Isaac du Toit

Text originally published in  A Children’s Guide to the Jewellery (and Art) of Lisa Walker  by  Isaac du Toit  and  Megan du Toit  (2019). Jewellery need not be valuable in monetary terms to be precious to the owner. Jewellery can be 'valuable' for sentimental reasons i.e. your friend made it, it reminds you of a happy occasion or holiday or perhaps it just makes you happy to wear it. Lisa Walker has talked about always being interested in the tension between oddness and beauty and "what her own interpretation of what something beautiful is" Her pendant made from a rubber inner sole (pictured right) is a good example of oddness vs beauty. The organic curvy shape is pleasing to the eye - almost a classic pendant shape pulled slightly askew. The thick, extruded blobs of paint make you wonder what it would feel like to the touch. The interesting colour and texture combinations that you wouldn't think would work well together but somehow do.

Text originally published in  A Children’s Guide to Splendour by Isaac du Toit and  Megan du Toit  (2019). Pockets were a separate item of clothing. Have a look at the ones on display in Splendour (as pictured below). From the 17th century to the late 19th century most women had at least one pair of pockets, which served a similar purpose as a handbag today. They were tied around the waist and usually worn underneath their petticoats. Of course there were no mobile phones or money cards to keep in your pockets back then. 'Pickpockets' would sometimes steal pockets by cutting the strings that held them. In the late 18th century women's fashions changed. Dresses had a high waistline and skirts fell close to the body and legs as in the painting below of Princess Charlotte. Pockets could no longer be hidden under clothing. Women began to use decorative bags carried over the arm instead.  Portrait of Princess Charlotte of Wales, circa 1817, by George Dawe. Gift of th

Text originally published in A Children’s Guide to Splendour by Isaac du Toit and Megan du Toit (2019). The Splendour exhibition covers a period of time called "the age of discovery", when many lands previously unknown to Europeans were "discovered" or explored including America, Australia and New Zealand. People were very interested in the world around them and would collect and display exotic objects and curiosities in a cabinet like this one on display. Excellent craftsmanship, rare materials, and dark Japanese lacquer give this cabinet an exotic and eyecatching presence. A collector would display it like this, with the doors open. The term cabinet originally described a whole room of collections rather than a single piece of furniture. They were limited to the very rich who could afford to create and maintain them. Many monarchs developed large collections. They showed the interests of their owners but were also a bit of a status symbol and showing your