelmscott House, poet and designer William Morris kept a pair of brass Persian peacocks (strikingly similar to Eastnor’s), which he eventually lent to the landmark 1885 exhibition of Persian and Arab Art at Burlington House. Another near-identical bird belonged to acclaimed British businessman and art patron Alecco Ionides, whose house at 1 Holland Park was famous for its interiors – a great example of late Victorian taste. The V&A (formerly the South Kensington Museum) was also acquiring similar pieces through figures like Sir Robert Murdoch Smith, whose expeditions helped introduce Iranian decorative arts to a British audience hungry for the unfamiliar.
It’s no wonder this pair caught the attention of Charles, 3rd Earl Somers, a noted traveller and collector whose tastes were as expansive as his journeys. Set with delicate turquoise stones (likely from the famed mines near Mashhad) and engraved with intricate foliage and animal motifs, they made an excellent addition to the then-burgeoning Eastnor collection, so he brought them back to the castle. Their presence at Eastnor was recorded in an 1889 castle guidebook – a sign that, even then, the pair were considered worthy of note.
You might not notice them when you first step into the Great Hall. But that’s the beauty of Eastnor – it is filled with interesting objects from different times and countries and collections. And that includes a pair of brass peacocks from Iran – we can’t imagine Eastnor without them.