Penwork is a nineteenth-century decorative phenomenon, in which we can see in microcosm many of the technical, aesthetic and social cross-currents that are woven into the rich fabric of furniture history.
A technique of simulation with watercolour, mainly practised from about 1815 to 1850, penwork is thought originally to have been an offshoot of the Tunbridge ware industry. Many of its manifestations seek to simulate the glamour and richness of ivory-inlaid furniture, while others mimic the hardstone mosaic substitute, scagliola. Visually, much penwork is related to japanning, invented in the seventeenth century to imitate the exotic lacquer cabinets and screens imported from the orient to Europe.
Its design sources come from a wide range, from classical subjects in finely engraved books or oriental figures and scenes recorded by travellers in Asia, to the natural world of plants and insects. Many designs appear to have been simply fantasies of the artistic imagination or enthusiastic compilations of patterns and images; some are touchingly personal.
Like needlework and drawing, penwork was largely the preserve of ladies whose position in society precluded paid employment but encouraged artistic endeavours. While evidence points to at least some professional production of penwork, most was in this amateur tradition.
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